TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

June 30 - July 6 Marks Magical Week for Naturals Alumni

Published on July 9, 2014 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark. - On Monday, June 30, former Texas League Triple Crown winner and Naturals Hall of Famer Clint Robinson recorded his first hit in Major League Baseball after the Los Angeles Dodgers purchased his contract on June 25. Robinson recorded the lone RBI in the game as he led the Dodgers past the Cleveland Indians 1-0.

Robinson earned his second big league promotion, previously had four at-bats with the Kansas City Royals in 2012, by batting .309 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI in 285 at-bats for Triple-A Albuquerque. In his first nine at-bats for the Dodgers this season, he has three hits with two RBI and three runs scored.

Four days after Robinson's first hit, on our Independence Day, Friday, July 4, another Naturals alumni, Christian Colon recorded his first big league hit for the Royals. Colon received his promotion on June 30 after batting .296 with 4 home runs and 14 stolen bases for Triple-A Omaha, and made his Major League debut on July 1.

By Colon's second game on the fourth, he teamed up with other former Naturals Yordano Ventura, Aaron Crow, Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas to make it the Naturals alumni show. The Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 7-1 behind two doubles and a triple from Colon, to go along with Moustakas' ninth home run of the season. Ventura and Crow dominated the Indians for all nine innings allowing just 6 hits. Perez chipped in with three hits of his own, and two days later, received the honor of representing the American League in the All-Star Game.

On July 6. Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 2014 All-Star Game, which included multiple Naturals, led by the American League starting catcher "Salvy" Perez. In addition to Perez, Royals outfielder Alex Gordon received the honor of representing the American League as a reserve outfielder. Gordon spent 8 games with the Naturals in 2009 during a rehab assignment. He has scored 47 runs for Kansas City in 2014 to go along with 9 home runs and 44 RBI. Also representing former Naturals Alumni in the 2014 All-Star Game, Royals closer Greg Holland earned his second selection of his career. Holland has a 2.17 ERA with 23 saves and 50 strikeouts in 2014.

"Ace" Ventura Update

He joined the Naturals towards the end of 2012, he flashed dominance in a Naturals uniform in 2013, and now in 2014 Yordano Ventura has begun to flash dominance at Kaufman Stadium with the Kansas City Royals. Despite taking a little over a week off at the end of May, Ventura never missed a beat and continues to get better. Since June 5 he has gone 4-2 with five quality starts and a 2.52 ERA.

On the Farm...

2013 Natural and Texas League Home Run Derby Champion Matt Fields has hit 10 home runs with 29 RBI for the Omaha StormChasers since the calendar flipped to June. His teammate, and former Natural Whit Merrifield hit his first Triple-A home run on Sunday, July 6, and is batting .393 with 6 stolen bases since joining the StormChasers in early June.

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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Texas League Stories from July 9, 2014


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