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Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 190 lb. Born: March 24, 1990 in Monte Cristi, Monte Cristi, D.R.
Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent in 2006.

Starlin Castro signed with the Chicago Cubs as a 16 year-old in 2006.  He was a relative unknown in the system outside of Cubs circles during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, playing in the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona Rookie League.  Heading into 2009, Castro was expected to take a step up and anchor shortstop for Class-A Peoria.  However, he was so good during Spring Training that the Cubs jumped him up to Daytona.  For the D-Cubs, Castro hit 3 homers with 32 RBI, with 17 doubles and 22 stolen bases in 96 games before finishing the year with Double-A Tennessee.  The then-teenager hit a shade under .300 in 31 games for a Ryne Sandberg-led Smokies team that advanced to the Southern League Championship series.  He also represented the Cubs in the 2009 Futures Game as part of the All-Star festivities.  Prior to 2010, Castro was ranked as the Cubs top prospect according to Baseball America. He got off to a red-hot start with the Smokies in the first month of the season, prompting a callup to the big league club on May 7.  That day, Castro separated himself from every player in the history of Major League Baseball, driving in an all-time record for a debut 6 runs.  He homered in his first at-bat, going 2-for-5 in total for the night at Cincinnati.  The youngest player in baseball, Castro went on to finish 10th in the NL with a .300 average, becoming the first Cubs rookie to bat .300 or better since 1974.  Defensively, he commited a whopping 27 errors in just 123 games but did have a range factor of 4.20, fourth in NL.  The aggregate statistics led to a fifth-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting.  In 2011, Castro re-established himself as a star, collecting an NL leading 207 hits while posting a .307/.341/.432/.773 line with 36 doubles, nine triples, 10 homers, 66 RBI and 22 stolen bases.  He represented the Cubs in the 2011 All-Star Game and the Cubs expect him to take yet another step to stardom in 2012.