NicholasCastellanos

News: 2 days agoThough Castellanos is presumably a good fit to DH for the Reds, he'd prefer to play in the field instead, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "I don't want to DH. I chose to come to the Reds -- first and foremost, I believe they can win," Castellanos said on Tuesday. "But also, I like being in the National League where I get to play defense every day. A goal of mine is to become a better and better defender every year that I play -- every game that I play is probably a more appropriate answer."

Spin: Castellanos has never been a plus defender in his career, but in his defense he has improved. His UZR between two teams was -5.2, but that paled in comparison to 2018, where he was -12.9.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Castellanos' finish to 2019, following his trade to the Cubs, was a thing to behold: He batted .321/.356/.646 with 16 home runs (tied for ninth most) and 43 runs scored (tied for fifth), finally tapping into the elite batting average and power combinations fantasy managers had been anticipating for years. Now with the Reds, he's moving to yet another favorable environment in which to hit, for an offense that should be significantly improved upon 2019's bottom-10 unit. The smart money, though, has Castellanos regressing off his hot finish, probably closer to his three-year averages of a .287 batting average and 25 home runs. He should be able to turn in those totals, ones worthy of a top-25 fantasy outfielder at the very least, and probably warrants a pick slightly sooner than that due to his recent signs of growth. One note: He came within nine doubles of the single-season record, something that had a lot more value in points-based leagues than you might think, as he finished 31 spots better in that format than in rotisserie leagues. Castellanos' extra-base hit ability is especially attractive in points leagues.