For 2013, the Kansas City Royals invited nine pitchers, four catchers, four infielders and four outfielders to Spring Training in Surprise, AZ. This year’s list of invitees are a mix of young prospects and veteran Minor and Major League players wanting a shot at the Majors.

It’s a long shot for any of these players to make the Opening Day roster. They need an extraordinary spring training and other regular players to succumb to injury or poor performance. And the Royals would need to add them to the 40-man roster. If the team has to rely on these players to win in 2013, they’re in trouble. I’ll list the players invited and who I think could make the Opening Day roster.

Pitchers (9): RHP Blaine Boyer, RHP Sugar Ray Marimon, RHP Michael Mariot, RHP Brian Sanches, LHP Atahualpa Severino, LHP George Sherrill, RHP Yordano Ventura, LHP Ryan Verdugo, RHP Dan Wheeler

Most likely to make the roster: Ryan Verdugo, Dan Wheeler

The 25-year-old Ryan Verdugo spent most of 2012 with AAA Omaha, had a 12-4 record with a 3.75 ERA. He had a forgettable Major League debut last July, lasting 1.2 innings, giving up eight hits and six earned runs against the Seattle Mariners. He’ll need an impressive spring training to make the Royals Opening Day roster. And if he does make the Royals roster, it’s probably as a reliever.

Dan Wheeler is a 13-year veteran reliever with a career 3.98 ERA in 589 games with 640.2 innings pitched. He has a good 2.86 SO/BB ratio and does better against right-handed batters with a 4.04 SO/BB ratio compared to a 1.70 SO/BB ratio against left-handed batters. If he has a good spring, he could offer veteran leadership for a young bullpen.

Catchers (4): Adam Moore, Manuel (Manny) Pina, Max Ramirez, Julio Rodriguez

Most likely to make the roster: Manuel (Manny) Pina

If it wasn’t for a knee injury during last year’s spring training, the 25-year-old Pina would be the backup to Brayan Pena after Salvador Perez‘s knee injury. Pena signed with the Detroit Tigers this offseason, so Pina could be the Royals backup catcher.

Infielders (4): Christian Colon, Anthony Seratelli, Miguel Tejada, Brandon Wood

Most likely to make the roster: Christian Colon, Miguel Tejada

If Johnny Giavotella and Chris Getz falter, the Royals may give the 23-year-old Christian Colon a shot at second. Yes, he spent most of Minor League career as a shortstop, but Alcides Escobar is the starting shortstop and he’s not going anywhere. Second base is the best chance for Colon to make the big leagues, and the Royals should give him every chance to do so. The question is, will they?

If this was ten years ago, the Royals signing Miguel Tejada would be a big deal. But now it’s just a once great player trying to make it back to the Majors. For most of his career, Tajada played shortstop. If the six-time All-Star and 2002 MVP has any hope of making the club, he’ll have to do it at second base. He’s played a few games at second and it’s rumored the Royals may add him to the 40-man roster. It would be nice for the 38-year-old Tejada to make a comeback and have a good season, but not at the expense of a younger player like Colon.

Outfielders (4): Endy Chavez, Luis Durango, Xavier Nady, Willy Taveras

Most likely to make the roster: Endy Chavez, Xavier Nady

Remember Endy Chavez making his Major League debut with the Royals in 2001? If not, it’s understandable, since he only played 29 games with a .208 batting average. After bouncing around with seven other teams, the 34-year-old Chavez is back with the Royals. He’s become a part-time outfielder, who only appeared in 64 games with the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. He did play 21 games last season in right field, so fans can hope he supplants Jeff Francoeur this season. It’s not likely to happen. If Chavez isn’t on the Royals roster, he’ll probably be in Omaha.

The 34-year-old Xaiver Nady is an 11 year Major League veteran who’s spent the last few years as a backup outfielder/pinch hitter. A career .270 hitter, he’s got power potential and he hits well against left and right-handed pitching, but with players like Jarrod Dyson and David Lough ahead of him, Nady is probably Omaha bound.

A few years ago, many of these players would be seriously vying for roster spots. But today these players are organizational depth and “Plan B” players. And that’s a good thing.

The Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) went 2-4 over their last eight games and now sit at 27-18 on the season as they finish up a trip to the west coast.  The Storm Chasers have the third best record in the PCL trailing Sacramento and Fresno, but lead their division by eight games.

Who’s Hot
Offensively for the Storm Chasers Tony Abreu and Clint Robinson each have continued to swing hot bats.  Robinson is hitting .351 with 10 RBI over his last ten games.  Abreu is hitting at a .324 clip over his last ten contests and has two home runs, six RBI, and seven runs scored in that time.  Both players have been hot all season offensively with Robinson hitting .315 with 29 RBI, and Abreu checking in at .333 with 24 RBI.  Will Smith has been getting things done on the mound in Omaha.  He has allowed just three runs in 14.2 innings over his last two starts.  Smith is 1-3 on the season with a 4.01 ERA in nine starts this season.

Who’s Not
Jason Bourgeois has continued to struggle at the plate after being sent down to Triple-A.  Bourgeois was one of the players acquired in Spring Training from the Houston Astros in exchange for left-hander Kevin Chapman.  He is hitting .135 (5-for-37) over his last ten games with two RBI.  Vin Mazzaro also had a tough outing his last time on the mound for the Storm Chasers.  In his last Triple-A start Mazzaro went five and a third inning allowing nine hits and five runs, despite striking out seven.

Double-A

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) are now 24-coming off of their best road trip of the season.  The Naturals went 5-3 on the trip, including a sweep of the Tulsa Drillers, that has pulled them within one game of the lead in the North Division.

Who’s Hot
Catcher Julio Rodriguez is more known for his defense than his offense, but he has had one of the hottest bats in the Texas League over the past week.  Rodriguez is hitting .409 (9-for-22) over his last eight games with three runs scored and two RBI.  Yem Pradesis seeing his bat heat up again as well going 6-for-16 (.375) over his last five contests.  Prades also hit his second home run of the season during that span.  On the mound for the Naturals Patrick Keating has been lights out in May.  The right-hander has appeared in six games, tossing seven innings, and allowing just two hits, while striking out 10.

Who’s Not
First baseman Johnny Whittleman has hit his first slump of the season.  Whittleman is just 5-for-30 over his last nine games (.167), but when he has hit the ball it has been hard.  He has hit two home runs over that stretch to give him seven on the season.  Elisaul Pimentel had his strongest outing of the season in his first start of the year against Tulsa, but struggled his last time on the hill against the Arkansas Travelers.  Pimentel went three and two-thirds innings allowing five hits and three runs in his second start of the season.

Class-A Advanced

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) went 5-2 last week and are now 20-23 on the season and in second place in the Carolina League’s Northern Division.  The Blue Rocks are trailing the Lynchburg Hillcats by four game and open the week with a series against third place Potomac.

Who’s Hot
Brian Fletcher and Kevin David have been providing the offense for the Blue Rocks over their last ten games.  David is hitting .417 (10-for-24) with a home run and six RBI.  The catcher has also scored four times in his last eight games.  Fletcher is continuing to be a force at the plate hitting .325 in his last ten games with one home run, seven RBI, and eight runs scored.  The outfielder has pulled his average up to .308 for the season with three home runs and 19 RBI in 42 games.  Yordano Ventura has been hot on the mound for the Blue Rocks.  The starting pitcher has gone 2-0 in his last two trips to the hill allowing only five hits and one run in 13 innings, while striking out 13.

Who’s Not
Outfielder Geulin Beltre, who appeared in some spring training games with the Naturals, has gone 4-for-32 (.094) over his last nine games with one home run and two RBI.  Tyler Sample continues to bounce back and forth between the hot and not lists.  In his last two outings Sample has logged nine innings of work allowing 12 hits and nine runs.

Class-A

The Kane County Cougars went 3-4 over the past week and they now sit at 23-22 on the season.  The Cougars are in third place in the Midwest League’s Western division, but are just 5.0 games behind the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers for the division lead.

Who’s Hot
Infielder Michael Antonio has been hitting everything in sight over his last nine games.  Antonio has gone 13-for-35 (.371) with eight runs scored, two home runs, and 10 RBI.  Jorge Bonifacio is back on another one of his hot streaks as well.  The young outfielder is hitting .341 (14-for-41) over his last ten games with nine runs scored, a home run and five RBI.  On the mound for the Cougars Edwin Carl has continued to be one of the best pitchers in the Midwest League.  In his last two outings Carl has logged 13 innings allowing 12 hits and three runs, while striking out seven.  The right-hander is 4-2 on the season with a 1.79 ERA in 50.1 innings of work.

Who’s Not
Shortstop Orlando Calixte, who was on the hot list just two weeks ago, has cooled off recntly.  He is 4-for-34 (.118) over his last nine games.  On the mound for the Cougars Kellen Moen is coming off one of his worst outings of the season.  Moen allowed ten hits and five runs in four and two-thirds innings.  He is 2-2 on the season with a 5.05 ERA in 46.1 innings of work.

Alumni Report (Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization) 

Who’s Hot
Ernesto Mejia is putting together his best month of the season, so far in May.  The first baseman is hitting a blistering .357 (25-for-70) so far in May with four home runs and 17 RBI.  He has 32 RBI on the season, which ranks him sixth in the International League.  Outfielder Tim Smith, who was recently signed by the Atlanta Braves, was promoted to Double-A Mississippi last week.  In two games with the Braves Smith has gone 2-for-4 with a run scored an RBI and two walks.

Who’s Not
Josh Johnson who is now with Triple-A Syracuse in the Washington Nationals organization is 5-for-28 (.179) over his last nine games, but has managed to score eight runs and knock in four over that stretch.   Chris McConnell, who is also in the Nationals organization with Double-A Harrisburg is struggling at the plate as well.  He is hitting just .167 over his last seven games.

Kila Ka’aihue has been struggling recently in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics.  The first baseman is 3-for-20 in his last seven games, but does have two RBI, including a game winner over that stretch.

The Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, experienced the joy of participating in one of baseball’s truly rare moments, the no-hitter.  The Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals experienced the agony of being on the receiving end.

The following press releases were sent in to the i70 mailbox from the two teams.

Naturals No-Hit Cardinals
Holland, Dwyer, Lafferty, Volz combine to throw gem

SPRINGDALE, AR- The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (17-16) got the second no-hitter in franchise history topping the Springfield Cardinals 2-0 on Thursday night at Arvest Ballpark.  The no-hitter was the first in the history of Arvest Ballpark, and the second for the Naturals, the last coming on July 19, 2011 at North Little Rock.

Greg Holland was brilliant in his second major league rehab start.  He used just 14 pitches to strikeout the side in order.  The Naturals offense wasted not time getting to Cardinals (14-19) starter Trevor Rosenthal (2-4) getting three consecutive singles to start the game.  The last one was an RBI single from Wil Myers to give the Naturals a 1-0 lead.  Rosenthal was able to get Mario Lisson to ground into a force out and strike out Eric Duncan to strand runners on second and third.  The Naturals offense tacked on a second run in the bottom of the fourth inning when Julio Rodriguez smacked an RBI single to right field to score Duncan making it 2-0.

Chris Dwyer (2-4) came in the second inning and picked up right where Holland left off.  Dwyer worked six and two thirds inning without allowing a hit walking two and hitting one batter.  Brendan Lafferty came on and kept the no-hit bid alive getting Kolten Wong to fly out to Paulo Orlando just one step in front of the fence.

Kendal Volz got Jermaine Curtis to line out to Colon at short to get the first out of the ninth inning.  Cardinals top prospect Oscar Taveras grounded out to second base for the second out.  Kyle Conley stepped to the plate as the last chance for the Cardinals and he grounded out to shortstop to complete the no-hitter.

Naturals No-Hit Cardinals in 2-0 Loss
Springfield Suffers First No-Hitter in Franchise History

Springfield, MO – After a tremendous eight-game homestand which saw the Cardinals go 6-2, the Springfield squad embarked on yet another eight-game road trip beginning with four in NW Arkansas against the Naturals.

The last time away from Hammons Field the Cardinals went 0-8 and set a franchise record for most consecutive road losses in a row; they looked to snap that stretch Thursday night with Trevor Rosenthal on the mound. The Naturals countered with Major League Rehabber Greg Holland for an inning then lefty Chris Dwyer, coming off a start in which he allowed 10 runs to Springfield.

After a quick top of the first, Rosenthal battled through to bottom of the inning.  After allowing three straight singles, including an RBI single by Wil Myers, the Naturals had a 1-0 lead.  The righty settled down however to retire the next three batters to limit the damage to just the one run.

The Naturals added another run in the 4^th as former Springfield Cardinal Eric Duncan singled, stole second with two outs and scored on an RBI single by Julio Rodriguez to grab a 2-0 lead.  Rosenthal would leave after just 4.1 innings and gave way to Kevin Thomas with a runner at second and one out.  Thomas would strikeout the next two batters to keep the game 2-0 after five.

Springfield had their first real scoring chance in the 6^th with two outs after a hit by pitch and a walk brought Oscar Taveras to the plate, but the Cardinals’ centerfielder flied out to shallow center field to retire the side.

Chris Dwyer was dominant for the Naturals pitching 6.2 innings of no-hit ball while striking out five and walking just two.  After a two out walk in the 8^th, Dwyer gave way to Brendan Lafferty.  Kolten Wong was able to get good wood on the ball, but flied out to the wall in right field keeping the Cardinals out of the hit column.

In the 9^th, closer Kendal Volz retired the Cardinals in order to complete the second no-hitter in Naturals history.  It was the first time in Springfield’s history that they were no-hit.

The Redbirds will continue their four-game set against the NW Arkansas Naturals Friday night at 7:30pm.  Michael Blazek will start for Springfield against Jake Odorizzi of the Naturals. 

SPRINGDALE, AR – Jake Odorizzi set a new single-game franchise record punching out 11 batters as the Naturals snapped their four-game slide with a 5-0 win over the Springfield Cardinals Monday night in the opener of a four-game series at Arvest Ballpark.

Odorizzi (2-1), in by far his most dominating Double-A outing since his mid-summer promotion last season, fanned 11 in seven innings to set a new franchise record.  Four different Naturals’ hurlers – most recently left-hander Will Smith last August 30th – had fanned ten in an outing. The Royals’ top right-handed pitching prospect, Odorizzi scattered his 11 strikeouts over his seven frames – setting down at least one batter via the strikeout in each inning in a brisk game that ended in two hours and 19 minutes.

Northwest Arkansas (6-11) started the effort necessary to back Odorizzi with a pair of runs in the third. Johnny Whittleman’s two-run double in the bottom of the third scored Christian Colon and Wil Myers and put the Naturals up by a 2-0 margin.

They added three runs of insurance in the eighth. Sharlon Schoop, inserted in the eighth as a defensive replacement at first base, homered to left and then after back to back singles by Kurt Mertins and Paulo Orlando, who was also inserted for defensive purposes, Julio Rodriguez recorded the first two RBI’s of his Naturals’ career with a two-run double.

Patrick Keating, the Naturals’ franchise leader in saves, worked around an eighth inning walk to help Odorizzi and the Naturals complete the four-hitter.  For Keating, who had a rough outing in the road series opener Thursday at North Little Rock, it was his league-leading fourth save on the season.

Starter John Gast took the loss for Springfield (8-9).  Coming into the game with the league lead in wins, Gast (3-1) allowed a pair of runs and eight hits over six frames of work.

Christian Colon and Kurt Mertins had two hits each for the Naturals, who totaled 12 on the night.  Outfielder Lorenzo Cain, on a rehab assignment from the Kansas City Royals, served as the designated hitter and leadoff batter.  He hit the ball very hard, but ended the night 0-for-5 in the second game of his rehab.

Game two of the series with Springfield is Tuesday night. Left-hander Noel Arguelles (0-2, 6.08) will take the hill for Northwest Arkansas opposite right-hander Trevor Rosenthal (1-2, 4.30) for the Cardinals.  First pitch is 7:00 P.M. Listen live on News/Talk 1030 KFAY.  The game will also be available on Milb.TV (subscription required).

SPRINGDALE, AR – The Kansas City Royals announced a handful of transactions in order to set the Naturals’ 25-man opening day roster as the team opens Thursday evening at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi.

Veteran infielder Eric Duncan has been transferred to the Naturals’ roster from Triple-A Omaha and has been placed on the seven-day Disabled List.  Duncan was a former first round pick of the New York Yankees (27^th overall) in 2003, and appeared in the Texas League last season as a member of the Springfield Cardinals where he batted a career-best .274 with 22 homers and 64 runs batted in.

Catcher Julio Rodriguez has been transferred to the roster of the Idaho Falls Chukars, the Royals’ short-season rookie affiliate in the Pioneer League.  Rodriguez was acquired last season from the Detroit Tigers in the Wilson Betemit trade and finished the season with Class-A Advanced Wilmington.

Left-hander Andrew Dobies, signed as a minor league free agent last July and appeared in 12 games for the Naturals, has been placed on the seven-day DL.  He is joined on the disabled list by Edgar Osuna, who has spent time over the past two seasons in Northwest Arkansas, and left-hander John Lamb, who underwent Tommy John Surgery last June and is continuing to rehab.   Lamb had the procedure in early June of last year and could return to action in July.

The Royals also announced that they had loaned the contract of right-hander Federico Castaneda to the Mexico City Red Devils of the Mexican League.  A member of the Naturals during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Castaneda pitched in the Mexican League last season and finished the campaign out with Triple-A Omaha.

After the roster moves, the Naturals’ roster stands at the Texas League limit of 25 active players.  Active rosters in both Double-A and Triple-A were expanded from 24 to 25 players starting for the 2012 season.

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.