Nick Castellanos raves about prospect who’s “playing like a veteran”
Nick Castellanos praised Phillies top prospect Bryson Stott: “He’s playing like a veteran.”
Nick Castellanos is one of the best power hitters in the game, so if he’s complimenting you, you’re doing something right.
And he had some high praise for Bryson Stott, the Philadelphia Phillies‘ top non-pitching prospect, who could debut as early as Opening Day.
During one of the spring training broadcasts last week, Castellanos put on the headset and raved about Stott:
“He’s really good. The way he goes about it, he’s cool as a cucumber… he’s playing like a veteran, it’s fun to watch… he has a rhythm and a flow about him, and usually, that plays over the course of 162 [games].”
Stott certainly plays more like a veteran than a 24-year-old with only 160 career games in the minor leagues, and just 10 at the Triple-A level. Watching him hit, it’s hard to believe he was only drafted in 2019, even more so when you factor in that the 2020 MiLB season was canceled.
Of course, having players like Bryce Harper and Amir Garrett as mentors probably helps expedite Stott’s development, especially since Stott lives with Harper in Clearwater for spring training.
Over his first 10 games of the spring, Stott is hitting .522/.607/.739 with a 1.346 OPS. He has 12 hits, including a pair of doubles and a home run, four runs scored, and three RBI. He’s walked (5) more than he’s struck out (4), which was also true of his performance in the Arizona Fall League last year.
A natural shortstop, Stott has proven this spring that he can also play third base, giving him even more upward mobility to the majors. And he’s more than lived up to Dave Dombrowski’s challenge to him last fall to show up to spring training and prove he deserved to make his debut.
He’ll find out this week if he’s made the Opening Day roster.
