Castillo, who fired a couple of 96-mph fastballs during his Cactus League debut Monday against the Reds, is encouraged he has that level of velocity early in camp, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "It's telling me that I'm healthy," Castillo said. "We're going to continue to be in the same routine, and hopefully that velocity will keep going up."

EDGE Analysis

Castillo notably opened spring training a year ago throwing his four-seamer in the high 80s, so the increase is certainly noteworthy. The veteran right-hander, who fell just one win short of tying his career high of 15 victories last season, will once again helm the Mariners' rotation and limited Cincinnati to a walk over two hitless innings in his spring debut. Castillo plans to continue relying heavily on his fastball in 2024, considering hitters mustered just a .165 average and .384 slugging percentage against it while swinging and missing 33 percent of the time in 2023.