To consider how Major League Baseball operates a miniature, month-long practice season of up to 10 games a day, spread across nine different luxurious ballparks all in the Metro Phoenix area, you would have to think about the hundreds of parking lot and concession volunteers, stadium operations people, and MLB Team front office execs it must take.

Cobb, in the red jacket, is pictured here with the 1985 Reds, managed by Pete Rose.

Then, add in the fact that you’d like to also play the first round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic in that same city, and use one of the ballparks (Salt River Fields, home of the D-Backs and Rockies), as a secondary site for some of the games. In addition, you want to outfit four additional teams, create some locker room space for them, find them practice fields that aren’t being used, and schedule their transportation and hotel accommodations.

Now, you’ve got a pretty tough logistical scenario.

For all of that, Major League Baseball relies on a baseball-savvy, veteran named Steve Cobb. I’ve known Steve since he hired me as a media relations assistant for the 1994 Arizona Fall League. That was Cobb’s second year in charge of the MLB’s proving ground league, for young prospects looking to make the jump to the big leagues the next spring. Cobb just passed his 20th year in charge of the operation.

A former Traveling Secretary for the Cincinnati Reds during the late 70′s and early 80′s, Cobb took an opportunity with the AFL as an assistant in operations, after spending 7 years working in Xavier University’s Athletic Department.

“I figured I’d come out here to Arizona, maybe spend a year getting myself back into baseball, then try and grab a job in the big leagues again with a club,” said Cobb. “But, I just haven’t left. Been here ever since, and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

He has grown the AFL into what it is today, a very well-respected entity throughout the game, and something that every club has come to rely on. Cobb knows all the stadium operations people around town, which just makes it that much easier for him to coordinate this special event called the WBC.

Besides the games that are being played, Cobb also has to figure out where to house and train the two teams from Pool A and B that advance to the finals in San Francisco. Those two squads will make a pit stop in Phoenix next week, to stay in game playing shape for a few days, while Pools C & D catch up and finish the first two rounds.

“We may be looking at Cuba coming in here, and that always creates an extra set of challenges,” said Cobb. “But, we’ll roll with the punches and make it happen.”

Cobb also gets many of the extra “logistical” assignments from MLB, such as coordinating a professional level team of American players, when they might go play overseas. It was in that role, when he worked with the 2000 USA Baseball Olympic Team, as they traveled to Australia to play in the Olympic Games under Manager Tommy Lasorda. Cobb’s exploits running the Team USA operation are featured in Miracle on Grass, as he describes several of the crazy tales he recalls of trying to move a Hall of Fame manager, a baseball team, and a group of 50 Americans, to the other side of the world.

So, whenever you’re in Phoenix and at a spring training game, Arizona Fall League game, or WBC game, now you know who helps keep the baseball rolling in the operation.

David Fanucchi is the author of “Miracle on Grass” – How Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda led Team USA to a shocking upset over Cuba, capturing the only Olympic gold medal in USA Baseball history. He was the official Team USA Press Officer for both the 2000 USA Baseball Olympic Team and the 2006 USA World Baseball Classic Team. More information about Fanucchi and Miracle on Grass can be found on his website at www.davidfanucchi.com.  You can follow him on Twitter at @miracleongrass.

So I assumed you’ve already tuned out the playoffs, what with the Tigers, Yankees and Cardinals all advancing. Instead, let’s take a look at October baseball Kansas City Royals style, the Arizona Fall League. The Royals sent eight players to Arizona, here’s a little bit about each of them and what we can hope to see.

J.C. Sulbaran- Absolutely the most interesting prospect in Arizona. He came over in the Jonathan Broxton trade and struggled mightily after joining Northwest Arkansas but that was almost entirely due to control issues. At just 22 years old, there is plenty of time for Sulbaran to blossom into a back of the rotation starter. Sulbaran has yet to take the mound yet in Arizona. A great sign for the Royals would be if Sulbaran dominates the lesser competition in Arizona and keeps his walks down.

