Jeff Natale

Infobox MLB player


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name=Jeff Natale

position=Second Baseman
team=Boston Red Sox
number=23
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|8|24
debutdate=
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statyear=
stat1label=AVG| stat1value=.000
stat2label=HR
stat2value=0
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=0
stat4label=H
stat4value=0
teams=
*Lowell Spinners (2005)
*Greenville Drive (2005 - 2006)
*Wilmington Blue Rocks (2006)
*Portland Sea Dogs (2007 - by|2008)
*Pawtucket Red Sox (by|2008 - Present)

Jeff Natale (born August 24, 1982 in Hamden, Connecticut) was drafted by the Red Sox in the 32nd Round of the 2005 Amateur Draft out of Division III Trinity College. He is currently assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Amateur career

Had a tremendous four year career at Division III Trinity College, culminating in winning the NESCAC player of the Year and a place on the ABCA Division III All America Team. His 2005 stats were .447/.553/.780 with 29 of his 67 hits going for extra bases. He had a .400 Batting Average, .500 OBP and .675 Slugging Percentage in each of his 4 baseball seasons at Trinity.

One aspect of his game that was never fully developed in college was his defense, as he played 4 different positions (LF, CF, 2B, and 3B) in each of his four seasons at Trinity.

In 2003 and 2004, Jeff was a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, as a member of the Torrington Twisters. He was named to All-NECBL team as a DH in 2003, as well as being named the 10th-Player of the Year and being a member of the Southern Division All-Star Team. Oddly enough, he was signed by the Twisters to be a temporary player. He led the league in doubles that season.

Pro career

Jeff started his pro career with a brief stay with the Lowell Spinners. He played on 12 games for the Spinners, dominating to a tune of .488/.522/.610. He was then promoted to the Greenville Bombers for the rest of the season, putting up a line of .338/.463/.544 with 19 doubles and 4 triples, walking 28 times and striking out only 14 times.

He started the 2006 season again with Greenville, and played the first 2 months of the 2006 season there. He put up a .343 average, with 10 doubles and 10 HRs, walking 41 times, getting hit 11 times and striking out only 20 times. On June 1, Jeff was promoted to the Wilmington Blue Rocks. After a slow start, he finished with a batting average of .278 and an on base percentage of .403 in 273 at-bats with 7 home runs, 46 RBI, 62 walks and 54 strikeouts. In terms of raw plate discipline, Natale posted a .141 IsoD. Combined between Greenville and Wilmington, he led all Red Sox minor leaguers in RBI (87), walks (103), and on base percentage (.446).

Jeff started 2007 at Portland, hitting .269 with 55 RBI, 58 runs, 73 walks and 27 strikeouts through 99 games.

Promoted to Pawtucket Red Sox for 2008 season. On April 21, 2008, he suffered a broken arm when hit by a pitch. A metal plate was inserted into his arm and he is expected to miss at least 2 months.

Trinity College Stats

Baseball stats|name = Jeff Natale|update = August 18,2007|g=140|ab=473|r=169|h=211|2b=50|3b=7|hr=24|rbi=142|sb=26|ba = .446|cite=cite web | title =Jeff Natale | publisher = ESPN.com | date = 2007-06-28 | url = http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5909 | accessdate = 2007-06-28]

Minor League Stats

Baseball stats|name = Jeff Natale|update = May 21,2008|g=324|ab=1102|r=200|h=329|2b=78|3b=6|hr=25|rbi=200|sb=13|ba = .299|cite=cite web | title =Jeff Natale | publisher = Baseball Cube | date = | url = http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/N/Jeff-Natale.shtml | accessdate = 2008-05-21]

Awards

2006

* Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year

2005

Team Awards
* American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Division III All American First Team
* New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division III All New England First Team
* Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England All-Star First Team
* New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) First Team

Player of the Year Awards

* New England Player of the Year from National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)
* NEIBA DIII New England Player of the Year
* ECAC DIII New England Player of the Year
* NESCAC Player of the Year

2004

* American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Division III All American Third Team
* New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division III All New England First Team
* Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England All-Star First Team
* New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) First Team

2003

Collegiate Awards

* New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division III All New England Second Team
* Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England All-Star Honorable Mention
* New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) First Team

Summer League Awards

* New England Collegiate Baseball League 10th Player of the Year
* New England Collegiate Baseball League All-NECBL Team - Designated Hitter
* New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star - Southern Division

couting Report

Jeff is an unheralded infielder who just seems to get on base. Coming out of a small prep program in Connecticut, Jeff went to Trinity College, a NCAA Division III school in Hartford, CT. Offensively he has dominated every place he has played. Defensively, he needs to find a position.

Trivia

# Started the 2006 Season with the Greenville Drive in order to work with Manager Luis Alicea on infield defense.
# Hit a Home Run in his first at-bat in Wilmington.

References

External links

* [http://soxprospects.com/players/natale-jeff.htm Jeff Natale - Minor League Information Courtesy of Sox Prospects]
* [http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=10338 Baseball Reference] minor league statistics