Former Belmont Abbey Second Baseman Alex Castellanos Promoted To Los Angeles Dodgers

Castellanos Is Just Second Abbey Player To Reach Big Leagues And First In 79 Years

Photo Courtesy Of Los Angeles Dodgers

Former Belmont Abbey second baseman Alex Castellanos (2007-08) was promoted to the Los Angeles Dodgers from Triple-A Albuquerque after an injury to All-Star outfielder Matt Kemp forced him to the Disabled List.

Castellanos is just Belmont Abbey’s second Major League player and the first in 79 years. The previous Crusader Major League player was Hal Haid, who pitched one game (two innings) for the St. Louis Browns on September 5, 1919 and was then sent back to the minors. He returned to Major League Baseball in 1928, where he enjoyed a six year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves and the Chicago White Sox. Haid was a student at Belmont Abbey when it was prep school in the early 1900s.

In 22 games with Albuquerque, Castellanos is hitting .379 with 19 extra base hits (10 doubles, four triples and five home runs) with 20 runs scored and 14 RBI. He also stole nine bases in 11 attempts. He was sidelined for a month with a hamstring injury, but in the four games since his return to the lineup, he finished 7-16 with three doubles and a home run.

Castellanos began spring training in February with the parent club as a non-roster invitee and was sent to the minor league camp after several weeks.

A native of Miami, Florida, Castellanos was a tenth round selection, 305th overall, of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2008 Major League Draft. He was the first Belmont Abbey player to be drafted since 1972, when Henry Holmes was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round.

Castellanos enjoyed a three-and-a-half year career in the Cardinals organization before he was traded to the Dodgers for Rafael Furcal on July 31, 2011 in a trade deadline deal. At the time of his trade, Castellanos was hitting .319 for the Cardinals' Double-A Texas League team in Springfield, Missouri.

Since the trade to the Dodgers, he has 41 extra base hits (24 doubles, eight triples and 9 home runs) in 54 minor league games.

As a draft-eligible sophomore in 2008, Castellanos was an all-region selection, as he finished the season with a .390 average with an NCAA Division II leading 31 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 54 runs batted in. In his two year career, he slugged 53 doubles, 28 home runs and drove in 103 runs. He was an All-America and all-region selection in 2007.