TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Travs make final visit to Springdale

Published on July 20, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Last season, the Travelers got by on their experience, riding several minor league veterans to a first-half division championship and a spot in the Texas League playoffs, where they swept the Naturals in three games.

This season, with those veterans having moved on and some of the younger pitching prospects deemed ready for Double-A, they've taken on a new look. That being said, they still have experience at the top as Manager Bobby Magallanes and Pitching Coach Ken Patterson both remain in place, and, like the Naturals, the Travs were joined this season by a new Hitting Coach (Travs' new Hitting Coach is Francisco Matos).

The Travelers, with that new-look young rotation, led the Texas League in ERA for most of the first half, and still are ranked second, but a couple of the youngsters that were to be mainstays in the rotation were promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake, or, in the case of right-hander Sean O'Sullivan, Triple-A and then eventually the major leagues. Another hurler, right-hander Jordan Walden, who is the top pitching prospect in the organization, has again landed on the disabled list.

But although the Travelers don't look like they'll be able to reprise last year's magic, the young players that the Travs have are quite talented, as the Travs roster includes no fewer than five of the Angels' top ten prospects according to Baseball America, and seven of the Angels' top 30 prospects. Those prospects to watch are RHP Jordan Walden (#1), OF Peter Bourjos (#2), LHP Trevor Reckling (#3, starts the first game of the series), C Hank Conger (#6), 1B Mark Trumbo (#7), 2B Ryan Mount (#14) and SS Hainley Statia (#28). The Travs also can boast the organization's best hitter for average (Conger), the best power hitter (Trumbo), the fastest baserunner (Bourjos), the best fastball (Walden), and best defensive outfielder (also Bourjos).

The returning players from last year's roster who were mainstays include the first baseman Mark Trumbo as well as SS Hainley Statia and veteran OF Coby Smith. Naturals fans who attended the playoff game against the Travelers in September should also fondly remember Hank Conger, who had joined the Travs only for the postseason after his 2008 club, Class-A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga, lost a one-game play-in to the Inland Empire 66ers and failed to make the California League Playoffs. Conger drove in four runs in the September 6th game at Arvest Ballpark, which were among 13 runs he drove in during the playoffs. He got off to a slow start as he focused on his catching skills (he caught just ten games last season because he was rehabbing injuries for much of the season) but has been swinging it well lately. And last year's playoff success in Springdale was a harbinger for Conger: he has a scorching .339 batting average against the Naturals, with two homers and seven runs driven in.

Just like last year, the Naturals and Travelers are usually expected to play close games that are dominated by pitching. The Travs, as mentioned, certainly bring that to the table with their pitching staff, whose 3.82 ERA ranks second to the Tulsa Drillers. For their part the Naturals staff has a respectable 4.49 ERA, good for fifth in the league.

The Travs struggle at the offensive end, however, and their .261 average is second to last in the league and their 366 runs are last in the loop. The Naturals are ranked third with a .274 average and have scored 467 runs, which is tied for third in the Texas League. With 42 homers hit, the Travs trail all seven other Texas League teams, but one thing the Travs are good at offensively is avoiding the strikeout, as their 505 strikeouts are the lowest total in the loop. Their pitching staff also has allowed by far the fewest homers (52). The Travelers can get by on their speed - their 104 steals are tops in the circuit, and most of those are from Bourjos and Smith atop the order. With 94 steals of their own, the Naturals are also looking to make the most of their running game.

With just a two-game cushion over the third-place but important-to-watch Tulsa Drillers coming into this series and the Drillers facing an always-tough Springfield team, Manager Brian Poldberg and the Naturals see this series as a place they can make some headway in this second-half race. The Springfield team, while surely to be tough down the stretch, already have sewn up a playoff spot and loom mostly as a pesky potential playoff opponent for the Naturals.

Northwest Arkansas won the regular season series over the Travs last year, 18-12, including an 11-5 mark at Arvest Ballpark. For that, the Diamond Cup resided in Springdale all off-season. This season the Naturals are 13-7 against the Travs. Northwest Arkansas has taken eight of the last nine meetings in Springdale.

PITCHING MATCHUPS: Monday's matchup will pit two right-handers; Tim Kiely for the Travelers against Matt Kniginyzky for the Naturals. Tuesday will see left-hander Rowdy Hardy make his 2009 Arvest Ballpark debut for Northwest Arkansas opposite right-hander Amalio Diaz for the Travs. Naturals' right-hander Anthony Lerew will face right-hander Tommy Mendoza for the Travs on Wednesday, and the series wraps Thursday with right-hander Blake Johnson going for Northwest Arkansas against lefty Trevor Reckling for Arkansas.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 20, 2009


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