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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Miguel Castro runs conditioning drills during morning workouts at Bobby Mattick Training Center.Tommy Gilligan

At six foot five, Miguel Castro is hard to miss at the Toronto Blue Jays' spring training camp.

The spindly Dominican right-hander uncoils like a praying mantis on the mound. And he throws smoke.

The first time Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos saw him pitch, for Class-A Vancouver, he thought the speed gun was broken because it kept showing 98 miles per hour.

"I literally said 'Hey, is something wrong with the gun? Is it frozen?"' Anthopoulos said.

Having just turned 20 in December, Castro is very much a work in progress. But the fact he has control to go with that speed has Anthopoulos enthusing. The GM says the young pitcher may not have great command in terms of where he hits the glove. But he finds the strike zone.

"Any young player, there's risk," Anthopoulos said. "But young players that control the strike zone have a much better chance, and young starters and relievers that throw strikes have a pretty good chance to survive up here. I'd say nine times out of 10, the reason guys get sent down is because they can't throw strikes."

Castro is listed at 190 pounds but looks 20 pounds lighter. While there isn't much meat on the bone, it doesn't seem to be a problem. His fast ball has been clocked at 102 m.p.h., according to Anthopoulos.

Josh Thole, who caught Castro's bullpen session Tuesday, was impressed by what he saw.

"The way that he commanded his pitches, that's what impressed me more than anything," said Thole. "Not that he throws 100 (m.p.h.) or what not, but throwing a breaking ball and not just throwing it but knowing what he wants to do with it. And when he did make a mistake with it, you could see him making the adjustment on the next pitch. And that shows a lot about a pitcher, about who he is."

Castro throws a fastball, slider and change-up.

"You have a three-pitch pitcher like that, who throws that hard and knows what he's doing, those guys are special," Thole said.

Baseball America lists Castro ninth among Jays' prospects.

"Right now if the season was to start today, he'd be down here in the Florida State League but that's not to say that he can't come (up) quick," said Anthopoulos.

"A longshot to make the team but we wouldn't close the door on anything," he added.

After seeing Castro last year in Vancouver, an impressed Anthopoulos called Ismael Cruz, the Jays' director of Latin American scouting.

"I said 'You just paid for your salary for the next 10 years because that's a great sign."'

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