Rusney Castillo, Robby Scott named to AFL Rising Stars team

Rusney Castillo and Robby Scott have been named to the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars team according to Jon Shestakofsky:

Red Sox OF Rusney Castillo and LHP Robby Scott have been named to the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Team.

— Jon Shestakofsky (@Shesta_Sox) October 27, 2014

It's a bit of an odd pairing, to say the least. Rusney Castillo, after all, is only really playing in the AFL because he needs to get some work in after his lengthy absence from professional ball. He's a $72 million player in a league that's really focused on prospects who are still a step away from the majors. For instance, the rest of Boston's contingency includes Keith Couch, Sean Coyle, Deven Marrero, Aaron Kurcz, Madison Younginer, and the aforementioned Scott. Calling the 27-year-old Castillo a "Rising Star" feels strange in the same way that calling him a rookie will feel strange next year.

Robbie Scott, on the other hand, hasn't really drawn much attention since being signed out of an independent league back in 2011. He's moved steadily through Boston's system, throwing 60 innings of 1.96 ERA ball out of the bullpen for Portland this year, but as a soft-tossing lefty reliever he's understandably flown under the radar.

Still, Scott has performed both in the minors and in the AFL (a league notoriously hostile to pitchers), and simply by virtue of throwing left-handed Scott has some chance to stick in the future.

Also performing quite well is Deven Marrero, who has hit .323/.475/.452 in his 40-odd trips to the plate for the Surprise Saguaros. That's more than can be said for Castillo, whose performance has been rather more mundane (which, for the record, is not something to be concerned about), making the selection process for this Rising Stars team a bit of a puzzle. But...frankly, it's not one that really demands to be solved, either.