Record on the season: 12-13
The winner never scored under six runs in five games between the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Wichita Wind Surge. It was a matter of who could sprint to a lead fastest as the two teams played in shoot-out after shoot-out. The Naturals were able to nab a 3-2 record on the week and stay within a game of .500 on the season.
The Naturals managed 39 runs over the five games played this week. It was good for an average of 7.8 runs per game. The flip side of this would be the pitching giving up 27 runs to the bottom of the division Wind Surge in the same span. There are a couple of pitchers that managed to establish themselves as bright spots throughout this, however. Beck Way continues to look great out of the pen, Eric Cerantola threw five shutout innings with seven strikeouts, and Jacob Wallace threw 2.1 innings of relief with a .43 WHIP.
The record isn’t jaw-dropping and the number of runs allowed is worrisome for our pitching prospects but the bats were more than able to hold up their end of the bargain. They scored five runs or more in every single game even managing to come from behind Friday night to grab the win. Rodolfo Durán continued to hit very consistently alongside Cayden Wallace who continues to revive a slow start. Javier Vaz managed to get his hit tool back on track in the meantime.
Pitcher of the Week
Chandler Champlain did give up a run in his five innings but his WHIP and lack of free passes helped him stand out. Champlain walked one while striking out seven in his outing. He only allowed four base runners in his start, good for a 0.60 WHIP. Champlain struggled in his first start of the year, giving up eight runs, but has started finding his consistency again as of late. While his numbers on the season seem underwhelming, he has been striking out batters very well. He has only allowed two or fewer earned runs per outing since that first start.
Hitter of the Week
In a similar vein, Gavin Cross has managed to turn around his own slow start. He turned the corner this week slashing .409/.409/.773 with two home runs and two doubles. He did strikeout seven times with no walks, but he managed to find his power with his first two home runs of the season. This comes after a couple of weeks of subtle production for the outfielder. Cross drove in 11 runs in the process and scored six runs of his own. It was a very productive week for the Royals’ number seven prospect as he finds his bat again and hopes to keep rolling in the coming weeks.
Other Notables
Rodolfo Duran continues to promote himself as a possible future replacement for Salvy with another great week. He had two extra-base hits with a slash of .333/.385/.667 in three games played/
Javier Vaz walked SEVEN TIMES in five games played while tagging on five hits. He started very down this season but hit .333 this week with an OBP of .565.
Cayden Wallace has now officially turned the corner with yet another week of great hitting. Seven hits in five games with only one strikeout show his bat-to-ball skills have begun to develop. Don’t tell anyone but he has quietly bumped his slash on the season to .284/.366/.432 (That’s a .798 OPS!)
Anthony Simonelli is in the middle of a breakout season so far. He threw 3.1 innings with five strikeouts and zero earned runs this week. His WHIP on the season is a fantastic .87, his ERA is 1.20, and his opponent batting average is .151.
Eric Cerantola and Mason Barnett both struck out seven in their starts. Cerantola threw 5.0 scoreless in the process and both gave up three or fewer hits.
What’s Next
The Naturals stay home as the Springfield Cardinals travel to Springdale, Arkansas. The Cardinals are first in the Texas League North with a record of 18-8. The Naturals are given a chance to make a statement and open some eyes within the organization by beating a talented team from the Royals’ cross-state rival.