It was definitely a Happy Mother’s Day at our house. Hope it was at yours as well. This week, we’re looking back at the gems the Cardinals’ pitched against the Rockies this weekend, a marquee outfielder who can’t get going, and more. Here we go:

Who’s Hot?

Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals

How do you pick which start was more impressive? I finally had to choose Miller’s since I’ve seen Adam Wainwright’s greatness before. I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to say that the 22-year-old pitched the single best game by a rookie starter since Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout masterpiece against the Astros in 1998. Miller struck out 13, walked NONE and allowed only a broken-bat base hit against the Rockies. Some of the strikeouts were absolutely jaw-dropping. Perfectly placed fastballs. Breaking balls that dropped right over the plate. You name it. Miller had it all working for him. He said after the game on MLB Network that it was the best game he had ever pitched. Among the many stats and charts I’ve seen over the weekend about the pure greatness of this start, this one really jumped out at me: in the past 10 years, how many starts have there been where the pitcher allowed one hit (or none), struck out at least 13 batters, while walking none? Three. That’s it.  Here they are:

• 5/18/2004 – Randy Johnson, age 40, Arizona vs. Atlanta (perfect game)
• 6/13/2012 – Matt Cain, age 27, SF vs. Houston (perfect game)
• 5/10/2013 – Miller

The fact that the Big Unit pitched a perfect game at age 40 quite a feat as well, but a subject for another day. This is a damn impressive list. Miller is 22 and just scratching the surface of his abilities. If you own Miller on your fantasy team, here are a couple of other stats that will have you patting yourself on the back: he has yet to allow more than three earned runs in a start and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 51-to-11. That is dominating for any starter. Of course, it is important to remember that Miller has less than a dozen major-league starts under his belt and there is bound to be some adjustment as opposing teams become more familiar with him. It would be unrealistic to expect no regression. Then again, as he matures, he figures to get even better. So far, it appears that the #1 starter-like projections predicted for Miller are right on target. After Friday night, Rockies hitters are in position to argue that point.

Who’s Not?

Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

When your most noteworthy accomplishment of the season is a post-game altercation with another player, you know you’re off to a bad start. Someone please alert Kemp that the 2013 season started over a month ago. Entering Sunday’s games, Kemp’s batting line looked like that of a fourth outfielder on a good team: 1 HR, 14 RBI, 5 SB, .268 average. Okay, the RBI total is a little better than that of a reserve, but that’s about it. He just can’t get on track. How much longer can fantasy owners keep saying, “it’s early – he’ll be fine”? Fantasy owners cannot be happy to see that he is on pace for 4 HRs and 71 runs scored. Kemp has driven in one measly run and stolen a single base since Cinco de Mayo. He might have had an 11-game hitting streak going, but those hits aren’t translating to other stats for fantasy owners (or the Dodgers). Since you likely paid big auction dollars or used a high draft pick on Kemp, you really have no realistic choice but to wait and hope that he gets going soon. Trading him now would be a pennies-on-the-dollar move.

Playing the Name Game

Player A: .298/.365/.632, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 10 runs, 1 SB

Player B: .285/.379/.551, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 10 runs, 0 SB

Player A is the Angels’ Mike Trout. Player B is the Indians’ Mark Reynolds. Trout is being viewed by some baseball analysts as a bust, while Reynolds is being hailed as the best bargain free-agent signing of the year. Both are incorrect. Trout is on pace for 27 homers, 112 RBI, 22 steals and 100 runs scored. Reynolds is not going to hit 50 homers and drive in 150, as he is currently on pace to do. But it’s a mighty nice hot streak for the Sons of Geronimo and fantasy owners to enjoy. Anyone who considers Trout a bust, or who thinks Reynolds is going to maintain his current numbers, is an idiot. Let’s check back in a month.

