TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Lisson to AAA, Cody Clark returns to Naturals

Published on May 24, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


The Kansas City Royals have transferred Naturals' shortstop Mario Lisson to Triple-A Omaha, their affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. Lisson will join the O-Royals in Omaha and be activated in time for their Monday evening game against the Fresno Grizzlies.

Lisson, the 24-year old resident of Caracas, Venezuela, has been a member of the Naturals since their arrival in Springdale in 2008. In 2009 Lisson was batting .206 in 36 games to start the season, with 17 runs batted in and four stolen bases. He was the only member of the Naturals to be on the Royals' 40-man roster.

In 2008, Lisson had an average of .225 with 65 runs driven in. He added 14 home runs, 23 doubles, and 31 stolen bases. Lisson split time between third base and shortstop during his first season in Double-A.

Lisson was originally signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent in April of 2002. He enjoyed the best season of his young career in 2006 at Single-A Burlington. Lisson was named the Player of the Year after batting .263 with 13 home runs and 73 runs batted in. He led the team in doubles (30) and runs scored (67). Lisson's 41 stolen bases were good for second in the Midwest League.

The Royals did announce a corresponding transaction, sending catcher Cody Clark back to Northwest Arkansas. Clark, who lives in Conway, AR, played collegiately at the University of Arkansas before transferring to Wichita State University. A graduate of Fayetteville High School, he batted .184 in 40 games with the Naturals, adding four home runs and 14 runs batted in during his 2008 campaign. In 2009, he had played in 3 games for the O-Royals and was 4-8 with a double.

While Clark is not a middle infielder the Naturals do have some flexibility, as three other infielders (Josh Johnson, Ed Lucas, and Chris McConnell) can all play multiple positions in the infield. The Naturals roster continues to stand at 24 active players, which is the Texas League limit.

Northwest Arkansas is currently on a four game road trip facing the Arkansas Travelers. The Naturals have won the first two games and play at 5:30 pm on Sunday and 2:00 pm on Monday afternoon. The team will enjoy a day off on Tuesday before starting a six game homestand against the Midland RockHounds and Frisco RoughRiders. The Naturals currently stand at 21-20 on the season, three games back of first place Springfield.

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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Texas League Stories from May 24, 2009


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