Castillo to right

Dejan Kovacevic anticipates a big year from Jose Castillo.

Management appears to want to keep Castillo from getting too comfortable.

He was assigned to Caracas of the Venezuelan winter league with specific instruction to hit more to right field, the opposite way for him and the way the Pirates believe would be best to fulfill his power potential. Again, he exceeded expectations by hitting .364 with 10 home runs in 54 games. His average ranked second in the league, as did his .598 slugging percentage.

On top of that, he fulfilled the Pirates' order to hit to right.

"It felt like everything I was hitting in winter ball was going to right field, even the home runs," Castillo said. "It felt easy."

Had they kept Castillo in the minors last year, he'd be a much-ballyhooed Top Prospect this year. That's my guess.