Sports stats



TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Royals acquire two Rangers prospects in trade

September 3, 2009 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


KANSAS CITY -- The Kansas City Royals on Thursday acquired catcher Manny Pina and outfielder Tim Smith from the Texas Rangers organization in exchange for right-handed pitcher Danny Gutierrez. Both Pina and Smith have spent time this season in the Texas League with the Frisco RoughRiders.

Pina, 22, was hitting .259 with 17 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 42 RBI in 86 games for Frisco. The April Minor League Player of the Month in the Rangers organization was selected as the starting catcher for the South Division in the Texas League All-Star Game. Regarded as an excellent defensive catcher, Pina this season was a non-roster invitee to Rangers Spring Training. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound right-handed hitter from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, signed with the Rangers as a non-drafted free agent on September 30, 2004. He was on the RoughRiders disabled list at the time of the trade after injuring himself running the bases in early August during a contest against the Naturals at Arvest Ballpark.

The 23-year old Smith began the 2009 season with the Bakersfield Blaze, the Rangers Advanced Class-A affiliate in the California League before being promoted to the Texas League in early June. Smith batted .333 with five doubles, four homers, 19 RBI, seven stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .413 in 35 games with the California League club before compiling a .309 mark with nine doubles, three homers, 32 RBI and eight steals in 36 games for Frisco. He was named the "Star of Stars" MVP at the Midwest League All-Star game last season and finished the campaign ranked among the league leaders in average (.300) and hits (144).

A native of Toronto, Canada, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound left handed hitter was selected by Texas in the seventh round of the 2007 draft out of Arizona State University, where in his only season with the Sun Devils he helped lead the squad to the College World Series. The corner outfielder is currently in North Carolina training with Team Canada for the 2009 IBAF Baseball World Cup in Germany later this month.

Gutierrez, a 22-year-old Riverside, CA resident, began the season sidelined with injury before drawing assignment to Advanced Class-A Wilmington in late July. Through eight games (four starts), the right-hander was 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA. A 33rd-round draft choice of the Royals in 2005, the right-handed Gutierrez held the Carolina League to a .173 batting average during his month-long stay with the Blue Rocks. He entered the season as the seventh-best prospect in the Kansas City system according to Baseball America, and was cited as having the best control and best curveball in the organization.

Kansas City has not determined as of yet where Pina and Smith will be assigned; Pina was on Frisco's disabled list and is unlikely to play again during the 2009 regular season, while Smith will land on an inactive list while he competes for Team Canada alongside Naturals' right-hander Matt Kniginyzky. Both would be candidates to begin the 2010 season in Northwest Arkansas.

The 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



Texas League Stories from September 3, 2009


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.

OurSports Central