Edwin Carl- 24 year-old pitcher with impressive peripherals, but that’s what you’d expect from a 24 year old that’s yet to get to AA. Carl has struck out over 11 batters per nine innings in his minor league career with an outstanding 5.4-1 K/BB ratio. Carl gave up two hits including a home run in his fall league debut.

John Keck- 24 year-old left handed relief pitcher that finally dominated high-A ball this season, earning a promotion to AA. Keck does not stike a lot of people out, and he struggles with his control. It’s a major long shot that we ever see him in Kansas City. Keck has already given up 3 unearned runs on 5 hits in just 1.1 innings this fall.

Justin Marks- 24 year-old left handed starting pitcher that pitched well in AA this season. Marks came to the Royals as part of the David DeJesus trade. A great performance is Anrizona could lead to an assignment in Omaha in 2012, putting him in line to fill a gap once the third or fourth Tommy John injury is sustained. Marks threw three hitless innings in his Fall League debut, walking two and striking out two.

Alex McClure- 23 year-old shortstop that has shown no ability to hit at any level. Played half a season in Northwest Arkansas in 2012 and posted an OPS of .525, which is just slightly below his career OPS. Mcclure is 1/6 wuth an error in two fall games thus far.

Whit Merrifield- 23 year-old outfielder/second baseman that has shown limited promise in his time in the organization. This is likely his last chance to make an impression on the organization. Merrifield has started the fall 2/8 with two runs scored, he’s also committed an error.

Brian Fletcher- 23 (soon to be 24) year-old outfielder that progressed to AA mid-season. Fletcher has 31 home runs in 857 career minor league at bats, but he would have to have an impressive fall and outstanding 2013 to have any chance to figure in the Royals long term plans. Fletcher is 3/10 with an RBI in three games of Arizona Fall League action.

Orlando Calixte- 20 year-old SS from the Dominican Republic that committed 46 errors in 123 games in 2012. Calixte did have his best year at the plate in 2012, smacking 14 home runs and posting a respectable .759 OPS. At 20, and already with 60 games at High-A ball under his belt, Calixte could really benefit if the time in Arizone helps him with the glove. Calixte is 3/9 in three games, and he’s yet to commit an error. An outstaning sign for the Royals would be if Calixte could end the fall with the same number of errors he has now, more realistically he needs to improve drastically on his ratio of an error every three games.

Eight Royals To Compete For Surprise In 2012 Arizona Fall League

KANSAS CITY, MO (August 29, 2012) – The Arizona Fall League and the Kansas City Royals today named seven players from the Royals organization who will compete for the Surprise Saguaros in the 2012 Arizona Fall League.  An eighth player, a pitcher, will be announced at a later date.

The Royals prospects are right-handed pitcher Edwin Carl, left-handed pitchers Jon Keck and Justin Marks, infielder Alex McClure, infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield and outfielder Brian Fletcher.  Infielder Orlando Calixte will be a member of the “taxi squad” and be eligible to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays only.  Fletcher has been designated as the Royals “priority player”, assuring he will be granted maximum playing time.

2012 marks the 21st season of the Arizona Fall League, created by Major League Baseball in 1992 to serve as an off-season league for top prospects.  The season will begin on Tuesday, October 9, with the Rising Stars Game set for November 3 and the Championship Game scheduled for November 17.

SPRINGDALE, AR – The Kansas City Royals are just two games into the spring season, but already have shown a winning attitude.  They dominated the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers in a 6-1 win to open the year, and used a late rally to win 7-6 in their second game.

Many former Naturals have been a part of the team’s early spring success.  Johnny Giavotella scored two runs in the first game, while Mike Moustakas had a pair of hits and an RBI in game one.  Giavotella continues to have the upper hand in the battle with Chris Getz to be the Royals starting second baseman, but Getz has shown a better ability to drive the ball so far this spring.

Kevin Kouzmanoff, a non-roster invitee to spring training, capped the 6-5 win in game two with a two-run double in the ninth inning to drive home former Naturals Moustakas and Wil Myers.  Myers has picked up where he left off last fall in the Arizona Fall League this spring.  He has gone 2-for-4 so far this spring and scored twice in just two games.  Myers is trying to make the step up to Triple-A Omaha to start the 2012 season.  Derrick Robinson, who is trying to make that same step, also had a big day Monday for the Royals delivering a two-run single in yesterday’s game.

