Nick Castellanos left the Detroit Tigers with little choice but to promote him to Double-A Erie after tearing up the Florida State League in the first two months of the season.

In his first game at the new level, MLB.com's No. 45 prospect picked up right where he left off.

Castellanos went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in his first Eastern League appearance as the SeaWolves blanked the Trenton Thunder, 5-0, on Tuesday.

Playing third base and batting cleanup, the 20-year-old singled off third baseman Kevin Mahoney's glove in the first inning. He advanced to second on Jordan Lennerton's groundout, but he was thrown out at home by center fielder Abraham Almonte when he tried to score on Rawley Bishop's base hit up the middle.

Castellanos, selected 44th overall in the 2010 Draft, then grounded out to shortstop to end the third inning before plating Corey Jones on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right field in the fifth. In the eighth, Castellanos laced a double to center field to put runners on the corners, but he was erased on a fielder's choice.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done," Castellanos told the Erie Times-News before Tuesday's game. "If I'm struggling, I'm not going to kill myself. If I have a three-hit night or a four-hit night, I'm not going to hit the brakes. I have another game [to prepare for] the next night."

Prior to his callup, Florida native Castellanos -- ranked second on Detroit's top prospects list -- was leading all Minors hitters with a .405 average in 55 games with the Class A Advanced Flying Tigers.

"He is hitting .400 at this time, and we felt it was the right time to move him," Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski told MLive.com in a text message Tuesday. "He is ready for the next challenge."

On Tuesday, Erie left-hander Ramon Garcia (4-4) scattered four hits and two walks over eight shutout innings and Austin Wood fanned a pair over a perfect inning of relief. Shortstop Niuman Romero went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the win, while left fielder Rawley Bishop was 2-for-3 with a solo homer -- his fourth longball of the year.

Trenton starter Brett Marshall fell to 6-3 after allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four batters over six innings. Left fielder Jose Pirela went 2-for-4 as the only Thunder batter to reach base more than once.