ATHENS, Ga. --- Former University of Georgia All-America pitcher Joshua Fields has been selected to play in the fourth annual Arizona Fall League Rising Stars game Saturday in Phoenix.

The contest will be nationally televised for the first time by MLB Network and online via MLB.com starting at 8:15 p.m. ET. The showcase game features current AFL participants selected by scouting and Minor League directors from every organization, along with input from AFL executive director Steve Cobb.

The Rising Stars Showcase matches prospects from each Major League Baseball organization in an AFL East Division against West Division format. All 30 organizations will be represented in the game. Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick in last June's Draft, is slated to start Saturday's showcase. He is one of six 2009 first-round picks scheduled to be at the game.

The 6-0, 185-pound Fields was a first round pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2008 after a stellar career for the Bulldogs. Fields was an integral part of two College World Series teams including the 2008 squad that advanced to the CWS Finals. He was named the 2008 National Closer of the Year and finished his career with a Bulldog record 41 saves.

Currently in AFL action, he is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six games for the Peoria Javelinas. He has pitched six innings and allowed four hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Fields spent the 2009 season in Double-A with West Tennessee.

Several major-league standouts appeared in the first three Rising Stars games including former Bulldog Gordon Beckham (White Sox), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox), Yunel Escobar (Braves), Tommy Hanson (Braves), Phil Hughes (Yankees), Jed Lowrie (Red Sox), Daniel Murphy (Mets) and Hunter Pence (Astros).

Here is a link to the 2009 AFL Rising Stars Showcase Rosters.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/rising_stars.jsp

The six-team Arizona Fall League continues play through November 19. The league championship game will be held November 21 at 2:35 p.m. ET at Scottsdale Stadium. It also will be televised by MLB Network and online via MLB.com. Each August, Major League clubs hold a position draft to determine the players who will go play in the AFL. Most are Double-A and Triple-A Minor League players and are close to being regulars in the Major Leagues.

For current Arizona Fall League information, including pitch-by-pitch gamecasts, visit www.mlbfallball.com. Also fans can follow the Fall League through Twitter (MLBazFallLeague) and Facebook.