The Royals are in action Tuesday playing in two games (split squad) against San Diego and Cleveland.  The minor league affiliates will begin playing spring games next Thursday March 15th.  The last minor league game this spring will be March 28th.

Naturals/Texas League Notes

Naturals in Other Camps: Juan Abreu (2009) allowed one run in one inning of work so far this spring for the Astros.  Abreu, who made his major league debut with Houston last season is trying to make the team in a relief role.  Angel Sanchez (2008) is in camp with Houston as a non-roster invitee but has yet to see any game action for the Astros.  Kila Ka’aihue (2008) has gone 2-for-10 thus far in three games for the Oakland Athletics.  He is competing for playing time at first base and designated hitter with Daric Barton and former Texas leaguer Chris Carter (Midland, 2009).  Ka’aihue is out of options, and must make the big league roster or be exposed to waivers prior to being sent to the minor leagues.  Jeff Fulchino (2008) made his debut for the Nationals this spring tossing a scoreless inning March 4 against Houston.  Other former Naturals in spring training this season include a trio of players who are in camp with the Atlanta Braves, Dusty Hughes (2008), first baseman Ernesto Mejia (2010), and outfielder Jordan Parraz (2009).  Parraz has gone 2-for-4 with an RBI so far this spring, while Mejia is 1-for-5 with a triple and an RBI.  Hughes made his first appearance on March 3 throwing a scoreless inning against the Detroit Tigers while surrendering a pair of hits.  Former Natural Jeff Bianchi, who is in major league camp with the Milwaukee Brewers, made the highlight real last night tripping on two different occasions while trying to score on a botched fly ball in a game versus the San Francisco Giants. Bianchi had singled off Giants’ ace reliever Sergio Romo.

Transactions:  Former Natural Dan Cortes failed his physical last week.  This voided his minor league deal with the Washington Nationals, making him a free agent.  Longtime Natural Blake Johnson was signed to a minor league deal by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday March 2nd.   Johnson is the only player to suit up for Northwest Arkansas in all four seasons of their existence.  This season the right-hander will either find himself at Double-A Chattanooga or Triple-A Albuquerque.

Other Injury Notes: Felipe Paulino experienced some tightness in his hamstring last week during camp, but it does not appear to be something that will be a long term issue at this point.  Manny Pina is expected to miss the rest of spring training as he recovers from knee surgery, while Paulo Orlando who is recovering from surgery for a sports hernia is expected to be back soon for the Royals.

Check nwanaturals.com for our Spring Training Report, where we’ll continue to follow Royals’ minor leaguers in spring training as well as cover other baseball information that pertains to the Naturals and the Texas League.

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.

The following statistics, provided by the Kansas City Royals, are current through January 22, 2012

Assignments

Position Players

Pitchers

Old friend of I-70, Wally Fish (of Kings Of Kauffman fame), has a site known as Seedlings To The Stars. They are currently in the process of counting down their top 100 prospects and we thought our readers might like to drop by there for some insight. Below are I-70 players that are currently profiled. Drop by the site and read up on the future of your favorite franchise.

The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #16: Wil Myers
Nathan Stoltz of Seedlings To The Stars says:

It’s not easy to hold one’s own in a Double-A lineup at age 20, and that’s exactly what Myers did in 2011. He had already blown apart both A-ball levels in 2010 as a teenager, so he has a strong track record.

Myers showed a bit of everything in his game this past year, walking 12.5% of the time and posting a 5/3 K/BB ratio. He ripped 23 doubles in 99 games, and some of his doubles should start clearing the fence as he matures. Myers even stole nine bases in 11 attempts.

Myers then crushed the Arizona Fall League in the offseason, hitting .360/.481/.674 with more walks than strikeouts and 14 extra-base hits in 23 games.

Read the full profile on Wil Myers by clicking here.

