Inside Arvest: Tomorrow’s Talent – Opening Week – Frisco RoughRiders
As we begin the 2025 season for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, our third season of coverage, we unveil a new series on the talents of the Double-A system within Minor League Baseball. With this, we will focus on the talents of the Naturals and provide updates as the season matures, yet we will focus on the opponents and who is on their rosters. Inside the confines of beautiful Arvest Ballpark are loads of tomorrow’s talent in the MLB, and we want to bring the players and league to the eyes of others.
We present the opening piece of “Inside Arvest: Tomorrow’s Talent”.
The Talent In Arkansas Is Natural
The Royals organization has to be impressed with the recent influx of young talent. Names such as Bobby Whitt Jr, Tyler Tolbert, and others have made instant impacts on the team. This season, the talent in Springdale seems to be a ‘Natural’ fit. With seven of the top thirty prospects residing in the NWA, many eyes have taken notice. We will briefly update you on some stats on a few of these top names, as well as others within the roster who are producing at high levels.
We start at the top with number one prospect Jac Caglianone. We assume everyone saw the viral home run in the opening game versus Frisco that traveled 468 feet at a rate of 111 miles per hour off the left-hander’s bat. On Thursday night, Caglianone hit an opposite-field single in the bottom of the first stanza that tracked at 120.9 miles per hour off the bat.
In his 26 at-bats, the former Gator has 9 hits, including 2 doubles. In addition to this, he has 11 RBIs along with 2 home runs, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts. As we near the weekend, the power-hitting first baseman has a .346 batting average along with a .406 on-base percentage while slugging a .615. As we have mentioned on air and in writing, if you want to see the future of the Royals, Arvest Ballpark is the place to be early this season.
Next, we highlight the number six prospect for the Royals in outfielder Gavin Cross. We have been covering Cross here in Springdale for now three seasons. In the first season, Cross battled some illnesses before taking the 2024 season by storm. The all-around athlete has again been playing well to begin the 2025 campaign.
This season, Cross has 9 hits, including 2 doubles and 3 RBIs. The 24-year-old 9th overall draft pick of 2022 has 4 walks and 8 strikeouts in 27 at-bats. Entering the Friday contest versus Frisco, Cross has a .333 batting average along with a .406 on-base percentage. Thus far this season, Cross has been a staple at the top of the batting order, and we do not see this changing as the left-hander continues to provide power, sneaky speed, and a very high baseball IQ.
We now move to the mound, as there are many talented arms in this staff. We start with one who recently got his first start as well, Henry Williams. Williams, who toed the rubber in the series opener versus Frisco pitched well.
In the win, Williams worked 5 innings, allowing 2 runs, 2 walks while striking out 7 on the night. His poise and consistency on the mound allowed the Naturals to win their, at the time, fourth consecutive game to start 2025. Williams was ecstatic in postgame as he celebrated with his teammates on opening night.
We close the Naturals with the number 4 prospect in the Royals orginization. Ben Kudrna, who will get the ball on the Saturday night contest is quite the talent on the mound.. Entering the week, Kudrna has a 4.15 ERA after one outing, on April 6th, against Tulsa. In that win, Kuzma pitched well despite allowing 5 hits.
In his 4 innings of work, the right-hander allowed 2 earned runs as well as whiffed 4 different Drillers. With Kudrna on the mound in what could be a pivotal fifth game, we will have eyes on how he performs against a talented RoughRiders roster.
Who Is Here?
As we start the year at Arvest, the Frisco RoughRiders come to town for a six-game series. The AA affiliate for the Texas Rangers has plenty of high-profile players within their organization. With this, Frisco houses 9 of the top 30 prospects for the Rangers, and it starts at the very top.
The Rangers’ number one prospect, and 16th in all of baseball, is Sebastian Walcott. The 6’4, 18-year-old shortstop has all the tools to have all baseball fans excited for his future. Last season, Walcott became the youngest player to ever play for a Rangers Double-A affiliate when he made his debut at 18 years old. His efforts did not go unnoticed, as he was named a Rangers Organization All-Star.
In 2025, Walcott has a .192 batting average with 5 hits and 2 runs scored. In addition, Sebastian has 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base with a .276 on base percentage in his 26 at-bats this season. His fielding is just as noticeable as his bat as his arm strength, baseball IQ, and impressive athleticism is special to witness.
Next is the number fivr prospect, a right-hander named Winston Santos. The 6-foot 160 160-pound 22 22-year-old brings power on the mound for the RoughRiders. In 2025, Santos has made one appearance with 2.2 innings of work. In the game on April 4th, against Corpus Cristi, Santos allowed 4 hits and 2 runs. In addition, he allowed 1 walk and whiffed 6 Hooks. Santos enters Friday with a 6.75 ERA.
We next profile the number eight prospect, Alejandro Osuna. The 5’9 outfielder brings power, speed, and athleticism to the roster. The 22-year-old enters Friday with a .148 batting average with 4 hits and 6 runs scored. The 185-pounder has 7 doubles along with 1 home run and 4 RBIs.
On April 9th, in the top of the 9th, Osuna hit a three-run home run to put the RoughRiders up in what was a 12-9 win. These three runs batted in have become four as he enters Arvest on Friday, as he also has 8 strikeouts and 1 stolen base. A .258 on base percentage tops off these impressive stats in 27 at bats.
The final preview of the talent is the number seventeen prospect and April 11th starter, Mitch Bratt. The southpaw built a bullpen in the backyard of his Newmarket, Ontario home to make it easer to work on his craft. Bratt then transferred to Georgia Premeir Academy outside of Savannah, Georgia which allowed him to finish his high school career online while playing baseball.
In 2025, Bratt has pitched 3.2 innings of work, allowing 4 hits, 1 run, and 1 walk. In addition, Bratt has 4 strikeouts while allowing only one home run in his start on April 5th. In that game, Bratt showed great consistency as he threw 78 total pitches, with 50 being for strikes. We will have our eyes on Arvest Ballpark to see how Bratt battles this talented Naturals lineup.
We will have more on this series in the postgame following Friday night’s action. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05, and it looks to be a beautiful night for Natural’s Baseball.
