Baseball: Wilson looking for more from Naturals' returners

SPRINGDALE -- Vance Wilson is pleased to have several core players return from last year's Northwest Arkansas Naturals' team that made it to the Texas Legaue Championship Series, but he's looking for more from some of those guys this season.

The Naturals signed a few older free agents last year to serve as examples for some prospects like shortstop Raul Mondesi, who is rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Kansas City Royals' organization by Baseball America.

Now it's time for guys like Mondesi and former first-round draft picks Bubba Starling and Hunter Dozier to produce, Wilson said at the team's' Media Day on Monday afternoon at Arvest Ballpark.

"Now to have those guys come back, it's really neat to see those guys grow," Wilson said. "Those are the guys who have to get it done in their careers. It's time for them to put numbers up and obviously graduate from this level. Hopefully, at some point this season we can send them to Triple-A, which is our job.

"It's an exciting team. We're very explosive, got good pitching and speed."

The 20-year-old Mondesi and Ramon Torres should anchor the middle of the infield and provide some of the speed Wilson talked about. They are two of five Naturals, who are on the Royals' 40-man roster, along with Starling and pitchers Alec Mills and Matt Strahm.

Dozier struggled terribly last season in his second season with the Naturals. He hit just .213 with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs in 128 games with 151 strikeouts. The former first-round pick out of Stephen F. Austin in Texas also committed 22 errors, the most by a third baseman in the Texas League.

But Wilson said he expects him to rebound, after a productive off-season.

"I'm proud of the kid, to come in as a first-round pick and really struggle offensively like he has," Wilson said. "He came to spring training and had to make a few more adjustments that our hitting guy Brian Buchanan helped him with. His last eight or nine days of spring training were very impressive. He hit a ball the other night, which we've been waiting on. He hit a ball about 450 feet. I mean it was a bomb. That's what he has, that power. He's really getting there. He's understanding it."

"He's a lot more flexible. He's moving better, and he's better defensively in spring training. I look for big things from Hunter this year."

Dozier said it was more about getting back to the things that made him successful in college.

"Just trying to get a little more rhythm and kind of free up my swing a little bit," Dozier said. "I think my thing was watching other guys, watching guys on TV trying to be like them and not realizing I have my own swing. I just need to stick with it. Last year, I changed some stuff that hurt me, and I'm just trying to get back to where I was and do even better than that."

The Naturals' starting rotation won't have many returners as only Christian Binford has any real experience above the Class A level. But Wilson is excited about the trio of Strahm, Alec Mills and Eric Skoglund, who spent last year at Class A advanced Wilmington.

"Take away the stuff, just the competitiveness, the way they carry themselves on the mound," Wilson said. "More than anything, they look like big league pitchers the way they throw."

Mills and Skoglund pitched well enough to be in Northwest Arkansas last year, if not for a pair of injuries, Naturals pitcher coach Steve Luebber said. He should know since Luebber was their pitching coach at Wilmington last season. Strahm, who is rated as the No. 8 prospect in the Royals' system, also turned heads coming off Tommy John surgery.

Sports on 04/05/2016