TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Six Naturals Selected by Royals for Fall League

Published on September 1, 2010 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Six Naturals players have been selected to participate in the 2010 Arizona Fall League, a prospect-heavy league that competes at five different MLB Spring Training sites (Phoenix-Municipal, Mesa, Peoria, Scottsdale, and Surprise). Preliminary rosters were released Tuesday evening.

Naturals' left-handed starters Danny Duffy and Mike Montgomery along with outfielder Derrick Robinson, second baseman Johnny Giavotella, first baseman Eric Hosmer, and right-handed reliever Patrick Keating are among the Royals' seven representatives. Advanced Class-A Wilmington backstop Salvador Perez, a likely member of the Naturals 2011 lineup, is the seventh representative selected.

Duffy, the 21-year old Lompoc, CA resident, was ranked prior to the season by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect in the Royals' system, and, after sitting out the first half of the season has had a solid campaign. He's 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA in six starts with the Naturals and 4-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 13 starts overall across four minor league stops.

Like Duffy, the 21-year old Montgomery will use the Fall League to make up innings he lost while sidelined with a strained left forearm injury. The Mesa, AZ resident, ranked prior to the season by Baseball America as the best overall prospect in the Royals' system, has posted a 5-3 record and a 3.53 ERA in 12 starts with the Naturals and an overall record of 7-4 with a 2.64 ERA between the Naturals, Advanced Class-A Wilmington, and the Surprise Royals, where he made three mid-summer rehab starts.

The 22-year old Robinson has had a breakout campaign with the Naturals, taking a .285 average into the month of September to go along with two homers and 46 RBI. More importantly, he has swiped a league-leading 50 bases, getting caught just 17 times, and has drawn solid marks for his defense. Robinson was ranked prior to the season by Baseball America as the 22nd best prospect in the Royals' system.

The 22-year old Giavotella has also put together a tremendous season as well for the Naturals. His .321 batting average currently ranks third in the league, and he leads the league in games played at 126. Giavotella also leads the league in hits (161), runs scored (87), and he stands tied for second in doubles with 31. He has had a scorching hot August as the Naturals get ready for the playoffs. Giavotella was ranked prior to the season by Baseball America as the 16th best prospect in the Royals' system.

Hosmer, the 20-year old resident of Cooper City, FL, has fit right into the Naturals' offense following the departure of Texas League Player of the Year Mike Moustakas. The left-handed swinging slugger has 12 homers and 32 RBI to go along with a .313 average. After a scorching start to the season with Wilmington, Hosmer owns a .339 average, 19 homers, and 83 RBI in 504 at-bats across the two levels. He was ranked prior to the season by Baseball America as the 5th best prospect in the Royals' system.

One of the anchors of the Naturals' late-inning relief corps since his arrival in June, the 23-year old Keating reached Double-A in his first full season after getting drafted out of Florida just one year earlier. The right-hander leads the Naturals with ten saves and had five more for Advanced Class-A Wilmington. Between the two levels he has a 3-1 record, a 2.38 ERA, and has fanned 93 hitters while walking just 27 in 68 innings. He was ranked prior to the season by Baseball America as the 25th best prospect in the Royals' system.

The prestigious, six-team league will begin its 19th season on Tuesday, October 12th and plays six games per week, wrapping up with a Championship Game on Saturday, November 20th. In its 18 year history, the Arizona Fall League has seen over 1,800 of its alumni reach the Major Leagues, including seven MVP's (Jason Giambi, Ryan Howard, Dustin Pedroia, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Albert Pujols, and Jimmy Rollins), three Cy Young Award Winners (Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay, and Brandon Webb), 18 MLB Rookies of the Year, three World Series MVP's, 41 Gold Glove Award winners, 26 Major League managers, and eight MLB batting champions.

Team rosters in the Arizona Fall League consist of 35 players per team, seven players provided by each of five different Major League organizations. Along with the Royals, the Rafters roster will be comprised of prospects from the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, and Milwaukee Brewers organizations. The Rafters will be managed by Mike Guererro, the manager of the Huntsville Stars, the Brewers' Double-A affiliate in the Southern League.

Fans can log on during the fall for weekly updates on the Rafters in the Arizona Fall League along with the progress of other Naturals playing winter ball in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. Naturals' left-hander Everett Teaford, right-hander Mario Santiago, outfielder Paulo Orlando, and former third baseman Mike Moustakas are among the Naturals who are already slated to compete in international winter leagues following this season.

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 Naturals have a toll-free ticket hotline (1-877-444-2637) for fans to purchase Naturals tickets. Our website, nwanaturals.com offers fans the opportunity to purchase tickets online and avoid lines at the ticket windows by printing their tickets at home or at the office.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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