Throughout the month of August, Todd Fertig will be bringing fans a look at a few of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals players. The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

Danny Duffy, Mike Montgomery, John Lamb and Chris Dwyer got all the publicity coming into the season, but another pitcher is quickly establishing himself as perhaps the Royals’ top pitching prospect.

Each of the aforementioned lefthanders was rated highly coming into the season. But while each has had his struggles, Jake Odorizzi, the best righty in the system, has been lights out.

After dominating at the Single-A level for his first 15 starts of the season, Odorizzi is finding Double-A to his liking as well.

Many prospects call the jump to Double-A one of the most challenging steps on the path to the big leagues. That makes Odorizzi’s first month with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals all the more impressive.

The 21-year-old recorded victories in three of his first five starts at Northwest Arkansas, striking out nearly a batter per inning and posting a WHIP of about 1.2. His early returns at Double-A are quickly putting to rest any fear that his success was due to the pitcher-friendly nature of the lower level.

Thus far, Odorizzi has been roughed up just once at the Double-A level – the Springfield Cardinals notched five earned runs off him in just four innings on July 17. But the Illinois native quickly took his revenge on the St. Louis affiliate by holding them to just two hits in seven innings just five days later.

In a third meeting, the Cardinals handed Odorizzi his first loss at the Double-A level last night, but he gamely battled in a 1-1 tie into the sixth. A couple of singles and a walk finally chased him from the game on a smothering Ozarks evening.

Acquired as part of the Zack Greinke sweepstakes, Odorizzi attracted the least amount of attention in the trade. But those in the know recognized he was more than just a throw-in. He was rated the #37 prospect in the minors prior to the season. His physique, style and demeanor on the mound have even drawn comparisons to Greinke.

Like the Royals’ Cy Young winner from 2009, Odorizzi is an excellent all-around athlete. He turned down a scholarship to play football and baseball at Louisville when he was drafted by the Brewers in the first round in 2008.

Odorizzi doesn’t possess the blazing fastball Greinke can muster. Odorizzi works his fastball at around 89-91 miles per hour, mixing in a solid curveball and an advanced changeup for his age.

With Norhtwest Arkansas jockeying for a playoff spot again this season, Odorizzi will gain a lot of experience and should enter next season as one of the highest rated pitchers in the minors.

Royals fans can look forward to an all-star rotation in Omaha which should include Dwyer, Lamb and Odorizzi. Kansas City, desperate for starting pitching, can see help on the horizon.

Royals Fans have been searching for something, anything that might point to a resurgence of an organization that was not even good enough to cheat properly during The Steroid Era. I’m not talking about the usual rays of sunshine that come from the Kansas City media every March in hopes you’re still reading and listening to them in June. I’m talking about unbiased opinions that the Royals have something going for them.

Over the off-season early returns appeared on the radar. Baseball Prospectus, Keith Law, and Baseball America named the Royals Farm System the best in baseball. In some cases the farm system was named the best of all time. Finally, someone outside Royals Nation has something positive to say.

Understandably, even with the accolades the Royals organization is still facing criticism. Detractors have said they’ll trade off the prospects. People point out quite correctly, that the prospects are in fact prospects, and have not done anything at the major league level. Finally, the Royals won’t re-sign the prospects if they become stars.

The criticism that the Royals will trade off the prospects is baseless. If anything the Royals should be criticized for trading Cy Young winners, and proven outfielders for prospects. You can’t have it both ways. With the signing bonuses and contracts Dayton Moore has been handing to Scott Boras clients coming out the Amateur Draft the Royals clearly want to hang onto their prospects.

The argument that the players in the farm system are just prospects does have some merit. After all, Royals fans are still waiting for the last “can’t miss prospect” to dominate. But let’s take a closer look. The Royals have nine prospects in Baseball America’s Top 100. Chances are two of them won’t make it in majors beyond their cup of coffee. Most of them will go the way of Alex Gordon and not meet expectations, but play roles on the major league roster. This means we’re hoping that two of them become stars.

How many stars has the organization produced since 2003, the last year the Royals had a winning record? One, Zack Greinke; whose Cy Young Award and hype are propped up by one excellent season. The rest of his work is rather pedestrian. If two out of the Royals’ magnificent nine turn into stars the Royals are ahead of the game. Not to mention the myriad of other roles players that will emerge. The current farm system is so deep a guy like Clint Robinson isn’t making any lists. He only hit for the Texas League Triple Crown last year, and has made the most of his performances in the short spring. But he’s still a prospect.

I’m just as anxious as any Royals Fan for the organization to begin winning at the major league level. At least now the organization has something going for it. What makes a farm system great isn’t the individual talent. It’s the quantity of individual talent. It’s nice not to have one star prospect in the system and have the local media label him “The next George Brett”. This allows the prospects to develop without added pressure. Which we all hope increases the likely hood that they will produce at the major league level.

If the Royals are truly going to ascend into relevancy, pull itself out of the ashes like the early 90’s Braves, late 90’s Twins, and more recently Rays, and Rangers this process has to take place. This brings me back to the criticism that the Royals will not sign long term contracts to any stars they do produce. First off, there are only four or five teams that don’t have to worry about that. Finally, if the farm system is continuously producing winning teams will you care?