For Luis Castillo, an All-Star berth is just step one en route to the Cy Young Award

By Andrew Mearns

June 30, 2019

The 2019 All-Star Game pitchers and reserves were announced on Sunday night, and the Reds' representative was unsurprisingly one of the best young pitchers in the game: Luis Castillo. The right-hander has been a revelation in his third MLB season, notching a 2.47 ERA with 115 strikeouts in 17 starts.

It was a special moment in the Reds' clubhouse when manager David Bell announced to the team that Castillo would be heading to Cleveland:

Here is how Luis Castillo (and the rest of the guys) learned the good news before Sunday's win.#LaPiedra ? #BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/NA2UPo14j6
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 30, 2019

Everyone around Castillo was quite thrilled for him, but for Castillo himself, this All-Star selection is just the beginning.

His true dream is to become the National League Cy Young Award winner:

Luis Castillo, the #Reds first-time All-Star, was asked what he's looking forward to next -- "Now I'm going to be looking for the Cy Young."
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) June 30, 2019

If you're a competitive athlete, you're never going to want to settle. There's always a next step to aim even higher for, and while Castillo was clearly thrilled about making the All-Star team, he's hoping for more accolades to come.

I respect it. The competition is going to be fierce, as the most recent winners, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom haven't left the spotlight. Hyun-Jin Ryu and Mike Soroka aren't going to give Castillo a clear path, either.

Given Castillo's determined nature and dynamite repertoire though, it would be a mistake to count him out of the race. When you can make the Cubs look this awkward ...