The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #8: Shelby Miller
Nathan Stoltz of Seedlings To The Stars says:

Miller followed up an excellent 2010 season with a truly dominating performance in High-A as a 20-year-old, striking out a whopping 13.75 batters per nine innings. He then moved up to Double-A for the majority of the year, where he continued to strike out over a batter per inning and held his walk rate steady at 3.4 BB/9. He also allowed just four home runs all season, an impressive feat; his Double-A home park is probably the most hitter-friendly stadium at that level.

More than any sort of statistical dominance, Miller’s always been known for having a very powerful right arm. He whips fastballs in the 93-96 range with excellent riding life up in the zone, and he backs it up with a solid curveball and a workable changeup. His delivery is extremely simple and effortless, so he isn’t sacrificing durability for the sake of velocity. At 6’3″ and a sturdy 200 lbs. he’s built to pitch deep into games.

Red the full profile on Shelby Miller by clicking here.

If prospects are what you are looking for and you want the most in-depth analysis available, all of us here at I-70 would suggest you drop by Seedlings To The Stars often. I know it is sitting at the top of my bookmarks currently.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

DALLAS, TX – A few former Northwest Arkansas Naturals have spent the past couple weeks seeing their names bandied about in trade rumors as respect for the job Royals’ GM Dayton Moore and his key front office executives have done building the farm system gets noticed across baseball.

Naturals’ outfielder Wil Myers has been thrown around in more than a few of those rumors. Earlier this fall, several different sources had him being of interest to the Atlanta Braves, who were attempting to interest the Royals in starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens and infielder/outfielder Martin Prado. In Dallas, it was rumored that the Oakland Athletics were placing talented southpaw Gio Gonzalez on the block, with Myers one of a couple of players that might interest the A’s should they hook up with the Royals on a trade.

“I’d like to keep Wil Myers‘ name out of the paper as much as possible,” Moore told Dick Kaegel of MLB.com. “Wil Myers is a young, talented player. He had a tremendous Arizona Fall League. We live with him every day. We love him and he’s a big part of our future. But he’s a Double-A player. He’s going to produce at his own natural rate. We’re not going to put unrealistic expectations on him. What other cliche do you want?”

In the end, nothing took place on either front, as KC would prefer to hold onto Myers, who finished a stellar stint in the Arizona Fall League, batting .360 with a .481 on-base percentage. The Kansas City Star reported that one reason for holding off on exchanging prospects for major league pieces, particularly a young southpaw like Gonzalez, was that the Royals wanted to see how their own young left-handers – all current or former Naturals like Chris Dwyer, Mike Montgomery, Danny Duffy, and Will Smith, continued to develop. They also have Naturals’ lefty John Lamb, arguably the most talented of them all, recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The Royals are hopeful Lamb will be able to return to action mid-season, and that he and the rest of the quintet of southpaw prospects proves the pitching depth Kansas City appeared to have prior to the 2011 season is very much intact.

Another rumor had the Toronto Blue Jays interested in emerging Royals’ fireman Greg Holland, a former Natural from the 2009 bullpen. Holland has drawn interest from other teams as well, but before the Winter Meetings began, the Blue Jays had been rumored to be dangling former Cardinal outfielder Colby Rasmus for him. There was another rumor that had the Rays discussing Naturals’ infielder Christian Colon possibly in a package for Tampa Bay starter James Shields.

On the lobby floor of the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, it can be very difficult to separate fact from fiction, especially given that with so many baseball people talking to one another and so many media people around, some of the fiction invariably ends up airing on TV and appearing on the internet. But one thing appears clear – most of baseball has respect for the direction the Royals appear to be headed. Those former Naturals are just going to have to get used to the rumor mill.

“A lot of people have a lot of interest in our young guys, and that’s good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “That’s really good. We like them and think they’re going to be good players and help us win a championship, so we’ve got to be especially smart in the moves we make now.”

The old baseball saying is, sometimes the best trade is the trade you don’t make.

