Hot Stove Report: Mejia Wins Venezuelan MVPAward
Published on January 12, 2010 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
SPRINGDALE, AR - First baseman Ernesto Mejia will bring some extra credentials with him when he reports to the Royals' Spring Training camp next month.
Mejia, a non-roster invitee to Royals' spring camp, has been named Most Valuable Player as well as Rookie of the Year for his performance with Aguilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. He's the first player in the league's long history to win both awards in the same season.
An imposing 6-foot-6, 235-pounder, Mejia batted .292 and led the league with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs in 57 games for Zulia during the regular winter league season. He'll report to Royals' camp in February and could find himself in the middle of the Naturals' 2010 lineup, as he had just nine games of Double-A experience during an injury-riddled 2009 season, which he spent in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Mejia is currently in the middle of the league playoffs with Zulia, and his bat hasn't cooled one bit in nine post-season games, batting .417 with three more homers and 11 RBI in 36 at-bats. He is teammates in Zulia with former Natural Mario Lisson, who has a homer and five RBI in five games this post-season.
One of the other teams in the Venezuelan Winter League round-robin post-season tournament is Leones de Caracas. Outfielder Jose Duarte has one hit in three at-bats over five playoff games, being used primarily as a defensive replacement after batting .260 during the club's regular season.
Manny Pina, who was on the disabled list and never suited up for the Naturals after being acquired on September 3rd from the Rangers' organization, batted .238 during the regular winter league season with two RBI in 21 at-bats for Tiburones de La Guaira (La Guaira Sharks). La Guaira is also involved in the round robin tournament, which involves only the top five teams in the eight-team loop. The top two performing teams after the round robin tournament will then meet in a seven-game league championship series which begins January 21st.
In the Dominican Winter League, Toros del Este notched a spot in that league's round robin tournament, which admits the top four teams from the six-team league. That team featured two former Naturals pitchers, Julio Pimentel, who never appeared in a game this season, and Carlos Sencion, who pitched five scoreless appearances during the regular season and has allowed a run over two innings in the post-season. Pimentel, working his way back from arm injuries that derailed his entire 2009 season, would appear to not be in complete health with spring training six weeks away. Former Naturals' reliever Juan Abreu finished his season with Ãguilas Cibaeñas, who did not make the playoffs. Abreu finished with a 4.50 ERA in seven outings.
Former slugger Juan Richardson also is through after his team, Estrellas de Oriente, failed to make the post-season. He finished at .276 with a homer and 16 RBI in 38 games and remains a free agent. Richardson missed most of 2009 after getting injured early in the season with the Wichita Wingnuts of the independent American Association.
In the Mexican Pacific League, Federico Castaneda's team, the Tomateros de Culiacan (Culiacan Tomato Growers), made the playoffs, but have already been eliminated as the league does not do a round-robin style tournament. Castaneda made 19 appearances in the league's regular season and had a 3-2 record and a 3.09 ERA.
The Puerto Rican Winter League is the only league that hasn't begun their playoff season. Former Naturals' utilityman Irving Falu, is with the Mayaguez Indians and unlike last season, when he received fewer than 15 at-bats the entire winter season, Falu has been playing a lot, batting .275 with eight RBI in 109 at-bats (32 games). Falu's teammate is former Naturals' shortstop Angel Sanchez. Sanchez's bat has been hot, with a .317 average, three homers, and 16 RBI in 37 games. Outfielder Adrian Ortiz, who spent most of the 2009 spring training with Northwest Arkansas before splitting the regular season between the Royals' two Class-A clubs, has hooked on with the playoff-bound Criollos de Caguas, and has a .348 average in 12 games. Lastly, pitcher Mario Santiago is with Gigantes de Carolina (Carolina Giants), and has made 11 appearances (seven starts) and has posted a 3-2 record and a 2.49 ERA in 47 innings overall. His recent outings have been excellent and he sports a 33/8 K/BB ratio, displaying excellent control. The solid winter league season may help Santiago notch a spot in crowded Naturals' 2010 rotation after he spent two full years in Class-A. More news and notes from the past two weeks...
