TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Tough Missions team arrives in Springdale

Published on July 9, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


After a 4-2 road trip that included a three-game sweep of the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Naturals return home to face a tough San Antonio Missions team.

The Missions were the Naturals toughest opponent last year; winning nine of their 12 games against Northwest Arkansas and holding Naturals bats to a paltry .225 average. For their own part, the Missions batted .295 against Naturals pitching, well above their season average. Their pitching staff also posted a 2.25 ERA against the Naturals. This season, the Naturals are 4-5 against the Missions, having beaten them in a three-game series for the first time ever in April at Arvest Ballpark. The hope is that Royals third baseman Alex Gordon, with the Naturals on a minor league rehabilitation assignment, will help the Naturals put up runs on a tough Missions pitching staff.

San Antonio has continued to play Northwest Arkansas hard in 2009 under new skipper Terry Kennedy, as the Missions have a balanced attack that combines a very solid offense with sometimes dominant pitching, and the squad also has quite a few of the top prospects from what Baseball America regards as a very thin San Diego Padres system. In fact, eight of the Padres top 30 prospects are on the Missions' roster, including three of the top ten. Right-hander Mat Latos (#2) will start Thursday, and is joined by OF Kellen Kulbacki (#4), OF Cedric Hunter (#6), former Diamond Hog Logan Forsythe (#11), second baseman Eric Sogard (#17), right-hander Cesar Carrillo (#20), catcher Mitch Canham (#25), and right-hander Ernesto Frieri (#29). Baseball America also regards Hunter as being the best hitter for average, Latos as having the best fastball in the system, and Frieri, who starts Saturday, as having the organization's best curveball. Nathan Culp, Friday's starter, is noted as having the best control in the system, and shortstop Lance Zawadski as possessing the best infield arm in the system. Jesus Lopez, who backs up several infield positions, is also regarded as the best defensive infielder in the organization.

For his part, Forsythe, who drew considerable media interest for this series, led the California League with an obscene .472 on-base percentage in his first full professional season, leading the Padres to challenge him with a promotion to Double-A. No matter, as the former Hog is hitting .325 in this league thus far and shouldn't have any problem acclimating himself to Arvest Ballpark as he plays in front of some family and friends.

He is just one prospect in a Padres' system that features several prospects from big time college programs. Cesar Carrillo is a former top prospect and first-round selection out of the University of Miami, a veritable baseball factory, while Sogard, who is hitting .394 against the Naturals, is a gritty infielder from Arizona State, another program known for developing top-notch baseball talent. Two second year Missions, Seth Johnston (Texas), and Craig Cooper (Notre Dame) and Cory Leubke, like Forsythe recently promoted from Advanced Class-A Lake Elsinore, was drafted from Ohio State.

Highly rated minor league system or not, the Missions thus far have gotten it done on the offensive end, defensive end, and the pitching end, and have earned a spot in the Texas League Playoffs, having won the Southern Division first half. At 45-37 coming into the series, the Missions are tied with Springfield for the loop's best overall record for the year, and, at 44-37, the Naturals come in just a half game off that pace.

By the numbers, the Missions are second in the Texas League in hitting (.281), and while they don't hit a ton of homers, they are fourth in runs scored (403) and have drawn 322 walks, second only to Midland. Their pitching staff has posted a 3.99 ERA, good for third-best in the league, and has issued the second fewest walks in the league. They also feature a very solid top of the lineup with left fielder Luis Durango, who is third in the league in steals with 28, and Sogard, who with a .376 on-base percentage sets the table nicely for Cooper, who usually hits third or fourth and has 59 RBI.

These days, the Naturals are getting it done mostly with offense, although the pitching has stabilized of late. The bats come in right behind these Missions with a .280 average, while the Naturals' 422 runs scored starts this series second only to the vaunted Midland offense, which leads the loop with 523 runs scored. The Naturals have swiped 86 bases, second in the league, and new leadoff hitter Jarrod Dyson is 8-for-8 in steals. On the pitching end, the staff's 4.53 ERA is fifth in the loop.

Thursday's pitching matchup pits right-hander Matt Kniginyzky against the right-hander Mat Latos, who was selected as the Padres' representative for the XM All-Star Futures game in St. Louis over the weekend. Friday, right-hander Dan Cortes twirls the rubber for the Naturals opposite the soft-tossing lefty Nathan Culp. The series wraps Saturday with right-hander Anthony Lerew going for the Naturals against right-hander Ernesto Frieri.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 9, 2009


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