“We’re in really good shape,” Yost said, “because Dayton and our scouting people and player development have worked really hard to build this organization to where it is now. And to dismantle it [by trading] some of these young players really doesn’t make sense at this time.”
Naturals/Texas League Notes

Rule 5 Draft: The Royals took left-handed pitcher Cesar Cabral in the Major League phase and immediately dealt him to the Yankees for cash. In the Triple-A phase, they selected left-hander Thomas Melgarejo from the Dodgers’ organization. Melgarejo could be a candidate to see time with the Naturals in 2012. The Royals lost no players in the Draft, in either phase.

Winter League Report

Several other current and former Naturals are honing their craft this off-season playing in various winter leagues that span the globe.

Puerto Rico: Rey Navarro (Crillos de Caguas) had a three-hit game on Saturday but still has underwhelming overall numbers, sitting at .167 with a homer and eight RBI’s… Irving Falu (Indios de Mayaguez) has an eight-game hit streak intact through Thursday, with two multi-hit efforts. He’s now batting a cool .308 this winter…Angel Sanchez, teammates with Falu in Mayaguez, has six hits in his last two games to lift his average to .279…Mario Santiago, having completed a stint in the Dominican Republic that saw him go 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in nine appearances for Tigres del Licey, now has re-located back to his native Puerto Rico and joined his usual club, the Gigantes de Carolina. He made his first start for them on Tuesday night, going seven innings and allowing just one run.

Venezuela: Mario Lisson (Navegantes de Magallanes) has been getting increasingly more playing time, and both he and his team have been to the benefit, as he’s lifted his average to .270 with five homers and 16 runs batted in. He’s even seen spot duty in right field… Ernesto Mejia (Aguilas del Zulia) homered on Thursday for his seventh home run of the winter league season, part of a 2-for-4 effort that included three RBI’s. He’s now hitting .275 with 34 RBI’s which leads the team…Manny Pina (Bravos de Margarita) sees mainly defensive duty only for the Bravos, and he has just one hit in his last seven games.

Dominican Republic: Manauris Baez (Estrellas de Oriente) allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts in his most recent start on Sunday… Willy Lebronwas sidelined after leaving a game with an arm injury on November 6^th but returned on November 23^rd, pitching a third of an inning, where he allowed two runs. He’s been sidelined since… Kelvin Herrera (Leones del Escogido) completed his stint in winter ball after 12 outings, having allowed just one earned run and fanning 15 while walking four in 17 1/3 innings pitched…He was teammates with Everett Teaford, who finished his winter league season with five starts, during which he went 1-1 with a 3.04 ERA, striking out 29 batters and walking only three in 23 2/3 innings. Elisaul Pimentel (Leones del Escogido) has gotten more work of late, with four appearances since Thanksgiving, giving him six on the year all in relief. Pimentel has fanned 11 in ten innings and has a 2.70 ERA…Naturals’ southpaw Andrew Dobies (Toros del Este) has allowed four runs in four appearances thus far…

Mexico: Federico Castaneda (Tomateros de Culiacan) allowed a pair of runs in his most recent outing which came on Tuesday. He has a 6.23 ERA and a 1-2 record over 20 outings…new acquisition Thomas Melgarejo (Aguilas de Mexicali) has been dominating, striking out 12 and allowing just five hits in 10 2/3 innings over 18 appearances.

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: Several other Texas League teams saw talent plucked in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft– the Travelers lost first baseman Gabe Jacobo (selected by Toronto), reliever Barrett Browning (selected by St. Louis), and two infielders on their roster, Michael Wing and Ricky Alvarez who played with lower level clubs in 2011 but were likely members of their 2012 club. San Antonio had a lefty reliever, Aaron Poreda, snared by the Pirates and Midland lost left-hander Fabian Williamson to the Rangers. Springfield lost both infielder Domnit Bolivar (Milwaukee), catcher Charlie Cutler (Pittsburgh), and pitcher Javier Arenado (Toronto) but picked up Browning from the Angels and right-hander Shooter Hunt out of the Minnesota organization. In the minor league version of the Rule 5 Draft, there is no provision that states that the selecting team must return the player to their original organization or keep him at any pre-determined level of the organization, so many of these players will be in Double-A in 2012.

