After missing the playoffs in his first season as skipper of the Sultanes de Monterrey, Mexican baseball legend Vinny Castilla is likely already feeling the heat.
Having selected 12 pitchers between the LAMP’s Mexican Player Draft and Foreign Player Draft, Castilla and the Sultanes management identified pitching as the weakness last season. It’d be hard to disagree, seeing as the team used 28 different hurlers over 63 games with a less-than-stellar 4.43 ERA and a team WHIP of 1.494. Three of the club’s top five starters from last year — Cristian Castillo, Jose Salas, and Francisco Rios — return from last season, but the Sultanes will feel the loss of both Edgar Torres and international journeyman Stephen Tarpley. Torres led the club with a 2.72 ERA in 43 innings over nine starts, while Tarpley brings both Major League Baseball and LIDOM experience.
In addition to Tarpley, the Sultanes lost outfielder Grant Witherspoon, who led the team with 11 homers and 38 RBIs in 55 games last year. Witherspoon, who reinforced the Naranjeros de Hermosillo in the playoffs, is a former Seattle Mariners prospect, was released from the Double-A Arkansas Travelers in June.
The Sultanes produced runs at a 4.06/game clip last year, a number that put them third in the league behind Jalisco and Hermosillo, so Witherspoon’s production will be missed. If Monterrey can produce at the same rate offensively and strengthen the pitching staff, a playoff spot is more likely than not, though it’s certainly far more ignominious to miss the postseason in a 10-team league with eight playoff berths than it is meritorious to make it.
Should the Sultanes slide early, Castilla might be booking a flight home to Oaxaca.
Manager – Vinny Castilla (2nd Season, 26-37 Career)
2023-24 Record – 26-37, 9th Overall
2003-24 Playoff Results – Did Not Qualify
First Game – Friday, October 11 vs. Aguilas de Mexicali – 9:30 p.m. EDT
Mexican Player Draft Selections (Position – 2024 Team/League)
Number indicates round in which player was selected
1. Alexis Gallegos (P – San Francisco Giants/MLB)
2. Juan Carlos Garcia (P – St. Louis Cardinals/MLB)
3. Luis Angel Valerio (P – Saraperos de Saltillo/LMB)
4. Jose Angel Delgado (P – Diablos Rojos del Mexico/LMB)
5. Cesar Mendoza (C – Free Agent)
6. Mario Garcia Rivera (P – Rieleros de Aguascalientes/LMB)
7. Emilio Payro (P – Toros de Tijuana/LMB)
8. Deibi Chavez (P – Sultanes de Monterrey/LMB)
9. Jose Manuel Orozco (OF – Caliente de Durango/LMB)
10. Miguel Esparza (P – Free Agent)
Foreign Player Draft Selections (Position – 2024 Team or MLB Organization/League)
Number indicates round in which player was selected
1. Ralph Garza (P – Toros de Tijuana/LMB)
2. Sam Clay (P – Olmecas de Tabasco/LMB)
3. Vladimir Gutierrez (P – Pericos de Puebla/LMB)
4. Allen Hanson (IF – Conspiradores de Queretaro/LMB)
5. Austin Hansen (P – Charros de Jalisco/LMB)
6. Phillip Evans (IF – Toros de Tijuana/LMB)
7. Tanner Anderson (P – Sultanes de Monterrey/LMB)
Photo: Vinny Castilla, shown here celebrating Team Mexico’s 5-4 win in the 2023 World Baseball Classic Quarterfinal game against Team Puerto Rico, is entering his second season managing the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
