SPRING TRAINING REPORT #4

SPRINGDALE, Ark. - Although the Major League season has officially commenced with a pair of games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, the Kansas City Royals roster still sits at 31 players. The Royals dwindled the roster today with the assignments of right-handed reliever Jon Rauch, catcher Adam Moore and outfielder Jimmy Paredes all to Triple-A Omaha this morning.

The Royals couldn't find the win column over the weekend dropping four games including split squad games on Saturday, March 22. Former Naturals continue to scorch Cactus League pitching as Mike Moustakas (2010) leads both leagues with a .467 average (21-45) including a 3-for-5 showing over the last three games. The 2010 Texas League Player of the Year has four home runs and has driven in 17 runs in just 20 Cactus League games.

2013 Texas League Mid-Season All-Star and Home Run Derby Champion Matt Fields (2013) hit another round tripper for Triple-A Omaha on Friday in a 1-for-3 afternoon while 2013 Naturals catcher Juan Graterol hit a double in the 2-2 tie with Round Rock (Triple-A Texas Rangers). Cheslor Cuthbert (2013) finished Sunday afternoon's game against Round Rock 2-of-3 with two RBIs to continue his strong spring training on the backfields of Surprise.

The Naturals dropped a pair of contests over the weekend to Frisco (Double-A Texas Rangers) by scores of 5-2 on Friday, March 21 and 2-0 on Sunday, March 23. Jorge Bonafacio (2013), the No. 4 prospect for the Royals, went 2-for-4 in the game on Friday while Roman Hernandez (2013) recorded a hit in each game for Northwest Arkansas.

Below are abbreviated box scores from the weekend's games.

Kansas City @ San Francisco (Lost 13-9)  - March 23

Mike Moustakas (2010) 2-3, RBI, R

Lorenzo Cain (2012) 2-3, 2B, RBI

Salvador Perez (2011) 1-3, HR, RBI

Jarrod Dyson (2010) 1-1, R, SB

Yordano Ventura (2013) 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

 

Round Rock @ Omaha (Tied 2-2) - March 23

Cheslor Cuthbert (2013) 2-3, 2 RBI

Brett Tomko 3.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Scott Alexander (2013) 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Michael Mariot (2012) 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

 

Frisco @ NW Arkansas (Lost 2-0) - March 23

Jack Lopez 1-2, SB

Roman Hernandez (2013) 1-2, BB

Sam Selman 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

Greg Billo 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Angel Baez 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Andrew Triggs 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

 

Kansas City (Split Squad) @ Anaheim (Lost 7-3) - March 22 

Alex Gordon 3-4, RBI, R

Johnny Giavotella (2010) 2-2, BB

Louis Coleman (2010) 1.0 IP, O H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Francisley Bueno 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Spencer Patton (2013) 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

 

Kansas City (Split Squad) @ Cincinnati (Lost 9-3) - March 22

Mike Moustakas 1-1, 2B, 2 BB

Lorenzo Cain 1-2, 2B, RBI, R

Jimmy Paredes 1-3, RBI

 

Anaheim @ Kansas City (Lost 3-2) - March 21 

Danny Valencia 1-2, 2B, R

Billy Butler 1-2, RBI, BB

Bruce Chen 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Danny Duffy (2013) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Greg Holland (2009) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

 

Round Rock @ Omaha (Tied 2-2) - March 21

Matt Fields (2013) 1-3, HR, RBI, R

Juan Graterol (2013) 1-3, 2B, RBI

Brett Tomko 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Scott Alexander (2013) 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

 

Frisco @ NW Arkansas (Lost 5-2) - March 21

Jorge Bonifacio (2013) 2-4

Justin Trapp 1-2, RBI, BB, 2 SB

Roman Hernandez (2013) 1-2, RBI

Zeb Sneed 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Clayton Schulz 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

 

The Seventh Season of Naturals Baseball begins Thursday, April 3, 2014 in Frisco, Texas. The team opens at Arvest Ballpark on Thursday April 10, 2014 against the same Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

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.

-Naturals-