Check nwanaturals.com twice monthly for the Hot Stove Report, where we’ll continue to follow Royals’ minor leaguers in winter ball as well as cover other off-season baseball information that pertains to the Naturals and the Texas League.

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.

Naturals’ GM Edelstein wins Royals award
Giavotella, Seratelli, Herrera also honored

KANSAS CITY, MO — Northwest Arkansas Naturals general manager Eric Edelstein, first baseman/infielder Anthony Seratelli, pitcher Kelvin Herrera, and former Naturals second baseman and current Royals’ second baseman Johnny Giavotella were among those named Thursday as Kansas City Royals’ organizational award recipients for their on-field achievements during the 2011 season.

Previously, the club announced the following award recipients as voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Pitcher Bruce Chen was the selection for the 2011 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year while Alex Gordon was the 2011 Les Milgram Player of the Year. Rookie first baseman and former Natural Eric Hosmer was named the 2011 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award winner.

Eric Edelstein, general manager of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, is the recipient of the Matt Minker Award – recognizing an outstanding minor league affiliate employee. Edelstein has served as the Naturals GM since October of 2006, several months before the franchise played its first game. Prior to his time in Springdale, the Cleveland, Ohio, native served as the GM with the Wichita Wranglers for three seasons. Edelstein was a co-recipient of the 2008 Texas League Executive of the Year and a member of the 2008 class of 40-under-40 by the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal.

Anthony Seratelli is the recipient of the Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year – recognizing the organization’s top baserunner. The versatile Seratelli, 28, stole 35 bases in 40 attempts and was named as the Naturals’ Player of the Year for the 2011 season. The switch hitter who hit .317 (20-for-63) with Surprise in the Arizona Fall League, was purchased by the Royals from the Windy City ThunderBolts of the Independent Frontier League on February 27, 2007.

Kelvin Herrera is the recipient of the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year – recognizing the organization’s top pitcher. The 21-year-old rocketed through the system this season by posting dominant numbers out of the bullpen that earned him a spot on the World squad in the XM Futures All-Star Game. Herrera combined to go 7-1 with 14 saves and a 1.60 ERA in 45 relief appearances for Wilmington (Class-A Advanced), Northwest Arkansas, and Omaha (AAA). He had his contract selected by the Royals on September 21 and made two relief appearances. Born and raised in Tenares, Dominican Republic, Herrera signed with the Royals as a non-drafted free agent on December 13, 2006.

Johnny Giavotella is the recipient of the George Brett Hitter of the Year – recognizing the organization’s top hitter. Giavotella was hitting .338 with a minor league-leading 153 hits for Triple-A Omaha at the time of his call-up to the Royals on August 5. The second baseman had 34 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 72 RBI and 67 runs scored in 110 games for the Storm Chasers. The 24-year-old was a starter on the Pacific Coast League All-Star team, part of the 12-member All-PCL Team and recently named to the Topps Triple-A All-Star team. A Natural and Texas League All-Star during the 2010 Championship season, the University of New Orleans alum was the Royals’ second-round selection in the 2008 Draft.

Tim Melville is the recipient of the Mike Sweeney Award – recognizing a player who best represents the organization on and off the field. The Royals’ fourth-round pick in 2008 volunteered himself for numerous hospital, community and other charitable works throughout the 2011 season with the Blue Rocks. Melville specifically volunteered for the non-paying community appearances, allowing his teammates the first crack at the compensated events. On the field, the 22-year-old from Wentzville, Mo., compiled an 11-10 record with a 4.32 ERA in 29 games, including 25 starts. After two seasons with Wilmington, Melville is expected to see time with the Naturals next season.

The honorees will be recognized at the Royals Awards Luncheon presented by Sprint and Teva on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. The event will take place at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, Kan. Further details for all award winners are available at www.royals.com. The Naturals offer our heartfelt congratulations to all of the organization’s award recipients.

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.

