This past winter, the Toronto Blue Jays released <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2020/bluejays/">former top prospect</a> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=decast000rik">Rikelbin De Castro</a>, a shortstop by trade who joined the organization as an international free agent in 2019.
The 21-year-old is now playing again and doing so on Canadian soil, with the Hamilton Cardinals of the Intercounty Baseball League <a href="https://www.iblcardinals.ca/news/cardinals-sign-former-blue-jay-prospect-rikelbin-d">announcing</a> late last month that they signed the infielder to a contract for the 2024 campaign.
Through three seasons in the Jays minor league system (the 2020 campaign was cancelled due to COVID-19), De Castro posted a .187/.287/.277 slash line with 86 hits and 57 walks through 139 games split between the Florida Complex League and single-A Dunedin. He finished his Blue Jays career with 20 doubles, three triples, and five home runs to the tune of 55 RBIs and a .564 OPS.
Having never suited up for the Dominican Summer League, a normal route for international prospects who sign at a young age like De Castro, the Jays aggressively moved him stateside in 2021 to play rookie ball &#8211; suiting up against players who were on average two years older than the Jays prospect.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The Hamilton Cardinals are pleased to announce they have signed former Toronto Blue Jays infield prospect Rikelbin De Castro.
De Castro is 21 years old and was the top signing in the Toronto Blue Jays&#39; 2019 international free agent class.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HamiltonCardinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HamiltonCardinals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HamOnt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HamOnt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hamilton?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hamilton</a> <a href="https://t.co/NM838mGHjp">pic.twitter.com/NM838mGHjp</a>
&mdash; Hamilton Cardinals (@HamCardinalsIBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/HamCardinalsIBL/status/1817381691444605083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Defensively, De Castro spent most of his time at shortstop (710 innings) while playing intermittently at second base (401 innings) throughout his minor league career. He posted a .927 and a .994 fielding percentage respectively.
De Castro has appeared in four games for Hamilton since his signing and has collected seven hits through 20 at-bats (.350) while adding a stolen base. He also has two doubles and three RBIs with three runs on record &#8211; including a four-hit performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs back on July 31st.
The Cardinals currently sit fifth in the IBL standings with a 16-20 record and are looking to win their first championship since 1978, the last and only time the Jack and Lynne Dominico Cup was lifted at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium.

This past winter, the Toronto Blue Jays released <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2020/bluejays/">former top prospect</a> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=decast000rik">Rikelbin De Castro</a>, a shortstop by trade who joined the organization as an international free agent in 2019.

The 21-year-old is now playing again and doing so on Canadian soil, with the Hamilton Cardinals of the Intercounty Baseball League <a href="https://www.iblcardinals.ca/news/cardinals-sign-former-blue-jay-prospect-rikelbin-d">announcing</a> late last month that they signed the infielder to a contract for the 2024 campaign.

Through three seasons in the Jays minor league system (the 2020 campaign was cancelled due to COVID-19), De Castro posted a .187/.287/.277 slash line with 86 hits and 57 walks through 139 games split between the Florida Complex League and single-A Dunedin. He finished his Blue Jays career with 20 doubles, three triples, and five home runs to the tune of 55 RBIs and a .564 OPS.

Having never suited up for the Dominican Summer League, a normal route for international prospects who sign at a young age like De Castro, the Jays aggressively moved him stateside in 2021 to play rookie ball - suiting up against players who were on average two years older than the Jays prospect.

https://twitter.com/HamCardinalsIBL/status/1817381691444605083

Defensively, De Castro spent most of his time at shortstop (710 innings) while playing intermittently at second base (401 innings) throughout his minor league career. He posted a .927 and a .994 fielding percentage respectively.

De Castro has appeared in four games for Hamilton since his signing and has collected seven hits through 20 at-bats (.350) while adding a stolen base. He also has two doubles and three RBIs with three runs on record - including a four-hit performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs back on July 31st.

The Cardinals currently sit fifth in the IBL standings with a 16-20 record and are looking to win their first championship since 1978, the last and only time the Jack and Lynne Dominico Cup was lifted at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium.

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