Cuban Rusney Castillo puts on show at showcase for scouts

Rusney Castillo could be the latest Cuban defector to become an instant superstar in the major leagues, following in the footsteps of Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu. Castillo held a showcase for major league scouts in Miami Saturday, emphasis on “show.”

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Per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, Castillo showed “impressive power and speed” in front of almost 100 MLB talent evaluators. The bidding for Castillo could drive his price above the $42 million the Dodgers paid Yasiel Puig two years ago when he came out of Cuba.

Castillo is wasting no time getting his business squared away, having already signed on with CAA and Roc Nation Sports, the agency owned by Jay-Z. A rep for CAA believes we won’t have to wait long to see Castillo on the field.

"“I think he could be impacting a team this summer,” said Brodie Van Wagenen, head of the baseball division at Creative Artists Agency, which teams with Roc Nation for Roc Nation Sports. “We’re coming up on the trade deadline. I think a lot of teams may view this player as a trade-deadline-type acquisition, and that he could be playing in a pennant race in September.”"

The Yankees reportedly had four scouts at Castillo’s showcase and the Red Sox had five. In all, 28 of the 30 MLB teams were on hand to view Castillo.

Some of Castillo’s BP home runs reportedly cleared scoreboards deep beyond the outfield wall, and one landed in a parking garage. After the way Puig and Abreu have performed, you have to believe Castillo is about to get paid.

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