Phillies ink Dominican righty Starlyn Castillo

According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the Phillies agreed to deal with international free agent pitcher Starlyn Castillo Monday. The deal with Castillo, who is 16, is worth $1.6 million.

Castillo was ranked eighth on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 international prospect list. There are a lot of similarities to current Phillies top prospect Sixto Sanchez. Both hail from the Dominican Republic and both are considered undersized for starters at an even 6’0. Castillo also has a live arm, his fastball sits 93-96 MPH and he touches 97. His slider grades as a 55 on the 20-80 scouting grade.

MLB.com said this of Castillo:

Castillo has a reputation for being a competitive and extremely confident pitcher. He is fearless, which means like many pitchers his age, he is still learning how to channel his emotions on the mound. The talented pitcher will do well once he enters a team’s academy and receives daily instruction.

Five of the Phillies top 20 prospects were internationally signed pitchers. They’ve had success with them and Castillo may be the next one to join this group.