Myers, Colon named to AFL All-Star Squad
SURPRISE, AZ – The Arizona Fall League has announced that a pair of 2011 Naturals, Wil Myers and Christian Colon will participate for the West Division in the league’s Rising Stars Game this Saturday (November 5th) at 7 P.M. Central Time. Right-hander Nate Adcock, who spent the season as a big league reliever due to his Rule 5 status, also was selected as a representative of the Royals.
Accredited online colleges have information about sports management and sports medicine degrees for fans who want to get behind the scenes of the games.
The game will be televised nationally by the MLB Network and online via MLB.com.
Their club, the Surprise Saguaros, the Royals’ co-op team in the six-team AFL circuit, has certainly made its mark on the circuit. At 17-6 (.738), the Saguaros are on pace to break the AFL win percentage record (.705). In order to complete the feat, they need to go 10-4 or better in final 14 games.
The offense provided by the three Naturals on the Saguaros has been a big reason why. Myers drove in a run on a double Monday during a 1-for-4 effort. Last Tuesday’s 3-for-5 effort capped a four-game stretch that saw him get three hits in three separate games. Entering play Tuesday Myers is sixth in the league in batting average (.367), second in on-base percentage (.506), and second in slugging percentage (.700). He’s also tied for third in triples (3), tied for fourth with 42 total bases and has 17 walks, ranking him second in the loop.
Anthony Seratelli has also continued to hit. In his most recent appearance Saturday, Seratelli went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Although his playing time has been limited, he’s second in the AFL with a .395 batting average, and leads the pace with a .510 on-base percentage. He’s batting an impressive .450 (9-for-20) with the bases empty.
Myers and Seratelli’s hot hitting has evidently rubbed off on Colon, who has lifted his average to .280 (14-for-50). Colon logged multiple hits for the third consecutive game Saturday, going 2-for-6, and homered for the second time in three starts last Thursday.
On the hill, Jeremy Jeffress has had two scoreless frames in the past week and has now been unscored upon in his past four outings. The hard-throwing righty has recorded five of his past six outs via the strikeout and now has 11 strikeouts to just four walks in 7 2/3 innings tossed for Surprise. Brendan Lafferty tossed a scoreless frame with a strikeout Saturday that broke a string of four outings in which the southpaw had allowed at least one run. Bryan Paukovits also had two scoreless innings of relief during the past week.
Check back on nwanaturals.com for updates on the progress of these players. You can also get updates by following the Naturals on Facebook and Twitter.
Naturals/Texas League Notes
Former Natural Hosmer wins award: The Kansas City Royals have announced that rookie first baseman Eric Hosmer was selected as the 2011 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner. The award was voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The Joe Burke is awarded to an unsung player who contributed above and beyond what was expected, or someone who the writers felt deserved some recognition for an outstanding season.
Hosmer, who turned 22 on October 24th, began the 2011 season with Triple-A Omaha before making his Major League debut on May 6. The Royals first-round selection (third overall) in 2008 hit .293 (153-for-523) with 27 doubles, three triples, 19 home runs, 78 RBI and 66 runs scored. He led all qualified MLB rookies (min. 3.1 PA/game) in batting average, go-ahead RBI (26) and game-winning RBI (13). Hosmer also paced A.L. rookies in hits, runs and multi-hit games (42) while ranking second in RBI, doubles, total bases (243) and extra-base hits (49), third in home runs, walks (34) and slugging (.465), and fourth in on-base percentage (.334). The July A.L. Rookie of the Month either tied the game or gave the Royals the lead on 12 of his 19 home runs.
Dyson hurt, leaves winter ball: Jarrod Dyson returned to Kansas City last week to be examined after banging up his right shoulder while colliding with a wall during a game in the Venezuelan Winter League. The outfielder is expected to be OK. Royals’ General Manager Dayton Moore said that Dyson, playing for Caracas, will take a couple of weeks to heal from a contusion and slight strain of the shoulder. He is not likely to return to Venezuela, where he was batting .227 (5-for-22) in seven games.
Naturals no-hitter, triple-play game wins MILBY: Minorleaguebaseball.com selected the Naturals’ July 19th game against the Arkansas Travelers as both the best Double-A game of the year as well as the minors’ game of the year. That day in North Little Rock, Will Smith and Kelvin Herrera combined to throw the Naturals’ first no-hitter of the season. Smith allowed just two baserunners, back-to-back walks to start the bottom of the sixth that would be erased by the first triple play in Naturals’ history. It was the first time the feat of turning a triple play during a no-hitter had ever been accomplished in the long history of the Texas League. It also has never happened in over 250 no-hitters twirled at the Major League level.
Winter Ball Updates: Several other current and former Naturals are honing their craft this off-season playing in various winter leagues that span the globe.
In the Venezuelan Winter League, Mario Lisson (Navegantes de Magallanes) hasn’t seen playing time in the past week but is 1-for-5 on the season with three RBI’s. Former Natural Jose Duarte (Leones de Caracas) has been cold of late, recording just one hit over the past week in three starts. Ernesto Mejia (Aguilas del Zulia) had a homer and two RBI’s on Saturday as well as a hit Sunday, while Manny Pina (Bravos de Margarita) is batting .214 (3-for-14) in seven games thus far…In the Dominican League, David Lough (Aguilas Cibaenas) is riding a four-game hitting streak and has lifted his winter-ball average to .229. Naturals’ right-handerManauris Baez (Estrellas de Oriente) has had a great start to his winter league season, having allowed just five hits and a run in 9 1/3 innings covering three starts. Mario Santiago (Tigres del Licey) gave up three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings in his most recent start, while Willy Lebron, his rotation-mate in Licey and fellow Royals’ farmhand, allowed two runs, both of which were unearned over five innings in his last start. He gave up just one hit but walked four. SouthpawBrandon Sisk (Gigantes del Cibao) plunked the only batter he faced in his last appearance and owns a 2.84 ERA in five outings, while Kelvin Herrera (Leones del Escogido) continues to impress, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless relief thus far with a save. Herrera has fanned four and walked one. He’s teammates with Everett Teaford, who was roughed up to three runs in 3 1/3 in his last outing. Also on Leones is Elisaul Pimentel, who joined the Naturals late in the season and will likely be in the 2012 rotation. Pimentel recorded one out in his first winter league outing of the year.…in the Mexican League, former Natural Federico Castaneda(Tomateros de Culiacan) has a 1-1 record and 7.71 ERA in nine outings thus far.
These teams and respective leagues will play the round-robin Caribbean Series which takes place in February just before early reports for Major League Spring Training.
Transaction log: Former Naturals infielder Chris McConnell re-signed with the Washington Nationals organization for his second season. A Natural in 2009 and 2010, the sure-handed McConnell split 2011 between Triple-A Syracuse and Double-A Harrisburg…Former Naturals outfielder Brian McFall retired from professional baseball after the 2011 season. McFall was with the Naturals in 2008 and 2009 and has bounced around to several unaffiliated independent league teams in the two seasons since following his release from the Royals’ organization in March 2010.
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.