MIAMI — Slowly but surely, Nick Castellanos is feeling like himself again. He might already be there, with the results finally showing up consistently over the last two weeks.
Castellanos homered on the first pitch he saw in his hometown Friday night, launching a solo shot to right-center field off of left-hander Trevor Rogers in an eventual 8-2 Phillies win.
He reacted similarly to last Monday in Anaheim, when he homered to a near identical spot and pointed his finger toward right-center in celebration.
When he’s going well, Castellanos’ success and swagger is like a bolt of lightning in the Phillies’ dugout. It’s not hard to see the positive energy it creates.
And he’s at his best when hitting the ball with authority the opposite way. That’s always been Castellanos’ calling card.
Many times when a player slumps, there’s no singular reason or smoking gun. Castellanos’ situation in April seems a bit different. He became obsessed with staying in the strike zone and honing in on particular spots. He got away from his strengths. He wasn’t being the Nick Castellanos that slugged his way to the major leagues, to a $100 million contract and to two All-Star teams.
“Somebody that was more patient and selective,” he said of who he was trying to become at age 32. “Somebody who was looking for this pitch in this count, and this pitcher does that. And a lot of the freedom that I would have attacking the baseball went away because my mind was working way too fast.
