When Joey Castellanos first stepped onto St. Mary’s Tamblyn Field as a freshman, no one saw a cleanup hitter.
“When Joey came in, he looked small,” said St. Mary baseball coach Dennis Hulse. “He was a skinny kid, not very athletic. But he worked hard.”
Two years and countless hours in the gym later, Castellanos has morphed into a regular RBI machine. His 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame may not look like the stuff cleanup hitters are made of, but Castellanos can hit the ball into the outfield gaps with authority, emerging as one of North Jersey’s premier run producers.
He goes into the weekend with a North Jersey-best 33 RBI, and is very much in the conversation for The Record baseball Player of the Year honors as the all-important tournament season gets ready to kick off.
“I’m not really a big kid, and honestly, at times I don’t feel like a cleanup hitter,” Castellanos said before Friday’s practice. “It’s my teammates, the ones hitting in front of me, who put me in situations where I can produce.
“But there are times I do feel like a cleanup hitter. I just see myself as more of a contact hitter, putting the ball in the gap.”
The shortstop, who doesn’t play any other sports, put in a lot of extra time in the gym in the off-season, and worked out with the St. Mary basketball team until baseball started. Hulse started having his players do weight training two days a week during the season, and that has all contributed to Castellanos’ growth as a hitter.
“There’s no question he’s more confident,” said Hulse, whose Gaels (14-5) are ranked No. 5 in The Record baseball Top 25. “He’s gotten so much stronger and quicker because of all the work he has put in.
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