Player A: 1-0, 3.85 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 22 Ks, 14 IP

Player B: 2-0, 2.31 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 16 Ks, 11 2/3 IP

Player A is Yu Darvish of the Rangers. Player B is Ubaldo Jimenez of the Indians. I had to read those numbers three times to make sure I wasn’t mixing them up with, say, James Shields or another front-line AL starter. Jimenez has actually put together back-to-back quality starts for the Tribe. In fact, Jimenez out-pitched Justin Verlander on Saturday, his third straight win.  Results like that are more in line with what the Indians had in mind when they dealt two of their top pitching prospects to the Rockies for the former All-Star starter in  July 2011. Personally, I wouldn’t trust that Jimenez has made some sort of breakthrough, but his success and that of Scott Kazmir, Cleveland is on a roll the past couple weeks and is bearing down on Detroit for first in the AL Central. The Indians have plenty of hitting. If, by chance, Jimenez can continue pitching this effectively, the Indians will be a big step closer to being a genuine contender.

Random Thoughts

• One final note on Shelby Miller: he has been quoted as saying that he has not shaken off a single pitch Yadier Molina has called for all season. Not only do you not run on Yadi, you don’t shake off Yadi, either.

• Let’s not forget Jon Lester. He pitched a beauty of his own last Friday night against the Blue Jays. He allowed just one hit, a double by Maicer Izturis in the 6^th inning. For the season, Lester is 5-0 with a 2.73 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. It’s not a coincidence that he is pitching like an ace and the Red Sox are winning again.

• Wainwright’s shutout of the Rockies on Saturday was no slouch, either. He didn’t strike out as many batters as Miller did Friday, but he had dazzling command of that 12-to-6 bender that gets hitters bailing out of the batter’s box, only to watch the ball drop right in the zone. When he gets that pitch going, he’s as fun to watch as any dominant ace.

• Wainwright Walk Watch: 4. That’s four batters that Wainwright has walked this season (in a National League-high 58 2/3 innings), compared with 55 strikeouts. That’s a 13.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is so far beyond ridiculously good that it’s, well, ridiculous.

• On the other hand, there’s poor Philip Humber of the Astros. First he was banished to the bullpen by Houston. Then, after getting hammered out of the pen Saturday night, his stats sit thusly: 0-8, a ghastly 9.59 ERA, 2.02 WHIP, 43 ERA+. When you see that Humber has allowed 14 hits and nearly four walks per nine innings, it’s no wonder he has been charged with the loss in eight of his nine appearances this season. How did he ever pitch a perfect game?
• I think enough has been said and written about how terrible Angel Hernandez as an umpire. On second thought, no, it hasn’t been enough – his continued employment in an embarrassment to baseball. Likewise with Bob Davidson. A scientific poll (read: not scientific at all) reveals that the overall quality of umpiring would double if just those two were pink-slipped.

• As incompetent as Hernandez’s blown home run call was, it pales in comparison to the fiasco the following night with Astros manager Bo Porter just making up rules regarding pitching changes. Botching a call is nothing compared to not knowing the stinking rule book. My idea for an outside-the-box punishment for those umpires? Having to umpire a game while wearing dunce caps.

• They could borrow them from the ESPN executives who think it’s a good idea to pay John Kruk a salary to talk about baseball on TV.

Follow me on Twitter: @ccaylor10

As we all know, Kansas City has carried a dismal baseball franchise since 1985. But as spring training rolls around, we have to again acknowledge how well the Royals have done in the Latin American talent market.

Everyone who pays very much attention to the Royals will directly turn there heads up to the sky and wink at their mental image of Salvador Perez, the Royals’ up and coming catcher. The Royals, though, have made some fantastic signings from Latin America. There are also some tremendous advantages to scouting in Latin America. Some of those will follow.

When you are hunting the streets of some small town in the midwest looking for the high school stadium to try to find the next Hank Aaron, you have to wait until he is 18. When you go to Latin America to try to find the future face of your franchise, the face can be younger. You can sign a 16 year old to a major league contract. So your Latin Mike Trout is more likely to begin his career just as Mike Trout did, under the age of 20.

If there is a tremendous amount of talent in some random high school in America, you probably wouldn’t be the only one to see it. Chances are, if he really is the next Ted Williams, there will be you and 29 other major league scouts sitting in the stands. The more scouts, the more money. No matter how humble a high school kid is, he will go to the highest bidder, which is generally a lot of money. In Latin America, roughly 28% of the people are in poverty. More will go for smaller amounts of money. This allows small market teams, like the Royals, to upgrade their minor league talent.

