Series Preview: Naturals Return Home to Face 2013 First Overall Pick
Published on August 5, 2014 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
Springdale, Ark. - The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (21-22) return to Arvest Ballpark Tuesday night to welcome the Double-A Affiliate of the Houston Astros, the Corpus Christi Hooks (19-25) for three games. The Naturals will square off with the first overall pick in the 2013 first-year-player draft, and recently promoted to Double-A, Mark Appel on Tuesday night. Following three games with the Hooks, the San Antonio Missions (21-23), the Double-A Affiliate of the San Diego Padres enter Arvest Ballpark on Friday night.
In what is guaranteed to be action packed weekend off the field at Arvest Ballpark with a "Pink in the Park Friday Night Bash" by Farm Rich on Friday, "BIG Country Bash" featuring Canaan Smith on Saturday and then "Bark in the Ballpark" by Rover Oaks Pet Resort on Kids Eat Free Family Sunday, the Hooks and Naturals bring plenty of talent to the field starting Tuesday.
Appel, drafted out of Stanford, rated among the top-100 prospects by Baseball America (39), MLB.com (17) and BaseballProspectus.com (21) entering the year. Despite struggling at the beginning of the season, Appel ranks at the top of the list among Houston Astros pitching prospects and went five shutout innings, while allowing just two hits in his first start for Corpus Christi last week. He will, of course, have to face a Naturals lineup also stacked with top talent from the Kansas City Royals organization. In addition to top prospects Jorge Bonifacio and Hunter Dozier, Orlando Calixte and Cheslor Cuthbert rank among the Royals top 20 prospects, and each have hit the ball well of late. Calixte enters Tuesday batting .314 with two home runs and nine RBI over his last 10 games, while Cuthbert rides a modest four game hitting streak to Arvest Ballpark, with hits in 9 of his last 10. Over that stretch, Cuthbert has a .389 batting average with a home run, six RBI and four stolen bases.
In addition to Appel, the Hooks roster also continues to reap the benefits of the Astros strong draft classes, international signings, as well as front office trades by their parent club to acquire top minor league talent. Currently, the Hooks roster has 8 of the Astros top 20 prospects according to MLB.com. Outfielder Delino DeShields Jr., a first round selection in 2010, ranks 66 among all MLB prospects according to MLB.com, and 12 within the Astros organization. He leads the Texas League, among current players, with 44 stolen bases for the Hooks this season. In addition to him, the Astros promoted Tony Kemp, a fifth round selection in 2013, to Corpus Christi at the end of June. Since, Kemp has posted a .287 batting average with 4 home runs and 8 stolen bases.
Within the last week, the Hooks roster has picked up two of the Astros top 10 prospects (not including Appel), in addition to their number 11 prospect outfielder Teoscar Hernandez. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011, Hernandez joined the Hooks Tuesday afternoon after batting.294 with 17 home runs and 31 stolen bases for High-A Lancaster. MLB Trade Deadline deals in back to back years, netted the Astros' other two prospects. In 2013, the Astros acquired Josh Hader from the Baltimore Orioles as part of the trade that sent Bud Norris to the Orioles in 2013. Hader, a 19th round selection in 2012 by the Orioles, ranks 10th in the Astros organization, he had a 9-2 record for High-A Lancaster prior to his promotion this afternoon. Hader, also posted a 2.70 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 103.1 innings pitched. One year later, the Astros made another move. Colin Moran, drafted sixth overall in the 2013 draft, joined the Hooks following a trade by their parent club with the Miami Marlins last Thursday.
The Naturals return home after going 3-3 over their most recent road trip. The Naturals are coming off a 3-0 victory at Tulsa on Sunday night. All three runs came off the long ball as Ethan Chapman hit his first home run of the season and Orlando Calixte smacked his tenth on a two run shot in the ninth. Both South Division teams have had their struggles in the second half as they each sit in the bottom two spots of their division and those struggles have carried over into August. The Hooks have lost five of their last six, while the Missions enter Tuesday on a current three game losing skid.
Pitching Match-ups
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (46-67 / 21-22) v. Corpus Christi Hooks (53-61 / 19-25 - August 5-7
GAME 1: RHP Matt Murray (0-4, 4.57 ) v. RHP Mark Appel (0-0, 0.00) Aug. 5 - 7:05 p.m. Arvest Ballpark
The game can be heard on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly with a 6:50 pregame show.
GAME 2: RHP J.C. Sulbaran (7-8, 3.13) v. RHP Chris Devenski (2-3, 3.63) Aug. 6 - 7:05 p.m. Arvest Ballpark
The game can be heard on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly with a 6:50 pregame show.
GAME 3: RHP Christian Binford (3-1, 2.29) v. TBA Aug. 7 - 7:05 p.m. Arvest Ballpark
The game can be heard on 92.1 the Ticket with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly with a 6:50 pregame show.
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.
Texas League Stories from August 5, 2014
- Drillers Hold off Hounds in Series Opener - Tulsa Drillers
- Well Worth the Wait - San Antonio Missions
- Series Preview: Naturals Return Home to Face 2013 First Overall Pick - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Middle Child Night August 12 - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Homestand Highlights: August 5 - August 10 - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Travs Return to Bark, Beach, and Rock & Roll August 5th - August 10th - Arkansas Travelers
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.
