Just four weeks ago, Neuqua Valley graduate Ricky Castro was beginning his second season in professional baseball.
He was pitching for the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League, not the affiliated minor leagues, but he liked the circumstances.
“Playing with the Joliet Slammers was the perfect situation,” Castro said. “I got to live at home, drive about 30 minutes to the park each day.”
Castro, 24, is suddenly a lot farther from home but quite a bit closer to realizing his dream of playing in the major leagues. The Minnesota Twins signed the 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-hander to a minor league contract on May 29 and assigned him to their Single-A affiliate, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
“Being given the opportunity finally is a blessing for sure,” Castro said. “It kind of came out of nowhere. Only three weeks into the season, I didn’t expect it to come that soon, but it happened. I’ve never really doubted my ability to be where I am today.”
Castro’s path to affiliated baseball was a long one. When he graduated from Neuqua Valley in 2018, he wasn’t satisfied with the college offers he received, so he played one season of junior college ball at Parkland.
From there, Castro pitched for three seasons, mostly in relief, for Purdue, graduating in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. He then transferred to Tulane, which used him as a starter, and he got a master’s degree in sports studies.
Being in the rotation suits Castro.
“I felt way more comfortable in that situation, just knowing when you’re going to pitch and being able to structure your week around that,” he said. “I thought that helped, having control of the game instead of coming into a crazy situation.”
Castro is off to a good start with Fort Myers. After two appearances, he was 1-0 with one save in five scoreless innings, having allowed two hits and one walk while striking out eight.
Castro said he can throw four pitches: a fastball in the 92-95 mph range, a change-up, a sweeping slider and a cutter. He’s working on his mechanics to unlock even more velocity.
“(The Twins) really like the cutter and change-up and just the ability to attack the strike zone,” Castro said. “They want me to improve on and solidify how to use my pitches to the best of my ability.”
Castro was a part of some great teams at Neuqua Valley. He beat Naperville Central in a Class 4A regional championship game during his sophomore year. The Wildcats went 35-2-1 and reached a 4A supersectional during his junior year and then went 32-4 when he was a senior.
Neuqua Valley coach James Thornton was an assistant at the time under Robin Renner, who retired the same year Castro graduated.
“I’ve been coaching high school baseball for 26 years, and he was a part of probably one of the best classes that I’ve ever seen,” Thornton said. “We had 12 seniors that year, and Ricky was the only one who went the junior college route. Ricky took a chance on himself, and it paid off.”
Renner said he knew Castro would have success in college but didn’t foresee him playing professional baseball.
“I always told the guys, ‘If you really love the game, make them tear the jersey off your back. Make them tell you you can’t play anymore,’” Renner said. “And Ricky must have took that to heart because he’s still playing, and God bless him. He persevered.”
Renner loved having Castro on the team.
“He was very coachable,” Renner said. “He was a great listener and a great worker. That’s a good combination.
“He wanted it so badly. He did everything he could possibly do to make himself the best player he possibly could.”
Castro said he learned how to be part of a winning team at Neuqua Valley.
“Neuqua was such a fun time,” he said. “The team culture and energy was always positive. Just the friendships I’ve made and the memories of all those guys will last forever.”
Making the majors has been a longtime dream for Castro.
“It’s crazy to think of how close you are sometimes,” he said. “My coach at the Slammers had a great point, saying a lot of us are one or two adjustments away from getting to where we want to be.
“That puts hope in me for sure. It’s just dialing in a few things and being consistent with what you do.”
Thornton attended a going-away party the night before Castro left for Florida.
“I had him sign a Twins cap,” Thornton said. “I said I want to get in on the bottom because he’s on the way up.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