It isn’t just the Royals that do this though. On Opening Day 2012, 27.3 percent of players on Major League rosters were Latino. Teams are rightly buying into this gigantic talent base, and the Royals are very good at identifying talent in Latin America. This is why we get to have that mental image of Salvador Perez winking at us. The Major Leagues, and the Royals, have been, and will be, greatly enhanced by this pool of talent staring at us in the face. We would be idiots to ignore it.

SURPRISE, AZ – Wil Myers went 3-for-5 with a stolen base, a run scored, and two RBI’s, and Christian Colon scored a pair of runs in a 1-for-2 effort on Saturday at the Arizona Fall League’s annual Rising Stars Game, which was broadcast to a national audience on the MLB Network.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

Jeremy Jeffress also chipped in a scoreless frame of relief, fanning all three batters he faced as their West Division squad cruised to an easy 11-2 win over their counterparts from the East Division, a squad that included baseball’s top two prospects in Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, not to mention Gerrit Cole, the number one selection in the 2011 draft by the Pirates, who started for the East and was roughed up to the tune of five runs. The Pittsburgh Pirates prospect recorded only two outs.

Meanwhile, Myers’ and Colon’s club, the Surprise Saguaros, continue to cruise along, currently sporting a 20-8 record, best in the six-team circuit. Entering play Wednesday, they needed only two wins or a combination of Surprise wins and losses for a 13-15 Peoria club adding up to two to have another date on National TV.

The MLB Network will broadcast the AFL Championship game on November 19^th, which in all likelihood will pit Myers, Colon, and Jeffress’ club opposite the Salt River Rafters, the team which sits atop the East Division and includes players who may spend time in the Texas League with Tulsa and Corpus Christi next season.

Surprise has lived on its offense in what always is a nice offensive environment in the dry Arizona fall. And Myers has been a part of it, continuing his resurgence as he posts numbers that are comparable to the best the AFL has seen in its nearly two-decade history. It hasn’t gone unnoticed either – Myers’ name has popped up in trade rumors this off-season, as teams no doubt would love to have a 20-year old prospect who has dominated older or more experienced competition in a circuit like the AFL.

Myers has taken a breather from action since Saturday’s Rising Stars Game, with a league off-day Sunday and a cancellation of Surprise’s game on Tuesday, but leading into the game Saturday was a 5-for-5 effort in Friday’s game. Myers drove in two, scored three runs, and drew a walk. Anthony Seratelli has also continued his solid play, working a current six-game hitting streak. Seratelli has reached base in all 14 of his Fall League contests and is batting .367 overall in 14 games with a .492 on-base percentage.

On the hill, Brendan Lafferty has gotten back on track with two scoreless outings in the past week, helping lower his Fall League ERA to 4.73. Bryan Paukovitsalso has had three consecutive outings without allowing a run. Nate Adcock pitched an inning in the Rising Stars Game, allowing a home run. His most recent start for Surprise came last Tuesday with three scoreless innings.

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

Romak, Lisson, others hit free agency: Late last week Baseball America unveiled their annual listing of minor league free agents, as Major League Baseball granted 537 players free agency on November 2^nd. The list included a handful of players who played in Northwest Arkansas all or portions of 2011 as well as many players who were Naturals prior to 2011. From this past season’s club, two mainstays in the Naturals’ lineup, 3B Mario Lisson and 1B/DH Jamie Romak are free agents, as are pitchers Henry Barrera, Willy Lebron, and Zach Miner. Mario Santiago, Andrew Dobies, and Edgar Osuna would have been eligible for six-year free-agency, as it is called, but they were re-signed by the Royals during the month of October.

Among former Naturals from outside the Royals’ organization, right-hander Blake Johnson, who started 2011 with the Naturals before moving onto Triple-A Omaha, is listed as among the free agents. Johnson was let go by Kansas City in June and signed quickly by the Colorado Rockies, where he finished out the year at Triple-A Colorado Springs. 1B Corey Smith (2009), INF Ed Lucas (2008-09), OF Jose Duarte (2008-09), C Adam Donachie (2008), INF Josh Johnson (2009), right-hander Roman Colon (2008), left-hander Dusty Hughes (2008) and right-hander Alex Caldera (2010) are among ex-Naturals who are free-agents.

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.

The Puerto Rican Winter League opened this week, and, as expected, a couple of current and former Naturals are participating. Naturals’ infielder Rey Navarro is playing for the Criollos de Caguas, where thus far he has struggled, as he’s without a hit in his first nine at-bats. Faring better is former Natural Irving Falu (Indios de Mayaguez), who is batting .235 through his first four games of action. Falu is teammates in Mayaguez with former Natural and current Houston Astros shortstopAngel Sanchez, who is batting .231 through four games but has a hit in his past two starts.

In the Venezuelan Winter League, Mario Lisson (Navegantes de Magallanes) has three hits in his last two games to lift his average to .241. Overall he’s driven in five runs in nine games this winter season. Former Natural Jose Duarte (Leones de Caracas) got a hit Tuesday to snap a five-game hitless streak. Duarte has yet to swipe a base in 17 games. Ernesto Mejia (Aguilas del Zulia) had a homer Saturday and is riding on a three-game hitting streak, while Manny Pina (Bravos de Margarita) is still fighting a slump as his average has dropped to .160 (4-for-25) in 11 games.

In the Dominican League, David Lough (Aguilas Cibaenas) currently sports a three-game hitting streak, although his winter league average sits at .215. Naturals’ right-hander Manauris Baez (Estrellas de Oriente) has continued a great start to his season in the Domincan, allowing only two runs in four appearances, covering three starts for a sparkling 1.54 ERA. He has, however, walked eight and fanned just four. Mario Santiago (Tigres del Licey) gave up just one earned run in 3 2/3 innings in his most recent start, although four unearned runs came across. His winter league record stands at 1-0 with a 2.59 ERA. Naturals reliever Edgar Garcia joined Licey for a game and got roughed up in relief, allowing three runs (two earned) while recording just one out. Willy Lebron, Santiago’s rotation-mate in Licey and fellow Royals’ farmhand, allowed three runs in three frames in his most recent start and now has a 2-3 record and 2.95 ERA in five starts. Southpaw Brandon Sisk (Gigantes del Cibao) hasn’t pitched in over a week but owns a 2.84 ERA in five outings, while Kelvin Herrera (Leones del Escogido) hasn’t allowed a run in six outings thus far, fanning five in 7 1/3 innings. He’s teammates with Everett Teaford, who was roughed up to three runs in 4 2/3 in his last outing. Teaford’s ERA in three outings is 5.25. 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 only winter league outing of the year.…

In other leagues, former Natural Federico Castaneda (Tomateros de Culiacan) has a 1-2 record and 8.68 ERA in 12 outings thus far in the Mexican League, while former Naturals’ southpaw Paul Mildren (Adelaide Bite) made his first winter start in the Australian Winter League. He allowed two runs in five innings of work. Mildren has not pitched stateside since the 2009 season.

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 outfielder Jordan Parraz, who was among the 537 players attaining free agency, didn’t have to wait too long to find a new club, signing a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves’ organization after spending 2011 in the New York Yankees’ organization with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The contract included an invitation to spring training. If he doesn’t make the big league roster, he’ll likely suit up for Triple-A Gwinnett…He may find himself as teammates with Ernesto Mejia, who was with the Naturals one season after Parraz in 2010. Mejia was re-signed by the Braves after a solid season with Double-A Mississippi…The Braves also elected their right to retain former Natural left-handers Rowdy Hardy and Ben Swaggerty. Those pitchers did not have the six years of service time required to become free-agents.

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.

After a disappointing summer, the future for three top Royals’ prospects is perhaps looking a little brighter.

The Arizona Fall League hit its midway point last week, and its top prospects were invited to a Rising Stars game, which featured the likes of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout and the top pitchers selected in last June’s draft.

The prospect rich Royals sent three to the Rising Stars game who had fallen short of expectations last season. Great performances by the trio hopefully symbolize their development in the fall league and portend the stardom that was expected from each.

