TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals meet RoughRiders for first time in \'09

Published on May 30, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


After suffering through a three-game sweep at the hands of the hot-hitting Midland RockHounds, the Naturals now play host to Midland's South Division rivals, the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate for the Texas Rangers.

Frisco comes into town sporting a 23-22 record and arrives after taking two of three from the Tulsa Drillers. Before a Friday night loss, Frisco had won five of their past seven.

The RoughRiders look markedly different from their first trip in last season and, likewise, are missing several of their key offensive cogs from their last trip to Springdale in August 2008. Many of those players have moved on to Triple-A Oklahoma City and to the major leagues in Arlington. Leading that list is 21-year old shortstop Elvis Andrus, who went from last season being the youngest position player in the Texas League to this year becoming the youngest position player in the big leagues.

The Rangers have also found a spot on the big league roster for LHP Matt Harrison, 1B Chris Davis, and LHP Derek Holland, all of whom spent a portion of 2008 with Frisco. RHP Neftali Feliz, 2B Jose Vallejo, OF Julio Borbon, and C/1B Max Ramirez have also departed for Triple-A after playing key roles in the success of the '08 Riders, who lost the Texas League Championship to the Arkansas Travelers last September.

Nevertheless, Frisco does return one player of particular note-former Arkansas Razorback Craig Gentry. The Van Buren resident did spend some time in Oklahoma City last August, but returns to the Texas League to start 2009. They also have another player that Hog fans should remember; Justin Smoak, a power-hitting first base prospect who was drafted only last June out of the University of South Carolina. Smoak, hitting .325 with 25 RBI this season after skipping Advanced Class-A ball, is the Rangers' third-best prospect according to Baseball America and leads a group of prospects that also includes LHP Kasey Kiker (#19), RHP Omar Poveda (#24), and RHP Thomas Diamond (#28).

They also have catcher Manuel Pina, who with his .325 batting average joins Smoak on the list of Texas League batting leaders. Chad Tracy (37 RBI), also ranks fifth in the league in runs driven in, while Smoak is the third most successful player in the Texas League in getting on base (.444 OBP). On the pitching end, the left hander Kiker paces the loop in strikeouts (52), while Poveda, who will start Monday night, is tied for the Texas League lead with five victories.

By the numbers, Frisco comes in with a .265 batting average, ranking them sixth in the league, and their 223 runs rank them fourth. The Naturals seem to be more evenly matched with Frisco offensively, as their .261 average is just behind Frisco's, and Northwest Arkansas has 30 round-trippers to Frisco's 31. To date the Naturals have scored 214 runs which is sixth in the league but close to Frisco's total. By comparison, Midland, who just swept the Naturals, has already scored 333 runs, nearly 75 runs more than the second-best team (Springfield). The Naturals still pace the league in errors with 62; by contrast Frisco has made 44 errors. The Naturals' pitching staff is second in the loop with a 4.11 ERA, while Frisco is fifth with a 4.44 ERA. The RoughRiders pitching staff has fanned the second most amount of batters in the Texas League.

Last season, these two teams split their season series with six wins apiece, and the Naturals were 5-1 against Frisco at home.

Saturday's pitching matchup features right-hander Dan Cortes, looking to turn in a dominant outing to cap a steady performance for May (2-1, 2.33 ERA in five starts), against left-hander Michael Kirkman for Frisco. Sunday will see right-hander Anthony Lerew take the hill for Northwest Arkansas opposite southpaw Michael Schlact, and the series will wrap on Monday with right-hander Blake Johnson opposite right-hander Omar Poveda for Frisco.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from May 30, 2009


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