The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired utilityman Tim Locastro from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, and after a solid 2016 season he began the 2017 season with Double-A Tulsa.
The 2013 13th round pick of the Blue Jays was not expected to figure into the Major League picture in 2017, but after a very productive minor league season, he wound up being called up to the Major League team at the end of September as the team was evaluating the speedster as a possible pinch runner on their postseason roster.
Locastro made his Major League debut on Sept. 29 as a pinch runner for Corey Seager in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies and finished out the game in left field. He then pinch ran again the next day and stole third base for his first career Major League steal.
The day after that he recorded his first big league at-bat, popping up to second base off Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino. While the front office and manager Dave Roberts put a lot of consideration into putting Locastro on the National League Division Series roster against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they wound up going with an extra pitcher in Pedro Baez so Locastro was left off.
Locastro played 96 games with Tulsa on the season and hit .285/.366/.429 with eight home runs, 33 RBIs, 69 runs scored and 22 stolen bases in 29 attempts. He then got called up to Triple-A Oklahoma City where he slashed .388/.443/.544 with two home runs and 12 stolen bases in 14 opportunities in 31 games.
Overall between the two levels, he hit .308/.383/.454 with 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, 87 runs and 34 stolen bases in 127 games, which is a very productive minor league season.
2017 Highlight:
Locastro’s highlight has to be getting called up to the big leagues on Sept. 29, considering he was resting at home getting ready for the 2018 season at the time he got the call. Picking up his first Major League stolen base also has to be considered one of his best highlights.
2018 Outlook:
After his productive 2017 season, and given the Dodgers lack of organizational speed, Locastro should get an opportunity to be in big league camp during Spring Training. It’s unlikely that he makes the 25-man roster out of camp, but his speed and versatility certainly help his chances of being called up at some point in 2018.