Outfielder Wil Myers, infielder Christian Colon and pitcher Jeremy Jeffress each played a key role in the AFL West’s dominant 11-2 win over the East, which boasted Harper, Trout and the number one pick in the 2011 draft, Gerrit Cole.

Wil Myers had a rough go of it in 2011, but showed in the Rising Stars game he belongs in the upper echelons of outfield prospects. Maybe he hasn’t earned the right to be mentioned with Trout and Harper just yet. But his 3-5 with two RBIs demonstrated his immense potential.

Most rankings of Royals prospects will place Myers in the top two or three for next season. That ranking will be based more on scouts’ opinions of his potential than his 2011 production. Myers battled an injury and never quite conquered the pitching at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. His .254 average, .393 slug and .745 OPS were less than awe-inspiring.

Myers is not going to return to Springdale, however. The subject of much trade banter in recent days, Myers may net the Royals some pitching help. If not, he’ll be moved up to Omaha, where he will most likely spend the entire season, since Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur won’t be going anywhere soon.

The West team turned in several good pitching performances, but perhaps none was better than the inning thrown by Jeffress. Jeffress struck out every batter he faced, including Harper.

If Myers’ 2011 season was one of fits and starts, Jeffress’ season went in reverse. Viewed initially as a component in the KC pen, Jeffress earned not one but two demotions before the year was over.

Considering his age (24 years old) and his experience (24 big league appearances), Jeffress’ performance in the All-Star game should come as no surprise. Many of the East squad’s hitters were 20 and 21 year olds – Harper just turned 19.

But wiT. Jeffress, talent is not the concern. Harnessing his stuff is the issue, and three strikeouts with no hits or walks is encouraging regardless of the competition.

Colon singled once in two at-bats. That’s an accomplishment for the thus-far light-hitting first round pick from 2010. But the story behind the story is that Colon played second base in the Rising Stars game. Primarily a shortstop in the Royals’ farm system, a shift to second may be imminent for Colon.

A good showing in some exhibition game against young, inexperienced competition is nothing to jump up and down about. But for three guys desperate for some good news, the Rising Stars game had to be refreshing.

Fans should take notice, with cautious optimism, of one great game for three more of the teams’ many prospects. The minor league cupboard needs to be replenished, and the Royals need for this trio to live up to their billing.

Five Naturals rank among circuit’s top prospects
Odorizzi, Myers, Perez, Dwyer, Herrera all tabbed for list

SPRINGDALE, AR – While not quite as dominating as the 2010 Naturals, the 2011 Naturals still claimed five spots among Baseball America’s Top 20 Texas League prospects for the season. Only the league champion San Antonio Missions had as many players named to the list. The rankings were released Thursday.

For the Naturals, right-hander Jake Odorizzi (No. 5) was the highest rated player for Northwest Arkansas, while outfielder Wil Myers (No. 13), left-hander Chris Dwyer (No. 15), right-hander Kelvin Herrera (No. 16), and catcher Salvador Perez (No. 17) also made the list.

Unsurprisingly, outfielder Mike Trout (Arkansas Travelers), one of the top prospects across baseball who was voted as Texas League Player of the Year, topped the list. Former Diamond Hogs third baseman Zack Cox (Springfield Cardinals) was ranked 14th.

Odorizzi, who had a stellar first half of the season leading to his promotion to Double-A, was also named last week as the seventh-best prospect in the Carolina League. Two of the other four players – Myers and Dwyer – saw injuries (Myers) and early season struggles (Dwyer) affect their seasons, but both players turned in solid play down the stretch and made great contributions to the Naturals’ fourth-consecutive second-half division championship run.

Perez’ bat turned from solid to white-hot in July, and never cooled off even after a promotion to the big leagues in August that followed just a two-week stint with Triple-A Omaha. Herrera’s whirlwind season began in Advanced Class-A Wilmington, took him through the Texas League, including (along with Myers) an appearance in the 2011 XM All-Star Futures Game, to Triple-A Omaha and then onward to Kansas City, where he made two late season appearances out of the Royals’ bullpen.