Baseball America releases Royals' top-ten prospects: Baseball America released their annual list of the top ten prospects in the Kansas City Royals organization, and several of them are likely to see time in Northwest Arkansas this upcoming season. Left-hander Mike Montgomery, a first-round selection of the club in 2008 and the Royals' number one prospect, was 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA in nine starts last season for Advanced Class-A Wilmington and, even if he doesn't break camp heading to Double-A is likely to see the Texas League by mid-season. Right-hander Aaron Crow, the second-ranked prospect and 2009 first-round selection, has yet to pitch in affiliated ball but because of his advanced age and experience in independent ball is likely to begin the season with the Naturals.
Slugger Mike Moustakas, the first overall pick in the 2007 draft and Royals' fourth-best prospect, has long been assumed to be slated to man the hot corner for the Naturals in 2010, where he should be joined, at least to begin the season, by returning outfielder David Lough, who enters the 2010 season ranked as the tenth-best prospect. Two more pitchers, both southpaws who could have Double-A in their immediate futures were listed as amongst the Royals' ten-best prospects: Danny Duffy (ranked eighth), who is likely to start the season in the Naturals' rotation after a 9-3, 2.98 ERA campaign with Wilmington in 2009, and Chris Dwyer (ranked ninth), a 2009 fourth-round selection out of Clemson. Dwyer only made a handful of starts last season at Idaho Falls, the Royals' Advanced Rookie-level affiliate, but some scouts believe he'll be bumped to the Carolina League and Wilmington and could move quickly through the system. Baseball America will unveil their entire Royals Top-30 prospect list with the release of their Prospect Handbook, which comes out late this month.
Royals finalize signing Cuban defector Arguelles: The Royals announced last Thursday that Cuban defector Noel Arguelles had signed a five-year Major League contract. Although terms were not revealed, it's known the deal is worth nearly $7 million. It took time for the left-hander Arguelles, a Cuban defector who has been in the Dominican Republic, to clear immigration procedures and come to Kansas City for a physical by Royals' team doctor Steve Joyce. Arguelles will report to Surprise, AZ for conditioning and strength drills next week, and will be in the Major League Spring Training camp in February, but won't do any throwing until closer to March as the organization wants him to rest his arm.
He's expected to open the season with one of the full-season Class-A clubs, possibly Advanced Class-A Wilmington, putting him a phone call away from Northwest Arkansas. Baseball America, who finalized their Royals prospect list before the Arguelles deal was finalized, would likely have regarded Arguelles as amongst the club's top five prospects.
More International signings coming??: On the Royals' hot stove radio show last Thursday night on 610 Sports in Kansas City, after discussing the signing of Cuban lefty Noel Arguelles, Royals' General Manager Dayton Moore said the team is close to signing (another) one of the five best international free agents "within the next month or so." So far this offseason the Royals have signed three international free agents of note: Noel Arguelles (Cuba), Cheslor Cuthbert (Nicaragua), and Jin Ho Shin (Korea). Both Cuthbert and Shin are years from seeing action at the Double-A level, however.
FanFests and Caravans Galore: Now that the weather has warmed up, if you're looking to get an early-2010 baseball fix, there couldn't be a better time for it than this weekend. The Kansas City Royals' annual winter FanFest will be held this Friday and Saturday in Overland Park, Kansas, and the Royals Winter Caravan makes its stop in Northwest Arkansas with a lunch at the Holiday Inn in Springdale on Monday. Tickets for the Royals Caravan, which will feature Royals' first baseman Billy Butler, outfielder Mitch Maier, former Naturals catcher and Springdale resident Vance Wilson, plus Royals alumni Frank White and John Mayberry are just $15 per person. Call (479) 927-4900 to book your tickets.
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.
Texas League Stories from January 12, 2010
- Hot Stove Report: Mejia Wins Venezuelan MVPAward - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
