Nick Castellanos

Nicholas Alexander Castellanos (born March 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder and third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.

In the 2009 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game, played at Wrigley Field, he scored three runs, had four doubles and three RBIs, winning Most Valuable Player honors.

The Sun-Sentinel named Castellanos the Class 6A-5A-4A Player of the Year.

Castellanos played for the United States national baseball team for individuals 18 years of age and under in the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships, in which he batted .356 with six doubles and nine RBIs, leading all players with 14 runs scored, as the team won the gold medal.

Castellanos was named to the All-Tournament team.

He committed to attend the University of Miami on a baseball scholarship.

He intended to play college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Drafted out of high school in 2010 by the Detroit Tigers, Castellanos became one of the top prospects in baseball.

The Detroit Tigers selected Castellanos in the second round, with the 44th overall pick, in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft.

He was rated by Baseball America as the third best power hitting prospect and fourteenth best overall prospect prior to the draft.

He slipped because of his commitment to the University of Miami.

He signed with the Tigers, receiving a $3.45 million signing bonus, the highest bonus at that point ever given to a player taken after the first round.

The deal was almost invalidated, as the Tigers' email to the office of the Commissioner of Baseball was not received until three minutes after the midnight deadline on August 15, 2010; a text message about the deal to the Commissioner's Office received at 11:59 convinced the Commissioner to approve the deal.

Though Castellanos played shortstop in high school, the Tigers shifted him to third base as a professional.

Castellanos appeared in seven games for the Gulf Coast Tigers of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League that season.

Before the 2011 season, Baseball America rated Castellanos as the 65th best prospect in baseball.

He played for the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Class-A Midwest League.

With the Whitecaps, Castellanos batted .312 with seven home runs and 76 RBIs, leading the Midwest League with 158 hits and being named the Tigers' minor league position player of the year.

Castellanos appeared in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game and was named its most valuable player.

Prior to the 2012 season, Baseball America ranked him as the second best prospect in the organization and 45th best in baseball.

The Tigers invited Castellanos to spring training in 2012, and expected to assign him to either the Class-A Advanced Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League or the Class-AA Erie SeaWolves of the Eastern League.

Castellanos began the 2012 season with Class-A Lakeland.

He was named the Tigers' minor league player of the month of May 2012.

After he batted .402 with 32 RBIs in 55 games for Lakeland, the Tigers promoted Castellanos to Erie on June 4.

Appearing in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game, Castellanos hit a three-run home run, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

He batted .264 with Erie that year.

Castellanos was blocked at third base by Miguel Cabrera and at first base by Prince Fielder.

He made his MLB debut with the Tigers on September 1, 2013.

In 2019, the Tigers traded Castellanos to the Chicago Cubs.

Before the 2020 season, he signed a four-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds.

In 2021, he was selected to play in the All-Star Game, won the Silver Slugger Award, and was named to the All-MLB Second Team.

Following the end of the 2021 season, he opted out of his contract with the Reds and then signed a five-year contract with the Phillies.

Castellanos was raised by his parents, Michelle and Jorge, in South Florida.

He is of Cuban descent through his father.

His mother's family is based in Michigan.

Castellanos attended the American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida, where he played for the school's baseball team.

American Heritage won the Florida state championship in his sophomore year.

Castellanos transferred to Archbishop McCarthy High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before his junior year.

He was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Florida after finishing his senior season with a .542 batting average, 34 runs scored, 41 runs batted in (RBIs) and 22 stolen bases while leading his team to the Class 4A state championship.