Top Prospect Cortes Activated From DL, Will Start Tonight
Published on May 15, 2008 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release
Right-hander Daniel Cortes was activated from the disabled list Thursday and is slated to pitch this evening's game against the Tulsa Drillers in Tulsa. Cortes recently rejoined the club from Extended Spring Training in Surprise, AZ where he pitched a rehab start last Saturday.
Cortes, the 21-year old Pomona, CA resident, is the Kansas City Royals' second-best prospect according to Baseball America, and began the season 0-1 with a sparkling 1.35 ERA that ranked him amongst the Texas League leaders at the time he was shelved with minor arm trouble. The 6-foot-5 right-hander has allowed nine hits in 13 1/3 innings while striking out nine batters and walking eight. Cortes made his last start against the Travelers on April 18th, lasting five innings, but taking the hard-luck loss, allowing a lone run on four hits.
Cortes replaces Carlos Rosa in the rotation. Rosa departed Sunday with a promotion to AAA Omaha after leading the Texas League in ERA after his eight starts with the Naturals.
In another transaction, catcher Kiel Thibault was activated by the Naturals on Wednesday. He has been on the disabled list since April 8th with back tightness. In three games prior to his placement on the DL, Thibault batted .182 in 11 at-bats. Thibault also completed a rehab assignment in Extended Spring Training prior to rejoining the team
With Cortes and Thibault activated, the Naturals roster once again stands at the Texas League limit of 24 active players.
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 also 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.
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