TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

a Great Day for Baseball

Published on April 9, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Northwest Arkansas Naturals Opening Day
Northwest Arkansas Naturals Opening Day
(Northwest Arkansas Naturals)

Springdale, Ark. - A Northwest Arkansas Naturals roster loaded with immense talent and top prospects as we begin season 8 at Arvest Ballpark, will first show off their potential on a 6-game road trip in Midland and Frisco, Texas. After a full day journey Wednesday in preparation of their 3-game set with the Midland RockHounds, the Oakland A's affiliate, they will take the five hour bus ride to Frisco to play the Texas Rangers' Frisco Rough Riders.

Starting on the mound for the Naturals on Opening Day will be 22-year old Miguel Almonte. This will be Almonte's first appearance for the Naturals. He has been in the minors since 2011 and pitched his entire 2014 season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the Carolina League. He ranks as a top 100 prospect in Major League Baseball according to MLB.com and BaseballProspectus.com. Friday and Saturday's starters, Glenn Sparkman and Jonathan Dziedzic will also be making their Naturals debut. The three of them were all in Wilmington's rotation together last season. Sparkman comes into the season as the Royals #16 top prospect. Dziedzic is rated by Baseball America as the fifth best left-handed starting pitcher in the Royals' organization.

Last year at this time, LHP Brandon Finnegan was still pitching in college for the TCU Horned Frogs, leading them to the College World Series. Four months later he became the first person to pitch in both the CWS and the World Series in the same season. Finnegan will make his first start in a Naturals uniform during the three-game series against Frisco, after pitching in relief for Northwest Arkansas last season. In 2014 he posted a 1.33 ERA in the Minors and finished with a 1.29 ERA in the Majors.

Following Finnegan in the Frisco series will be J.C. Sulbaran. Sulbaran pitched his 2014 season with the Naturals, but also had some appearances with them in 2013 and 2012. Last season he set his career best ERA (3.25). Almonte will get his second start on Tuesday, April 14th to close out the series against Frisco and end the road trip.

The Naturals are looking to bounce back from last season. They have a lot of young talent in the system who have a chance to put on a good show for the organization. Infielder Raul Mondesi, son of 1994 National League Rookie of the Year, Raul Mondesi is making his debut with the Naturals this season. Mondesi was signed as a free agent in 2011 when he was only 16-years old. Returning Naturals such as Jorge Bonifacio, Hunter Dozier and Lane Adams also provide a "veteran" presence of sorts to the Naturals lineup, while still maintaining their high prospect status.

The Rockhounds will be defending their 2014 Texas League Championship with help from A's #1 prospect, Matt Olson. The 6'5" first baseman finished third in the Minor Leagues in 2014 with 37 home runs. Scouts say he is an extremely disciplined hitter and is also developing into an outfielder. Midland will have three more of the A's top prospects; 2B Chad Pinder, OF Jaycob Brugman, and C Bruce Maxwell.

Frisco had the league's best record last season, but fell in the playoffs. Frisco has nine of the Rangers' top 30 prospects on their Opening Day roster including the #1-4 prospects, 3B Joey Gallo, C Jorge Alfaro, OF Nomar Mazara and RHP Jake Thompson.

Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Twitter @nwanaturals throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime for all of our up-to-date information on tickets, groups, promotions, and team-related information.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Northwest Arkansas Naturals Opening Day
Northwest Arkansas Naturals Opening Day
   



Texas League Stories from April 9, 2015


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