ROYALS CONCLUDE CACTUS LEAGUE ACTION, READY FOR OPENER

SPRINGDALE, AR - The 2018 Cactus League season has come to a close and the Royals have made their way north to Kansas City for their season opener on Thursday, March 29 at Kaufmann Stadium against the Chicago White Sox. While we do not yet know who will be in a Naturals uniform when the team begins play on April 5 at Arvest Ballpark, we do know that some former Naturals left Arizona knowing they can perform against big league talent. 
Among the many players in Royals' camp who played in Northwest Arkansas in 2017 were first-baseman Frank Schwindel , catcher Nick Dini , and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn . Schwindel came off the bench on Saturday, March 24, to belt a game-tying two-run homer against the Giants. The power-hitting righty finished up his spring batting .366 with seven home runs, 18 RBI and an impressive 1.357 OPS in 41 big league at-bats. As impressive as those numbers were, O'Hearn kept pace ending his spring by hitting .400 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 35 at-bats. 

Dini, who got his first taste of the Texas League in 2017, went 1-2 on Sunday after coming into the game for Salvador Perez in what ended up being the spring finale - the Royals were scheduled to play an exhibition with Triple-A affiliate Omaha on Monday night, however the game was cancelled due to inclement weather - Dini went 3-13 with one homer and two RBI in his 13 at-bats during the spring with the big league club. 
Adalberto Mondesi and Cheslor Cuthbert , a couple of guys who are trying to break into the majors full-time, made their intentions known this spring. Mondesi, part of the 2015-2016 Naturals and a 2015 World Series Champion with the Royals, went 1-3 with a two-run triple against the Giants on March 23 and ended up hitting .297 in his 37 at-bats. Meanwhile, Cuthbert, whom played parts of the 2013-2014 season in Northwest Arkansas, went 3-4 with a solo-homer off of Madison Bumgarner in the same game on his way to a cool .373 average in 59 at-bats. 
Holding down the fort, former Texas League All-Stars Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas did their usual thing this spring with the former hitting .350 with six home runs and 11 RBI while the latter belted four homers and drove in nine in a modest 26 at-bats. With a big-league spot secured Whit Merrifield has shown no sign of a letdown after a stellar 2017 campaign, flat out raking and compiling a .471 average in 51 Spring Training at-bats.
LHP Danny Duffy and 2017 breakout RHP Jakob Junis look to be major contributors to the rotation this season. Junis, who spent parts of two season with the Naturals (2015-2016), has built upon his stellar 2017 and threw exceptional this Spring picking up a win in his final spring start and going 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 14.1 innings (4 starts). Duffy, a 2010 Naturals starter, threw 15 innings this spring going 1-1 with 12 punch-outs. He has the honor of starting on Opening Day as the Royals take on James Shields and the White Sox on Thursday.
The 2018 season of Naturals baseball at Arvest Ballpark will begin when Northwest Arkansas hosts the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A Affiliate of the World Champion Houston Astros, on Thursday, April 5 at 6:25 p.m.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtags #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the 2018 schedule, tickets, group outings, promotions, roster, and Spring Training information as we prepare for the upcoming 2018 season.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.
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