Rodolfo Castro's remarkable rise from Class A to majors a pleasant surprise for Pirates

Apr. 23—Rodolfo Castro received the phone message from Indianapolis Indians manager Brian Esposito that he was being called up from the alternate training site to join the Pittsburgh Pirates' taxi squad in Detroit.

When Castro arrived at the Comerica Park clubhouse, he was called into the manager's office, where Derek Shelton and third base coach Joey Cora were awaiting with some surprising news.

Hey, I know that Esposito told you that you are here because you're a part of the taxi squad. You're not a part of the taxi squad, but you're about to make your debut. You just made the big league club.

"At that moment I just became so happy," a smiling Castro said, "a joy that I've never felt before."

Castro shared the memory in Spanish, translated through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez, after making in his major league debut Wednesday night in the second game of a doubleheader against the Tigers. Making it to the majors wasn't so much a surprise to Castro as it was the realization of a lifelong goal, perhaps sooner than expected.

"To be honest with you — and I mean this in the most humblest way — I wasn't surprised," Castro said. "I was not expecting it to be exactly (Wednesday), or this soon, in the month of April, but I can tell you that I wasn't surprised. I had made this a goal that no matter if I started in Double-A or Triple-A, my goal was to finish (in the majors) this year, I've worked very hard. I've been very diligent in my preparation. I've been very diligent with my work ethic, I've done so much to try to get up here so I can't really tell you that I'm surprised, because I know I've put in a lot of work and I've tried to do everything right.

"Was going to happen in the month of April? No, I didn't expect that at all. But, overall I'm just very grateful to the organization, and I want to thank them again for trusting me and providing me the opportunity. Very grateful to God, who provided me the help and up to you to be up here, very thankful for all my teammates. I'm really looking forward to whatever's next. I'm just glad to be here. I'm excited to be here and I'm excited for the future."

Shelton, for one, took delight in seeing Castro soak up what he called "a cool moment," not to mention a remarkable rise through the ranks. The 21-year-old Castro is not only the youngest player on the Pirates — born six days after rookie right-hander Luis Oviedo — but had never played above Class A prior to this season.

"This one makes me smile a lot just because of the fact that I saw him in Instructional League last year," Shelton said, "and to see a kid in instructional league and then be able to tell him that he was a big leaguer today was cool."

After hitting 19 home runs with 73 RBIs in a 2019 season split between Greensboro and Bradenton, Castro spent last summer at the alternate training site in Altoona. The Pirates gave a hint they were high on Castro in November, when they placed the 6-foot, 205-pound infielder on the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington called Castro "an exciting, young infield prospect" who could play all over the infield, one the Pirates gave good grades at second base, third base and shortstop.

"Switch hitter with with good power for his age," Cherington said in November. "He's performed pretty well as young player at levels he's been at. He got a taste of High A towards the end of 2019 and, in all likelihood, would have started back there (last) year and maybe he would ended up in Double A. He got time in Altoona at the alternate site and again instructionally so we were able to be around him a lot.

"He's really made improvements overall on his game, worked hard this year on the defensive side of things on swing decisions. Just a talented young player who has a chance to help a team, both on the offensive and defensive side of the game. He's certainly got room to grow."

The plan was for Castro to spend more time in the minors, but that changed when the Pirates designated outfielders Anthony Alford and Dustin Fowler for assignment and rookie third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes suffered a setback in his recovery from a left wrist injury. Castro got the call up and remains on the roster, providing infield depth as the Pirates plan to play utility infielders Phillip Evans, Wilmer Difo and Erik Gonzalez in left field while shifting Bryan Reynolds to center field.

Castro made a strong impression on the Pirates in spring training. Despite batting .136 (3 for 22), he hit two home runs and scored a Little League homer in successive games over a three-day span. Castro raced around the basepaths to turn Toronto's lackadaisical fielding of a double into a round-tripper on March 12, went opposite field for a homer against the New York Yankees on March 13 and hit a grand slam against the Philadelphia Phillies on March 14.

When Castro arrived in Detroit, right fielder Gregory Polanco pulled him aside. The Pirates' longest-tenured player and a fellow Dominican, Polanco gave Castro a big hug, offered congratulations and shared some words of wisdom.

"He said, 'Hey, I'm cheering for you. Enjoy it. Do your thing. Go out there and hit the ball hard. Do what you do. You're gonna feel pressure, but don't let the pressure get the best of you. Just make sure that you're enjoying every single part,'" Castro said. "Even throughout the game, my teammates just continued to show me support and a lot of love, pumping me up. It was good to not only feel that love, but also feel that support and look around and know that they were really cheering for me and really excited for me to be up here."

Even going 0 for 3 in the 5-2 loss couldn't spoil a day that Castro called a dream come true. Castro went down swinging on a Spencer Turnbull 2-1 fastball in his first major league at-bat in the second inning, grounded out to first in the the fifth inning and hit a bouncer to third for the final out in the seventh, yet Shelton complimented his defense for making a backhand grab on a Jonathan Schoop groundout to third.

"Even though it didn't turn out the way that maybe I would have loved, it was still perfect for me and I've loved every bit of it," Castro said. "I'm just so grateful that God provided me the opportunity and that this organization also trusted me with the opportunity."

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .