Fall/Winter League Roundup: Castillo, Coyle impress early

This is the first in our series of weekly roundups of the Fall/Winter Leagues, and look for coverage to continue every Monday into January. For the full list of Red Sox prospects participating in these leagues, check out our Fall & Winter Leagues page, which will be updated continuously through January. This week's roundup covers the period of October 7-12.

Arizona Fall League

Games started on October 7, with seven prospects seeing action for the Surprise Saguaros. The biggest name this year is Rusney Castillo (pictured), who went 5 for 15 with six runs scored over three games. He also stole a base, and Keith Law of ESPN.com tweeted that he was very impressed with his defense in center field.

The middle infield of Sean Coyle and Deven Marrero has also gotten off to a hot start, with Coyle going 3 for 7 with a triple and three walks over two games, and Marrero going 2 for 6 with three runs scored, three walks, and two stolen bases over two games. The Arizona Fall League is notorious for being hitter-friendly, so do not be surprised if these strong offensive performances continue.

On the pitching side, Keith Couch gave up two runs over four innings in his first start, striking out one without walking a batter. Aaron Kurcz did not allow a hit in his two innings of relief, while walking one and striking out three. Robby Scott also threw two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts, and Madison Younginer allowed one run over two innings despite surrendering two hits and walking three.

Venezuelan Winter League

While all the Red Sox prospects are on one team in Arizona, they are spread out between a few teams in Venezuela. Playing for Lara, Carlos Rivero has only gone 3 for his first 14, but he did launch a solo home run. Heiker Meneses has also struggled, going 1 for 9 with two walks for La Guaira. Mario Martinez has had limited success so far for Margarita, going 3 for 12 with a stolen base.

Wilfredo Boscan is the lone pitcher to appear so far, giving up two runs over three innings while striking out three. 

Venezuelan Liga Paralela:

The Liga Paralela is essentially a minor league for the Venezuelan Winter League. The Red Sox have 13 players assigned to the "Boston" squad. No player has reached ten at-bats yet, but Juan Hernandez, Raiwinson Lameda, and Luis Yovera are all hitting over .300 in the early going. 

Carlos Caceres, Samir El Halaby, and Ellis Jimenez have all allowed one run in their three innings of work, while Keivin Heras was roughed up for four runs in his only inning of work.

Photo Credit: Rusney Castillo by Kelly O'Connor

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