Last season the Naturals also had five of their players make the Texas League post-season Top 20 list. Four of those five players – Mike Moustakas (No. 1), Eric Hosmer (No. 2), Aaron Crow (No. 6), and Louis Coleman (No. 16) spent all or a significant portion of the 2011 season in Kansas City.

Baseball America’s League Top 20 lists are generated from consultations with scouts and league managers. To qualify for consideration, a player must have spent at least one-third of the season in a league. Position players must have one plate appearance for every league game. Pitchers must pitch one-third of an inning for every league game, and relievers have to have made at least 20 appearances in full-season leagues.

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. You can purchase tickets and group outings with the Naturals by calling (479) 927-4900.

Seven top Royals prospects will continue their seasoning in the Arizona Fall League – a proving ground for many Double and Triple-A stars on their way to the big leagues.

Minor League pitchers Jeremy Jeffress, Bryan Paukovits, and Brendan Lafferty, and position players Clint Robinson, Christian Colon and Wil Myers will join Royal reliever Nate Adcock as members of the Surprise Saguaros, which will begin play Oct. 4.

The teams in the AFL are made up of selections designated by big leagues. The season is highlighted by a Rising Stars Game on Nov. 5, and culminates with a championship game on Nov. 19.

The AFL season will be headlined by Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, the top two prospects in the minors this season. The league is a launching pad for players on the verge of the majors. Often players in the league are just a few months from a call-up, as certainly Trout is.

Trout, of course, saw some action this season with the California Angels, as did Adcock, who spent all season in KC as a Rule 5 selection.

In fact, of the seven Royals who played in the AFL last season, four are now in KC – Eric Hosmer, Danny Duffy, Johnny Giavotella, and Salvador Perez. Other participants last fall were Robinson, Mike Montgomery, and Brandon Sisk.

A non-Royal who garnered lots of attention in the league last fall was Jeffress. As a Milwaukee Brewer prospect prior to the Zack Greinke trade, Jeffress made headlines by registering 101 mph on fall-league radar guns.

The league enters its 20^th year of existence. Jermaine Dye is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame, and Ken Harvey was once named its Most Valuable Player.

For Adcock, the league will provide a chance to gain additional experience. Plucked from the Rule 5 ranks in the offseason, Adcock has been used sparsely by KC.

Myers is the headliner of the Royals prospects. Converted to the outfield and slowed by an injury this season, Myers is still considered on of the top hitters in the minors. His .260 average with just seven homers is below what what expected, but a good fall season could give him a jump start for next spring.

The Royals’ top pick in the 2010 draft, Colon’s reputation could be helped by a solid fall. With a .255 average and eight homers, Colon is looking all too much like a bust in the early going.

Jeffress has regressed after making the Royals’ bullpen in April. A demotion to Omaha didn’t help, and he wound up falling to Northwest Arkansas, where he is still trying to harness his potential.

Robinson might hope to attract the attention of other big league teams in the fall league. Robinson continues to destroy minor league pitching. Currently blocked by Hosmer and Billy Butler, the best he could hope for might be a trade.

Paukovits and Lafferty, both in their mid-20s and still in the lower levels of the minors, hope to accelerate their advancement in the fall league.

Editor’s note: The content in this article is pulled directly from Press Release information from the two clubs.

Springfield Cardinals send five players to North Division Texas League All Star Roster, Northwest Arkansas Naturals send two.

Naturals’ do-it-all utilityman Anthony Seratelli and catcher Salvador Perez will represent the Naturals while first baseman Matt Adams and outfielder Alex Castellanos were elected starters at their positions. Shortstop Ryan Jackson was selected as a reserve infielder, and Maikel Cleto and Michael Blazek make up one-fifth of the All-Star pitching staff.

Despite battling an oblique strain since late May, Adams is still among the Texas League leaders in virtually every hitting category. His batting average (.354) is good for second in the Texas League, as are his 15 home runs. Add in Adams’ 47 RBIs (third in the league), and the Philipsburg, Pa. native is the obvious choice at first base. Just 21 years of age, Adams is enjoying one of his finest seasons as a professional.