SURPRISE, AZ – The Salt River Rafters topped the Surprise Saguaros last Saturday to claim the Arizona Fall League crown. But that doesn’t discount the strides the Royals’ prospects, particularly the offensive players, made during their eight weeks in Arizona.

Surprise finished with the best record in the 20-year history of the circuit, posting a 26-10 record during the Fall League season. The Saguaros lost consecutive games only once, and the Royals’ three offensive players on the squad, Wil Myers, Christian Colon, and Anthony Seratelli, all fared pretty well. But Myers in particular impressed, as he was named to the Arizona Fall League’s All-Prospect Team.

Myers’ accomplishments for the Fall League season came after a injury-riddled disappointing campaign during the regular season with the Naturals, and may have set the Royals’ top hitting prospect on the fast track to Kansas City. During early October, Royals’ brass was quoted in the Kansas City Star indicating the Myers would begin the 2012 season back in the Naturals’ lineup, but might have turned that timetable over after batting .360 with Surprise. Myers tied for the league lead in walks (20), and triples (5), ranked second in on-base percentage (.481), third in slugging percentage (.674), sixth in both average and runs (24). Even more impressive, he reached base safely via hit or walk in 22 of 23 games he played with Surprise, and scored a run in 18 of 23 contests. He also went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI’s, a run, and a stolen base during the Rising Stars Game.

Myers describes his production as a product of better poise in the batter’s box, which has allowed him to lay off of pitches outside of the strike zone and drive the ball when opposing hurlers are forced to throw strikes.

“Basically, I’m having more confidence at the plate,” Myers said. “Just going up there knowing I can get hits is important. This year (in Northwest Arkansas) I swung at a lot of pitcher’s pitches…now I’m recognizing what they’re throwing and going deep into counts.”

Myers’ plate discipline has also caught the eye of J.J. Picollo, Kansas City’s Assistant General Manager of Scouting and Player Development.

“He’s seeing the ball very well right now,” Picollo explained. “He’s really maturing as a hitter, being more patient and not being so anxious. People in Double-A knew how good he was, so he got a lot of pitches off the plate. Now when they pitch him that way he’s getting into 2-1, 2-0 and 3-1 types of counts.”

Picollo pointed out that Myers’ improvement is even more exciting because the talent level in the Arizona Fall League is so high.

“Pitching in the fall league is a little better than Double-A,” he said. “Arm after arm coming out of the bullpen are good arms. To do what Wil is doing against a high-caliber type of pitching is great to see.”

In addition to his improved plate presence, Picollo thinks Myers’ power will catch up shortly.

“We all know he has a tremendous amount of power,” Picollo said. “That he hasn’t put up huge home run totals is just reflective of a young player in an advanced league. Remember, he’s one of just three players from his high school draft class to reach Double-A. The power will come out at some point in time. Right now he just needs to worry about hitting doubles, finding gaps, hitting to all fields. That’s part of the natural progression hitters make.”

Through three full seasons in the minor leagues, Myers has connected on 27 long balls, including eight homers in 99 games this year in the Texas League. He hit five in 22 games in 2009 and belted 14 in 126 games in 2010, while also ripping 37 doubles that season for Advanced Class-A Wilmington.

Those numbers were enough to rank him No. 10 on Baseball America’s Top-100 Prospects list entering the 2011 season, just behind fellow Royals’ cornerstones Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. While it’s too early to tell if Myers will make the same type of year-four jumps those two made, his confidence is bolstered because of Kansas City’s willingness to call guys up when they are deserving.

“The Royals have a plan for me,” Myers said. “It’s cool to see those guys (Hosmer and Moustakas) move up, knowing that they like to promote from within.”

Picollo said Myers’ work ethic will serve him well as he tries to make his case for a promotion to Kansas City in the future.

“Wil’s competitive nature will help him. He wants to get to the big leagues, but at this point he just needs to worry about things he can control. He needs to work hard every day and play hard every day.”

