Arizona Fall League All-Star game to feature multiple Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays will see some of their top prospects in action this Saturday in the Arizona Fall League All-Star game as right-hander’s Brent Honeywell and Diego Castillo are scheduled to pitch, per Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Honeywell, 21, has made four AFL appearances for the Peoria Javelines. The Rays’ second-round pick from 2014 started out rocky, allowing eight earned runs in his first 4 ¹⁄₃ innings in the AFL. However, he has rebounded to not allow a run in seven innings over his last two outings.

The Rays’ No.2 prospect, according to MLB.com and Baseball America, is coming off a three-inning start last Saturday in which he allowed three hits, no runs, and struck out three. The Walters State Community College product is regarded as the top pitching prospect in Tampa Bay’s system; he went 7-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 20 starts (115 ¹⁄₃ innings) last season.

Castillo, 22, owns a 1.23 ERA in five AFL appearances, including a 1-0 record. He has punched out seven batters in 7 ¹⁄₃ innings — his last appearance came on October 27 when he tossed a 1 ¹⁄₃ innings of scoreless ball. Castillo is not listed among the team’s top 30 prospects by MLB.com, but has shades of Archer to his approach.

Sandberg, 38, is the manager of the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls. A former third baseman for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he hit 25 home runs over parts of three seasons from 2001-03. Since 2008, he has taken over several managerial roles in the Rays system.