Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Naturals’ new faces have winning in common
SPRINGDALE — There’s lots of new faces on the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ opening-day roster including manager Chris Widger.
But Widger has something else in common with quite a few of those Naturals. They were part of the Quad Cities team that won the High-A Central championship a year ago.
Widger guided the River Bandits to the title in just his second season of managing in the affiliated minor leagues and was named Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America. He replaces Scott Thorman, who also led the Naturals to the Double-A Central championship a year ago. Thorman was elevated to the manager at Triple-A Omaha.
The Naturals open the Texas League season on Friday night at Springfield, then host Wichita in a rematch of last year’s championship series on Tuesday night in Arvest Ballpark.
Nine position players and four pitchers on the Naturals’ roster were part of the lineup for Quad Cities in the championship series last season and that means something, Widger said at the Naturals’ media day held Wednesday afternoon at Arvest Ballpark.
“You build a winning atmosphere and you hope they expect to win each year,” said Widger, who spent 10 years in the Major Leagues behind the plate. “It’s minor leagues and winning isn’t what we’re here to do but at the same time it’s all part of them coming up and becoming better baseball players. It’s all part of it, we think, as far as their growth.”
Not only does the group learn to play together, but they also mesh with Widger, who even had several of these players in Burlington in 2019.
“It’s nice because you build that camaraderie and they know what I want and I know what they bring to the table,” Widger said. “So it just makes everything comfortable. It’s a good group of guys.”
Second baseman Michael Massey and Nick Loftin should provide a nice 1-2 punch for the Naturals. They tied for the batting title in the High-A Central last season, while Massey was stellar defensively, earning a gold glove. Loftin has played shortstop in the past, but he’s transitioning to center field.
Loftin acknowledged that being with the same core group of guys gives him confidence.
“It’s really nice considering last year was my first year in pro ball,” Loftin said. “So with the coaching staff and a lot of the teammates that I had coming off of a championship that we won is obviously really comforting. … and to understand that we’ve set the bar really high, that’s for sure. But our goal this year is to win another championship.”
Loftin, rated as the No. 12 prospect in the Royals’ organization by Baseball America, has earned comparisons to Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield, who also plays a variety of positions.
Loftin said he was even able to get a few pointers from Merrifield about staying sharp playing multiple positions earlier this week.
“I just asked him about how he goes about his business in practices as far as getting his reps on the infield and in the outfield,” Loftin said. “He gave me some really good advice about handling that this season and what I’ll be doing pregame.”
Loftin said the change isn’t that big a deal since he played the outfield in high and even as a freshman in college.
Seuly Matias is the lone starting position player to return this season. Matias earned a promotion late last season and flashed incredible power and a cannon-like arm in right field. He hit 18 home runs in 64 games at three different levels, including seven in 23 games at Northwest Arkansas.
Asa Lacy, the top-ranked pitching prospect in the Kansas City Royals’ organization, heads a deep, talented Naturals rotation. The lefthander was the fourth overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Lacy is joined by Quad Cities teammates Anthony Veneziano and Dante Biasi. Angel Zerpa, who pitched at three different levels in the minors and even got a start for the Royals in September, will begin with the Naturals. Drew Parrish also returns. He got a start in the playoffs for the Naturals last year.