2014 Arizona Fall League

[mabrowndog]

The preliminary roster is out for the Surprise Saguaros, and six Red Sox players are on it:
 
* Deven Marrero, SS (AAA)
* Sean Coyle, 2B/3B (AA)
* Keith Couch, RHSP (AA)
* Aaron Kurcz, RHRP (AA)
* Robby Scott, LHRP (AA)
* Madison Younginer, RHRP (A+)
 
BaseballAmerica has a breakdown of all AFL teams including players to watch, and on the Surprise roster they list a slot for a Boston outfielder to be named later. Additional details from SoxProspects:
 

 
...That spot could go to Rusney Castillo. When Jose Iglesias was signed in September of 2009, the Red Sox sent him to get at-bats in the AFL that fall, and this situation with Castillo is quite similar.
 
The Red Sox will likely add one or two additional players before the AFL starts, and while that outfielder mentioned before could be Castillo, Bryce Brentz our Henry Ramos would also make sense.
 
All four pitchers are eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter, and while none of them are likely to be added to the 40-man by the November 20 deadline, it is a good chance to get them more exposure, and in the case of Couch and Kurcz, get them more innings as they have both missed time this season on the disabled list.

 
As for Castillo, he'll certainly need a crapload of ABs this offseason, but I question whether playing against mostly AA and AAA guys is the best way for a guy his age to prepare for an MLB starting role. The Saguaros begin play October 7, but the four primary winter leagues kick off shortly thereafter. The Venezuelan and Mexican leagues get going later that same week, the Dominican starts 10/17, and Puerto Rico gets underway around Halloween give or take a day.
 
Since those leagues are a far higher caliber of competition, with numerous major leaguers, I'd be strongly in favor of sending him to one of the Caribbean teams instead. I suppose they could also let him play the AFL slate and then send him to winter ball (which continues through mid-January with the playoffs & Caribbean World Series stretching into early February), but then the concern might be late season burnout in the majors.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

The preliminary roster is out for the Surprise Saguaros, and six Red Sox players are on it:
 
* Deven Marrero, SS (AAA)
* Sean Coyle, 2B/3B (AA)
* Keith Couch, RHSP (AA)
* Aaron Kurcz, RHRP (AA)
* Robby Scott, LHRP (AA)
* Madison Younginer, RHRP (A+)
 
BaseballAmerica has a breakdown of all AFL teams including players to watch, and on the Surprise roster they list a slot for a Boston outfielder to be named later. Additional details from SoxProspects:
 
 
As for Castillo, he'll certainly need a crapload of ABs this offseason, but I question whether playing against mostly AA and AAA guys is the best way for a guy his age to prepare for an MLB starting role. The Saguaros begin play October 7, but the four primary winter leagues kick off shortly thereafter. The Venezuelan and Mexican leagues get going later that same week, the Dominican starts 10/17, and Puerto Rico gets underway around Halloween give or take a day.
 
Since those leagues are a far higher caliber of competition, with numerous major leaguers, I'd be strongly in favor of sending him to one of the Caribbean teams instead. I suppose they could also let him play the AFL slate and then send him to winter ball (which continues through mid-January with the playoffs & Caribbean World Series stretching into early February), but then the concern might be late season burnout in the majors.

 
Also - the Sox have indicated that they hope to get Castillo into a few MLB games this September - if that's the case I don't think he could play in the AFL could he?

 

[jscola85]

Glad to see that Coyle will get some additional PAs.  He missed basically a month of at bats this year and has scuffled a bit in August, hitting .204/.304/.408.  Still great power and good ability to draw walks, but the K rate (26% on the year) is a big concern of mine.  Some guys can live like that (ie, Adam Dunn), but most of those guys aren't 5 foot 8 inches tall.

 

[mabrowndog]

AFL Eligibility Rules
 

 
Each Major League organization is required to provide six players subject to the following requirements:

• All Triple-A and Double-A players are eligible, provided the players are on at least a Double-A level roster no later than Aug. 1.
• One player below the Double-A level is allowed per Major League team.
• One foreign player is allowed, as long as the player does not reside in a country that participates in winter ball, as part of the Caribbean Confederation or the Australian winter league.
• No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.
• To be eligible, players on Minor League disabled lists must be activated at least 45 days before the conclusion of their respective seasons.

 
Castillo can definitely play, under both the foreign player exemption and by having < 1 year of MLB service time.

 

[Fred not Lynn]

 
Also - the Sox have indicated that they hope to get Castillo into a few MLB games this September - if that's the case I don't think he could play in the AFL could he?

As far as I know, there's no rule prohibiting players who have played some MLB from playing AFL. There are several players on other rosters who have MLB experience, Wang from Milwaukee, for one.

If you're a hard core baseball addict, there's nothing cooler than Arizona Fall League. $7 Tickets, sit where ever you want, because there's only like 200 people at the game, and see the real stars of the future (Trout and Harper in the same outfield for Scottsdale in 2011, for instance.) You can't beat the experience...

 

[Granite Sox]

This may sound crazy, but is there a safety component to the decision about where to "place" Castillo?
 
On the surface, I agree with MBD about some of the Caribbean leagues and the relative strength of competition.
 
However, given that Castillo was professionally penalized by Cuba, is a recent defector (December 2013), and there are legitimate general safety concerns about playing in Venezuela (for example), could part of the calculus be that Castillo would be in a much safer spot to acclimatize right here in the US of A?
 
/Captain America

 

[Stan Papi Was Framed]

This may sound crazy, but is there a safety component to the decision about where to "place" Castillo?
 
On the surface, I agree with MBD about some of the Caribbean leagues and the relative strength of competition.
 
However, given that Castillo was professionally penalized by Cuba, is a recent defector (December 2013), and there are legitimate general safety concerns about playing in Venezuela (for example), could part of the calculus be that Castillo would be in a much safer spot to acclimatize right here in the US of A?
 
/Captain America

funny, I was wondering the same thing.  Hopefully, no issues--may his playing experience be a safe and productive one