Joining Adams in the starting lineup is 24-year-old outfielder Alex Castellanos. In his first year in Springfield, Castellanos has already eclipsed his home run total for all of 2010. His 14 home run total is third best in the league. Castellanos surely turned voter’s heads with his high average (.308), RBI total (41) and laser arm in right-field. The Miami, Fla. resident joins Tulsa’s Tim Wheeler and Arkansas’ Mike Trout to form an outstanding trio in the North Division outfield.

Seratelli, voted in as the starting designated hitter, has been a primary offensive catalyst for the Naturals this season, batting .320 with six homers and 27 RBI’s, second on the club, in 54 games. His six homers double the regular season total from 2010 for the 28-year old from Matawan, NJ. Seratelli has logged time all over the field, at first, second, shortstop, and outfield. He was originally acquired by the Royals in February of 2007 when they purchased his contract from an unaffiliated independent league team.

Rounding out the Cardinals position player All-Stars is shortstop Ryan Jackson. Although Jackson’s bat has been steady throughout (.265, 4 HRs, 26 RBI’s), it is his excellent glove work that sets the 23-year-old apart from other infielders in the Texas League. Jackson has routinely been cited for making the difficult look routine, a trait Springfield pitchers undoubtedly appreciate.

Perez will serve as a reserve catcher for the North Division squad. The defensive-minded backstop is batting .247 with three homers and nine RBI’s on the season as one of the youngest players in the circuit. More importantly, the 21-year old Valencia, Venezuela resident leads all Texas League backstops in games played (44) and assists (39), and leads all Texas League catchers in catching would-be opposing base stealers, gunning down runners at a 44.4% rate (24 CS in 54 opposing SB attempts). Perez was ranked prior to the season by Baseball America as the Kansas City Royals’ 17^th best prospect.

Blazek, from Las Vegas, Nev., has quietly become the Texas League leader in wins. His impressive 7-2 record is a major reason Springfield has a chance at finishing first in the division at the halfway point. Blazek’s 64 innings pitched is best on the staff, as are his 52 strikeouts. A 35th round selection in the 2007 MLB Draft, Blazek’s impressive 2011 campaign is making a case for his baseball future.

The final Springfield Cardinals’ All-Star is also the only member not originally drafted or signed by the club. Maikel Cleto was acquired from the Seattle Mariners for former St. Louis Cardinals’ shortstop Brendan Ryan in a trade on Dec. 12, 2010. Possessing a plus fastball, Cleto has always been an intriguing big league prospect, but under the tutelage of Springfield Pitching Coach Bryan Eversgerd, Cleto has harnessed his potential into impressive results. In just five starts, Cleto is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 34 strikeouts.

The rest of the North Division All Star Team pitching staff includes Orangel Arenas, Ryan Braiser, Trevor Reckling, Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker from the Arkansas Travelers, and Juan Nicasio, Christian Friedrich and Stephen Dodson representing the Tulsa Drillers.

Accompanying Adams and Castellanos in the North Division starting lineup are catcher Wilin Rosario (Tulsa), second baseman Ryan Mount (Arkansas), third baseman Luis Jimenez (Arkansas), shortstop Darwin Perez (Arkansas), designated hitter Anthony Seratelli (Northwest Arkansas), and outfielders Wheeler and Trout (Tulsa and Arkansas, respectively).

Rounding out the 24-man roster are reserves Darin Holcomb, Ben Paulsen and Scott Beerer (Tulsa) and Salvador Perez (Northwest Arkansas).

Naturals’ skipper Brian Poldberg, in his fourth season with Northwest Arkansas, along with Hitting Coach Terry Bradshaw, Pitching Coach Larry Carter, and Athletic Trainer Tony Medina will also represent Northwest Arkansas in San Antonio. The most experienced coaching staff in the league, the quartet won the first Texas League Championship in Northwest Arkansas’ short Texas League history and has the Naturals fighting down the wire in the first half of this season for a playoff spot, as well.

The 24-man All-Star rosters were selected by a voting panel which includes the Texas League President as well as the league’s managers, coaches, radio broadcasters, and newspaper beat writers. For tickets to the All-Star game and further information, visit the San Antonio Missions’ website, www.samissions.com.