Rodolfo Castro flashes power in push to become an everyday player for the Pirates

That Rodolfo Castro made a start at shortstop Wednesday for the Pittsburgh Pirates, his first at the position in a month, was a sign he has regained the trust of the coaching staff.

That he slugged a solo home run and a two-run double in a 9-5 loss to the Oakland A’s was symbolic of why Castro is making a case to return to the Pirates’ starting lineup after being relegated to a utility role.

Castro has a .268/.360/.436 slash line with seven doubles, six homers and 21 RBIs in 56 games this season. His numbers are similar to those of outfielder/first baseman Connor Joe, who has become a regular while batting .251/.347/.474 with 14 doubles, six homers and 21 RBIs.

“As hitters, that’s what you look for — production,” Castro said, through interpreter Stephen Morales. “Home runs always are welcome. That’s not just for my personal thing; they help the team, too, when we hit a home run and drive in multiple runs. It feels good, for sure. Hopefully, more to come.”

What the Pirates would prefer to see from the switch-hitting Castro is more production from the left side of the plate, as his splits are demonstrably favorable against left-handed pitchers. Where Castro is slashing .364/.449/.712 with five doubles, six homers and 16 RBIs against lefties — including the homer and double off A’s starter Hogan Harris — he’s batting .193 against right-handed pitchers this season.

“Facing righties is just a matter of timing,” Castro said. “I’m going through a little tough time right now. I’m trying to get my timing against righties. We continue to work on it and, hopefully, we will get better at it.”

Castro took over as the starter at shortstop after Oneil Cruz fractured his left ankle April 9 but committed seven errors between April 10 and May 7. Since then, he’s committed a pair of errors, one at second base and another at third. Pirates manager Derek Shelton blamed it on Castro playing “too fast,” so he’s been working with bench coach Don Kelly and infield coach Mendy Lopez to slow down and concentrate on catching the ball. When the Pirates designated Chris Owings for assignment, Castro became the de facto backup to Tucupita Marcano at shortstop.

“We’ve seen him do it at second. We’ve seen him do it at short before, both this year and last year,” Shelton said. “I think it was just slowing down a little bit.”

Castro has been splitting time at second base with Ji Hwan Bae, who also has been playing center field more frequently of late. While the lefty-righty batting splits hurt Castro, his splits as a starter (.283/.371/.464) are far better than when coming off the bench (.091/.231/.091).

“I control what I can control,” Castro said. “I continue to work hard. I’ll be ready when that comes. Right now, I just have to earn it and continue to work, do my best out there and continue to get better. My hard work is always going to be there to try to be in the lineup every day.”

Castro also has almost as many doubles as he did in 71 games last season (eight) and is on pace for double-digit homers for the second consecutive season after hitting 11 last year, when he hit six homers over the final 31 games. Shelton was emphatic that Castro’s mishaps are correctable and more related to his youth than his ability.

“So he’s 24 years old, and, because of the fact that he’s made some young mistakes, everybody wants to cast aside that he can’t be an everyday player,” Shelton said. “But he’s 24 years old. He’s doing some really good things. He’s doing some really good things from the right side of the plate. When he’s played second, he’s been great. We have a tendency to nit-pick when he makes a mistake. But, again, he’s 24 years old. … He definitely has that ability to do that.”