SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas was knocked out of the North Division first-half playoff race almost immediately out of the gate back in April as it dropped its first five games of the season.
Not wanting to see a repeat in the second half, Naturals manager Brian Poldberg called a meeting with the players two weeks ago.
“We told the guys, ‘You can’t wait until the second half starts,’” Poldberg said. “Let’s turn on the switch now. We told them we had to be playing good going into the second half.”
It seems that the Naturals have flipped the switch. Northwest Arkansas has started the second half at 3-3 heading into today’s Texas League All-Star game at Arvest Ballpark, and the Naturals have won six of their last 10 games. They return to the field Wednesday to begin a six-game homestand against Midland and Frisco.
Poldberg said he expects the team to compete for the second half North Division title and the playoff berth that comes with it.
“We have added a couple of players, and that has helped,” Poldberg said. “Our starting pitching has been better. We were not able to finish games in the first half. We have also been getting good hitting, and the defense has been solid. It’s been a good start, but we have to keep the energy and intensity going.
“We didn’t do real good against the South in the first half. We just have to go out and try and win as many series as we can. We just have to play good baseball.”
The biggest addition to the Naturals lineup came when infielder Cheslor Cuthbert was promoted to the Naturals from Class A-Advanced Wilmington.
Cuthbert (5-foot-11, 193 pounds) was signed by Kansas City out of Nicaragua as a 16-year-old almost four years ago and he made his professional debut with the Rookie League Arizona Royals in June of 2010. Cuthbert spent all of 2012 with Wilmington where he batted .240, including .316 last August, with seven home runs and 59 RBIs.
Cuthbert is batting just .158 since the promotion but the jump to Double-A is considered the biggest in Minor League Baseball. At Wilmington, Cuthbert batted .280 and had a Carolina League-best 21 doubles before making the jump.
“The jump can be very tough because you see better pitching on a regular basis,” said Naturals radio announcer Steven Davis, who is in his sixth year in the broadcast booth. “Things just haven’t worked out for Cheslor as he has hit the ball hard a lot. As good a hitter as he is, you know things are going to turn his way sooner than later.”
Pitcher Scott Alexander also received a promotion from Wilmington and he is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in four relief appearances with the Naturals. Alexander, who missed all of 2011 after shoulder surgery, was mainly a starter his first two seasons of professional baseball, going 3-10 with a 4.47 ERA.
“Alexander gives us another lefty that we can go to late in the game,” Poldberg said. “He has real life on his fastball. You can’t have enough quality arms at the back end of a game.”
Northwest Arkansas has also been helped by the return of outfielder Brian Fletcher. Fletcher returned from the disabled list in early June and he is batting .380 in his last five games.
“Fletcher has done a much better job of cutting down his strikeouts and putting the ball in play,” Poldberg said. “We know who is in the three hole everyday, so our lineup is a little more consistent.”