TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Royals Farm Report June 12

Published on June 12, 2012 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Triple-A

The Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) went 6-0 over the last week improving to 40-25 on the season. The Storm are leading the Northern Division by 11 games over the Iowa Cubs.

Who's Hot

A pair of former Naturals have really been on fire for the Storm Chasers over the past week. Wil Myers has been hot the whole season, and continued this past week. The outfielder hit .350 (14-for-40) with five home runs, 16 RBI, and 11 runs scored. Irving Falu has also been on a tear since returning from Kansas City. The utility-man has gone 15-for-32 (.469) over his last nine games with two home runs and 10 RBI. The Storm Chasers as a team have hit .350 (120-343) over their past ten games. Jake Odorizzi has not seen any drop off since moving up to Triple-A. The right-hander has gone 2-0, while allowing just one earned run in 11.2 innings over the teams last ten games. In those two starts he issued six walks and struck out 14.

Who's Not

Catcher Cody Clark is hitting .200 (3-for-15) over the team's last ten games. Clark has been splitting the catching duties with Salvador Perez, who is rehabbing from a knee injury that he suffered in spring training. Sean O'Sullivan has yet to find a consistent role, serving as a spot starter, long reliever, and at other times just a regular reliever. He struggled this past week making two appearances and allowing six runs on 14 hits over seven and a third innings.

Double-A

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) went 4-2 over the past week sweeping the Arkansas Travelers at Arvest Ballpark. The Naturals will spend the next week on the road in Tulsa and Springfield before returning home on Monday June 18. They now trail the Tulsa Drillers by one game for the lead in the Texas League's North Division.

Who's Hot

Rey Navarro seems to have figured it out at the plate and has been one of the hottest hitters in the Texas League over the last couple week. The infielder is hitting .417 (16-for-39) with a home run, five RBI, and 10 runs scored in his last 10 games. On the mound for the Naturals two starting pitchers have been shutting down the competition. Justin Marks has thrown seven innings in each of his last two starts. Marks went a combined 14 innings in those outings allowing 12 hits and striking out eight. Noel Arguelles has also found his form on the mound. The lefty has worked 13 innings in his last two starts allowing 12 hits and just three runs.

Who's Not

Nick Van Stratten has been in a bit of a slump after starting off very strong at the plate for the Naturals. The outfielder is hitting .200 (5-for-25) in his last eight games, but has picked up four RBI. Patrick Keating, after not allowing an earned run for nearly a month has hit a rough patch on the mound. In his last four games he has gone seven innings allowing four runs on seven hits, converting three of his four save opportunities.

Class-A Advanced

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) went 1-7 over the past week dropping to 28-36 on the season. The Blue Rocks have fallen to third place in the North Division and trail the Lynchburg Hillcats by 5.5 games for the division lead.

Who's Hot

The Blue Rocks have been struggling at the plate collectively hitting just .213 over their last ten games. One bright spot has been Alex McClure. The shortstop, who is more known for his defense, hit .292 (7-for-24) over his last eight games. Sugar Ray Marimon continues to string together good start after good start. The 23-year-old is 1-1, having worked 13 innings allowing just ten hits and two runs, in his last two trips to the hill.

Who's Not

Kevin David has

turned cold at the plate. The catcher, who earned Carolina League Player of the Week honors earlier this season, is just 2-for-22 (.091) over his last eight games for the Blue Rocks. On the mound for Wilmington, Tyler Sample is working to figure out the hitters in the Carolina league. Sample has worked 10.1 innings allowing nine hits and six runs over his last two starts.

Class-A

The Kane County Cougars went 3-3 over the past week making them 33-31 on the season. The Cougars are in third place in the Midwest League's Western division trailing a pair of teams from Wisconsin, the Beloit Snappers and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

Who's Hot

Infielder Daniel Mateo has turned up the heat at the plate for the Cougars lately. Mateo is hitting .350 (14-for-40) with a home run and five RBI, and five runs scored in his last eight games. Angel Baez has been giving hitters in the Midwest League nightmares since being promoted to the league. Baez has worked 16 innings in his three starts and allowed just three earned runs, while striking out 18.

Who's Not

Outfielder Lane Adams has spent most of the year terrorizing pitchers around the league, but had a cold week at the plate last week. Adams went 6-for-36 (.167) knocking in four runs, and scoring one.

Alumni Report (Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization)

Who's Hot

Ernesto Mejia battled through a cold spell to start the week and has been showing off his power recently. Over his last five games he is hitting .375 with three home runs and five RBI. He now has 12 home runs this season for the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves.

Corey Smith, who is now in the Chicago White Sox organization with Double-A Birmingham caught fire this past week. The outfielder hit .333 with two home runs and seven RBI, in his last 10 games with the Barons.

Who's Not

The tides have turned in just one week on infielder Jeff Bianchi. Bianchi, who was on the hot list last week, hit just .235 this week for the Milwaukee Brewers Triple-A affiliate the Nashville Sounds.

A pair of former Naturals are continuing to struggle with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. Ed Lucas is hitting just .179 over his last ten games with one RBI, and a run scored. Cory Aldridge is hitting just .156 over the same span, but has belted two home runs and knocked in six runs.

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. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from June 12, 2012


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