Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Naturals look familiar
Roster features 20 players who have spent time with the club.
SPRINGDALE — There will be lots of familiar faces on the field for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals this season, but there’s a new one in the dugout.
Mike Rojas becomes only the third manager in Naturals’ 11-year history and replaces Vance Wilson, who took the job as the bullpen coach for the Kansas City Royals.
Rojas, 54, talked about how excited he was to don the uniform of the Royals’ Double-A affiliate at the Naturals media day Monday at Arvest Ballpark.
“First of all, glad to be here number one and, number two, being with the Kansas City Royals, which is very deep in my blood flow with my dad playing for the Royals and having the opportunity to work for them and the Naturals,” Rojas said.
His father, Cookie, was an allstar second baseman for the Royals in the early 1970s. Rojas managed Toledo, the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers in 2017, but he’s had an extensive career in baseball, including time on a major league staff as a coach.
Rojas acknowledged he didn’t get to see his players a great deal in spring training, especially some of the pitchers. But infielder Nicky Lopez and first baseman Samir Duenez, two of 20 players on the opening day roster who have played in Northwest Arkansas before, made an impression.
“Lopez from all the hype from the Arizona Fall League, I saw him in big league camp and I liked what I saw,” Rojas said. “Duenez, who’s a repeater, is an RBI machine. He proved that as well when I finally got my club down in spring training, which was late.
“In all reality, I need to see a little bit more. I like what I see. I like the talent that we have and the product we’re going to put on the field.”
Foster Griffin will be the Naturals’ opening-day starter on Thursday against Corpus Christi. He went 11-5 with a 3.61 ERA a year ago in Northwest Arkansas. The lefthander is rated as the No. 9 prospect in the Royals organization by Baseball America and was named the Paul Splittorff Award winner as the top pitcher in the Royals’ minor league system.
But Griffin is back in Double-A like several of his teammates, despite the good performance.
Rojas’ message for those guys is clear. Keep on keeping on.
“It’s OK to be upset, but when you walk through that door, leave your egos there,” Rojas said. “Respectfully, if you think you should have been at the next level, continue to show us. You just have to work and continue to show them on a consistent basis.
“It’s not they haven’t been consistent. They didn’t make the club. They’re here. Let’s get to work. That’s the message that we had.”
Griffin and center fielder Donnie Dewees Jr. are both taking that approach to try to earn that promotion.
“I went into spring with a goal to be in Triple-A, but the Royals say they have our best interests in mind so you’ve gotta roll with it,” Griffin said. “I’m here and I’m going to make the best of it and try and get better and try and get to Triple-A as soon as possible.”
Dewees hit .272 with nine home runs, 24 doubles, six triples and drove in 52 runs in 126 games for the Naturals last season. He didn’t have lots of time off, choosing to play winter ball in Mexico for the first time. But with all the familiar faces, DeWees believes the Naturals are primed for success this season.
“We’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of returners who produced for us last year year,’ Dewees said.