TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Kansas City Royals Prospect Bubba Startling Promoted to Northwest Arkansas

Published on April 24, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark. - The Kansas City Royals announced the promotion of Bubba Starling to Northwest Arkansas on Friday, April 24.  Starling (22), drafted fifth overall in the 2011 draft, joins the Naturals after batting .386 with 2 home runs and 2 stolen bases for High-A Wilmington to begin the 2015 season.  He ranks 13th overall among Royals top prospects according to MLB.com.

Starling, a Kansas native, joined the Royals organization after his first round selection out of Gardner-Edgerton High School in Gardner, Kansas.  Despite entering his fourth season in the minor leagues, two years removed from ranking in among the top 50 prospects in Major League Baseball, he still ranks second among minor league outfielders in Kansas City, behind only Jorge Bonifacio, whom he will now share an outfield with at Arvest Ballpark.

Starling will replace the outfield roster spot vacated by Lane Adams (21st ranked prospect in Royals organization), after his promotion to Triple-A Omaha on Thursday. Adams, a 13th round pick in 2009 out of Red Oak High School in Red Oak, Oklahoma, batted .298 with five stolen bases in his first 12 games for Northwest Arkansas this season after making his Major League debut with the Royals in September of 2014.

Double-A Northwest Arkansas marks Starling's fourth minor league level in his four year professional career after playing his first full season for Rookie League Burlington, then Low-A Lexington in 2013, before playing his entire 2014 campaign for High-A Wilmington.  He batted .218 with 9 home runs and 17 stolen bases last season, and possesses a power/speed combo similar to that of Adams.

In addition to Adam's promotion to Triple-A Omaha, the Kansas City Royals recalled Brandon Finnegan from Northwest Arkansas to the Major League team. 

Finnegan, the 14th overall selection in the 2014 draft, enters his second stint with the Major League team.  He went 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 7 relief appearances for the Royals last season, including a 1-1 record in 7 appearances during the 2014 postseason.

Finnegan ranks fourth among Royals prospects, and ranked among the top 100 MLB prospects entering the 2015 season by MLB.com, Baseball America and BaseballProspectus.com.  He has posted a 3.86 ERA in 2 starts for the Naturals this season. 

Tune in to the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show at 6:50 with the voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, on AM-1030 KFAY leading up to tonight's 7:05 p.m. first pitch from ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the Naturals face off with the Tulsa Drillers.  

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

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Texas League Stories from April 24, 2015


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.

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