SURPRISE, AZ - David Lough, perhaps the most impressive Kansas City Royals position prospect to wear a Naturals uniform, departed the Arizona Fall League without suiting up for the Surprise Rafters.Lough's departure was necessitated by a hamstring injury, according to the Kansas City Star. Naturals fans may remember that a similar injury cost fellow prospect Jordan Parraz a portion of the 2009 season, but, with an off-season ahead of him to recover, Lough should be ready to go when minor leaguers report to spring training in March.
His departure has created an opportunity for Naturals' outfielder Jarrod Dyson, who came over to fill Lough's spot upon completion of the Royals' Surprise-based Instructional League. Dyson has appeared in four games this far and is 5-for-20. Dyson reportedly was one of the most impressive players for the Royals at Instructional League, which wrapped up about a week ago.
Aaron Crow, the Royals' first-round pick in June's draft, was regarded as by far the most polished pitcher, and he too was shifted to the Fall League after Instructional League wrapped up. Crow was ranked as the top righthander available in the 2008 draft after his junior season at Missouri, where he earned first team All-America honors after posting a 12-0 record and a 2.56 ERA. He failed to come to terms with the Washington Nationals at the signing deadline after being drafted as their first round selection in '08 and wound up pitching 17 innings for the Fort Worth Cats of the independent American Association, where he fanned 17 batters and was 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA.
After reporting to the Royals complex in Surprise in September, Crow pitched in four instructional league games, working on all four of his pitches (fastball, sinker, slider and changeup). He told Baseball America earlier this week that his fastball touched 95 and was generally around his normal working velocity of 92-93 mph. Crow is set to make his first start for Surprise on Wednesday, and will probably make three starts in the AFL. As a member of the Royals' 40-man roster, he'll report in February to Major League Spring Training, where many observers see Crow on the fast track, bypassing the lower level clubs and receiving an opening day roster spot in Northwest Arkansas, where his stay may be short.
Amongst other Royals' farmhands with Surprise, Naturals infielder Jeff Bianchi had a big week for the Rafters. His three-run homer off Springfield's Scott Gorgen, helped the Rafters pull within one run in a 7-6 loss to the Phoenix Desert Dogs on Tuesday. Phoenix's starter was none other than Stephen Strasburg, the first overall pick from the 2009 draft. The highly-touted Strasburg turned in his best professional start, allowing just one hit and fanning five over 4 1/3 innings. Bianchi is now second on the Rafters with nine RBI, tied with teammate Mike Moustakas, who had a relatively quiet week at the plate and is now at .243 in 37 at-bats in the AFL.
Royals' pitching prospects have been fairly solid in the AFL. Blake Wood blanked the Peoria Saguaros for three innings, allowing four hits and fanning two in his second AFL start. The relievers have been busy, as Aaron Hartsock pitched three times this week, allowing two runs over three innings. Hartsock's ERA now stands at 3.38 over five outings. Brandon Sisk, a left-handed relief prospect who spent 2009 alongside Moustakas with Advanced Class-A Wilmington, has been impressive in his four outings, allowing just one run in five innings of work. Naturals' lefty Ben Swaggerty struggled in last Wednesday evening's appearance, getting tagged for four earned runs in an inning, but rebounded with a scoreless inning against Mesa on Saturday. The Rafters are 7-6 and one game out of first place.
Juan Abreu is the lone Natural on the mound in the Dominican Winter League. Abreu will be working on controlling his electric fastball with Águilas Cibaeñas in Santiago, and has turned in two scoreless appearances thus far, not allowing a hit nor a walk in two innings. Aguilas, the second-most winning team in Dominican history, has posted a 3-5 record in their first eight games. Fellow Royals' farmhand Eduardo Paulino, who was teammates with Abreu at Advanced Class-A Wilmington and led the Blue Rocks with ten victories during the 2009 season, has tossed three scoreless relief outings for his team, Tigres de Licey (Licey Tigers). The 24-year old starting pitcher could be a candidate to make the jump to Northwest Arkansas at some point in 2010. Former Naturals slugger Juan Richardson is with Estrellas de Oriente in San Pedro de Macoris. He's batting .233 with three RBI in nine games. Richardson missed most of 2009 after getting injured early in the season with the Wichita Wingnuts of the independent American Association.
Several current and former Naturals are playing winter ball in Venezuela. Chris Nicoll is with Caribes de Anzoategui (Puerto La Cruz, Ven.). Nicoll allowed just one run in his first start, but was roughed up in his second start, when he allowed five runs over two-plus innings to Aragua, a team filled with several players Minnesota Twins farmhands. Manny Pina, who was on the disabled list and never suited up for the Naturals after being traded on September 3rd from the Rangers' organization, is 3-for-9 in five games for Tiburones de La Guaira (La Guaira Sharks).
Jose Duarte and Mario Lisson are both back with Leones de Caracas. Duarte has had the hot bat of late and now is batting .348 with five RBI and three steals in 46 at-bats. Duarte had five runs scored in the past week and has now scored 13 over 16 games while seeing most of his action defensively in right field. Lisson has one hit in three at-bats and did not play in the past week as Leones didn't lose in the past week, remaining in first place with a 13-3 start. Leones is the Venezuelan Winter Baseball powerhouse; they possess 16 championship titles, the most in the league. Lisson and Duarte are teammates on Leones with former Tulsa Drillers starter and Colorado Rockies prospect Jhoulys Chacin, who started last Friday.
Federico Castaneda has joined on with his Mexican Winter League team, Tomateros de Culiacan (Culiacan Tomato Growers). He pitched for the first time on Tuesday, tossing a scoreless inning. Castaneda's teammates include Midland RockHounds starter Arnold Leon, who preceded Castaneda from Culiacan's bullpen in their 12-5 win over Mexicali. Culiacan's off to a 3-8 start in the league.
The Puerto Rican Winter League is the lone international loop that has yet to begin play; it starts on November 12th. All the international winter leagues wrap up later in the winter with the top winter teams from the Latin American countries competing against one another in the Caribbean Series, an elimination-style tournament. The series runs during the first week of February and is televised nationally on the MLB Network, providing fans a great chance to see minor league players on a big stage in an electric atmosphere of international competition. MLB Network (Channel 128 on Cox Digital in Northwest Arkansas) will also air the AFL's league championship on November 21st as well as the Rising Stars game on November 7th. Check nwanaturals.com weekly for updates on Arizona Fall League action as well as other Naturals playing winter ball.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. The 2010 season begins on Thursday, April 8th. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.
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