The Cincinnati Reds ace Luis Castillo is moving in the right direction, and appears on track to make his MLB season debut later this month. Castillo recently threw a couple of bullpen sessions, but on Friday, he will be throwing to live hitters for the first time since being placed on the IL list prior to the start of the season.

 

The Reds ace experienced a shoulder issue and missed all of spring training because of it. Castillo has been a notoriously slow starter, typically getting roughed up the first month or two of the season. Last year was the perfect example. Through May, the Reds starter had an ERA over seven and a WHIP of 1.78. The rest of the year, he practically put up Cy Young numbers.

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Over the final four months of the season, Castillo had a 2.73 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and struck out 144 batters over 135 innings.

It has been suggested that Castillo is a warm-weather pitcher, which could explain his early-season struggles throughout his career. Seeing as he is missing the first month of the season with the shoulder issue, Castillo might be a great buy-low candidate for fantasy managers.

The Reds offense is expected to be better this year. His 8-16 record with the Reds last year is by far more of an aberration than anything. You can expect 10+ wins with a mid-3's ERA with solid strikeout numbers the rest of the year.