Both Seratelli and Colon also finished with solid numbers. Colon, playing mostly second base, heated up late and lifted his average from the low-.200s to nearly .300, while Seratelli faded a bit with more playing time late but still finished with a .317 average and .436 on-base percentage against more advanced pitching. Seratelli hopes that the solid showing in the fall league can help his chance to make Triple-A Omaha next spring.

On the pitching end, Jeffress and Lafferty both fanned over a batter per inning but had a couple of rough outings that tainted their numbers. Jeffress was also victimized for four runs in a relief outing during the Championship Game that put the game squarely out of reach for Surprise.

Here is a look at the final statistics for all of the Royals prospects in Surprise.

Naturals/Texas League Notes

Springfield names new manager: Mike Shildt was named Monday as the new skipper of the Springfield Cardinals. He replaces Ron “Pop” Warner, who advances up a level to manage their Triple-A affiliate in Memphis. The remainder of the Springfield field staff remains intact from 2011. Shildt comes to Springfield after three seasons managing their rookie-level Appalachian League club in Johnson City. With Springfield’s announcement, four teams in the Texas League have announced their staffs for next season, with two of them bringing in new managers.

Winter League Report

Several other current and former Naturals are honing their craft this off-season playing in various winter leagues that span the globe.

Puerto Rico: Rey Navarro (Crillos de Caguas) appeared in just one game this past week but his hitless streak continues as his average slumped to .053… Irving Falu (Indios de Mayaguez) has a three-game hitting streak, with three-hit efforts in two of those games including three RBI’s on Sunday… Angel Sanchez, teammates with Falu in Mayaguez, is batting .237 in ten games thus far. He may be in line for more duty next year with the Astros as their starting shortstop from 2011, Clint Barmes, signed with Pittsburgh.

Venezuela: Mario Lisson (Navegantes de Magallanes) had a 2-for-3 effort Sunday to raise his average to .258… Former Natural Jose Duarte (Leones de Caracas), who is currently a minor league free agent, hasn’t had a hit since November 8^th, but during that time his playing time has dried up and he’s received only three at-bats, being used primarily as a defensive sub… Ernesto Mejia (Aguilas del Zulia) has hit in five of six games, a couple being multi-hit efforts, as his average lifts to .297. As typical, Mejia is feasting on winter league pitchers, as he has four homers and has 23 runs driven in so far…Manny Pina (Bravos de Margarita) has struggled in 14 games thus far, batting .129.

Dominican Republic: Manauris Baez (Estrellas de Oriente) fanned seven in six scoreless innings in his most recent start, and now has a 1.64 ERA in six outings, including five starts… Mario Santiago (Tigres del Licey) allowed a pair of runs in five innings in his start on Sunday. Santiago has 27 strikeouts and eight walks in 35 1/3 innings…Willy Lebron, Santiago’s rotation-mate in Licey and fellow Royals’ farmhand, hasn’t pitched since leaving a game with an arm injury on November 6^th … Kelvin Herrera (Leones del Escogido) continues to mount a resume for 2012, as he’s gone scoreless in all nine of his outings. He’s teammates with Everett Teaford, who pitched 5 2/3 scoreless in his last outing on November 16^th to lower his ERA to 3.57 in four starts.

Mexico: Federico Castaneda (Tomateros de Culiacan) continues to be one of the busier relievers in winter ball, as his outing Friday was already his 15^th of the winter league season. After a couple rough early outings, Castaneda has settled in, keeping the opposition scoreless in his last five games to lower the ERA to 6.97.

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: Ryan Verdugo, the southpaw the Royals acquired from the Giants in the trade that also brought southpaw Jonathan Sanchez to Kansas City was added to the 40-Man roster on Friday, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft which will occur December 8^th at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas.

Check nwanaturals.com every two weeks beginning Friday, December 2^nd for our Hot Stove Report, where we’ll continue to follow Royals’ minor leaguers in winter ball as well as cover other off-season baseball information that pertains to the Naturals and the Texas League.

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.

Baby Birds Ryan Jackson and Matt Adams sat down with MLB.com recently to discuss their season and their time in the Arizona Fall League.

Ryan Jackson, SS

Matt Adams, 1B

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.