Ramon Abraham Castro attended Vega Baja (PR) High School and became the first player from Puerto Rico ever selected in the first round of the June draft when the Astros selected him as the 17th overall pick in 1994.
2006
Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List on Aug. 4, retroactive to July 27, with a sore left rib cage...Suffered a Grade 1 strain and a torn medial meniscus of his left knee warming up prior to a rehabilitation game at Brooklyn on Aug. 21...Underwent surgery on Aug. 23 to repair the torn medial meniscus at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan...Procedure was performed by Team Physician Dr.Straun Coleman...Collected his 100th career RBI, June 18 vs. Baltimore with a solo home run off Chris Britton...Tied his career-high with a six-game hitting streak from April 13-April 30...Batted .423 (11-26) with four runs scored, three doubles, a home run and three RBIs in those games...Tied his career-high with three hits on April 26 at San Francisco... Also had three hits on April 22 at San Diego...Now has four, three-hit contests in his career...Threw out nine of 26 runners attempting to steal (35 percent).
POSTSEASON: Was on the playoff roster for the NLDS and NLCS, but did not appear in a game.
2005
Appeared in 99 games, collecting 26 runs, 51 hits, 16 doubles, eight home runs and 41 RBI, all career highs...Extended his career-high with his eighth home run of the season on September 22nd vs. Florida (off Dontrelle Willis)...Registered his career-high seventh home run of the year on August 31st vs. Philadelphia (off Brett Myers)...Collected a career-best five RBI, August 23rd at Arizona...Previously had seven games with three RBI...Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List on May 15th with a strained right quadriceps...Was reinstated on June 2nd...Stole his first Major League base, April 10th at Atlanta...Threw out 11 of 35 runners (31 percent) attempting to steal, the fifth best percentage in the National League.
2004
Left for a pinch-hitter in the second inning on June 1st vs.Cincinnati due to pain in his right big toe...Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List the next day with inflammation of the toe and was transferred to the 60-Day Disabled List on
July 31st...Did not play the rest of the season...Had surgery on August 12th to repair a tendon in his right big toe...His season ended on June 1st because of an injury to his right big toe.
2003
Began the year at Triple-A Richmond in the Atlanta Braves organization for the second consecutive season but finished
it at Double-A Greenville for the second straight year...batted a combined .250 with five home runs and 28 RBI in 99
games...the batting average including a .239 (16 for 67) mark against left handers and .253 (56 for 221) against right
handers...hit .227 (15 for 66) with runners in scoring position...appeared in 38 games at third base, 22 at shortstop,
18 at second base and one at first base...was also 1 for 11 (.091) as a pinch hitter...batted in every spot in the order
but saw most of his playing time hitting first (17 for 67, .254), second (17 for 57, .298) and ninth (8 for 57, .140)...hit
.155 (13 for 84) with no home runs and eight RBI in 33 games at Richmond...was just 3 for 33 (.091) at his home ballpark...
had just one multiple hit game, a 2 for 4 performance on April 22 at Columbus...average peaked at .169 on May
25...went 1 for 13 over his next eight games and was transferred to Greenville on June 12...batted .289 with five home
runs and 20 RBI in 66 games at Double-A...was hitting .214 (6 for 28) over his first 14 games before an eight-game
hitting streak from June 28 to July 5 (12 for 34, .353) boosted his average to .290...had no home runs in his first 59
games of 2003 before going deep twice on July 14 in a 9-4 win at Tennessee...went another 19 games before homering
three times over a 12-game span from August 9 to 22...homered in consecutive games on August 21 and 22 at
Jacksonville to begin a season-ending and season-high 10-game hitting streak (14 for 41, .341)...hit .329 (28 for 85)
with seven of his nine doubles, three of his five home runs and 10 of his 20 RBI in 26 games in August.
2002
played for three different clubs in the Atlanta farm system and combined for career highs
in batting (.287), runs (72), home runs (12), walks (56) and stolen bases (20)...ranked sixth in the Braves farm system
in batting...appeared in 63 games at shortstop and 21 each at second base and third base...was the opening day shortstop
at Triple-A Richmond but was on the disabled list from April 10 to 18 with a left ankle sprain...was assigned to
Double-A Greenville on April 18 but returned to Richmond on May 18...scored a run in 14 straight games from April
19 to May 4, the longest such streak in the minors in 2002...was second in the Southern League with a .370 batting
average when he was sent back to Richmond...homered in both ends of a May 20 doubleheader against
Rochester...was on the disabled list for the second time from June 21 to July 27 with a sprained right wrist...hit .250
(8 for 32) on a nine-game rehab assignment with the Gulf Coast Braves and was sent back to Greenville on July
27...was 4 for 6 with two home runs and five RBI on July 29 at Carolina.
2001
batted a combined .278 with seven home runs and 46 RBI in
112 games at Double-A Greenville and Triple-A Richmond...had career highs in games, at bats (396), hits (110), doubles
(27), triples (7) and RBI...his batting average ranked eighth in the Braves farm system...appeared in 91 games at
shortstop, 15 at second base and six at third base...matched his career low with 13 errors...was named Southern
League Player of the Week for the week of May 25-31...was Greenville's lone representative in the Double-A All-Star
Game at Round Rock...doubled and homered in the game...was batting .307 with six home runs and 31 RBI in 76
games at Greenville when he was promoted to Richmond on July 12...was leading the team in average and triples (5)
and was sixth in the SL in batting and fifth in slugging (.487) at the time of his promotion...ended up leading Greenville
in triples...separated his left shoulder turning a double play on August 17 against Columbus and missed the remainder
of the season.
1997
made his professional debut at Eugene of the Northwest League and hit .199 in 71 games...appeared in 69
games at shortstop.
1998
played for Eugene for the second consecutive season and batted .260 with three home
runs and 33 RBI...finished second in the Northwest League in at bats (296) and tied for third in games played (74)...led
the Emeralds in games and at bats, finished second in hits (77) and total bases (98) and tied for second in RBI...was 8
for 9 in stolen base attempts...appeared in 37 games at second base, 31 at third base and 10 at shortstop.
1999
spent the entire season with Macon of the South Atlantic League and hit .260 with three home runs and 33 RBI in 105
games...ld the team in sacrifice hits (7)...appeared in 39 games at second base, 29 at shortstop, 16 at third base, two
in left field and one in right field...also hit .258 (17 for 66) in 18 games as the designated hitter...committed a career
low 13 errors...best month of the season was April when he hit .404 (19 for 47) in 13 games...had a 10-game hitting
streak from April 22 to May 3 (18 for 37, .486)...was 4 for 4 with two walks on June 18 at Charleston,West Virginia.
2000
batted .252 with five home runs and 44 RBI in 108 games with Myrtle Beach of the Carolina League...led his
team with 12 hit by pitches...appeared in 91 games at shortstop, 11 at second base and one at first base...hit .326 (29
for 89) against left handers and .230 (68 for 296) against right handers...was 5 for 12 (.417) with the bases loaded,
including a grand slam on August 25 at Salem...was named Myrtle Beach Player of the Month in July when he hit .311
(38 for 122) with two home runs and 17 RBI in 27 games...had a 29-game errorless streak from June 11 to July
18...went 1 for 12 (.083) in three playoff games.
