Bernstein: What’s Wrong With Starlin Castro?

(CBS) Starlin Castro is headed in the wrong direction.

It doesn’t take any kind of experienced scout to see outs being made, or any kind of analytical wizard to see month-by-month batting numbers sliding into frightening territory.

In March/April, Castro batted .333 with a .351 on-base percentage. In May, those numbers were .304/.311. June, .264/.302, July, .235/.279, and so far in August he’s at .180/.255. That’s uninterrupted decline in both categories. His OPS has sunk markedly each month, and now hovers at a career-low .714.

It’s not like he’s wilting under the pressure of a pennant race, either, as the new regime’s tear-down season has everyone thinking only about development. All that is being asked of the Cubs’ crop of young players is to use this major-league time to get better, and one of their top talents is seemingly getting worse.

There are no easy answers, but Castro’s lack of patience at the plate is obvious, and it’s exactly the wrong problem to have under bosses who value long plate appearances and deep counts, and understand that the game is about not making outs. Castro leads the NL in outs made, as he did last season. There are factors that mitigate such a dubious-sounding achievement – producing runs when not out, specifically – but those are lacking in his case, currently. "

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