From the May 21, 2006 MetroWest Daily News:

Art Davidson - On Baseball: New England kid sets sights on Fenway

Natale was assigned to Greenville again at the outset of this season and has emerged as one of the best players in the South Atlantic League. The 23-year-old right-handed hitter is fourth in the league in batting (.346) and RBI (32), and is tied for fifth in home runs (8). Natale is a patient hitter who knows the strike zone in the mold of Kevin Youkilis. He's second in the league in on-base percentage (.485). Natale's strikeout-to-walk ratio (15-30) is exactly what the Red Sox want from their hitters.

"He does a good job of protecting the strike zone," said Red Sox director of player development Mike Hazen. "He doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches. He comes from a small school, but he's developed into a prospect."

Natale believes it's best to take a simple approach to what can be a complex game.

"My philosophy is to see the ball and hit it," he said. "The pitchers are much better than those I faced while in college, their breaking pitches are a lot better. I'm just looking for a good pitch to hit."

Natale (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) is exactly the same size as another talented Red Sox minor league infielder who isn't big in stature but has become an impact player, Pawtucket's Dustin Pedroia.

Jeff Natale was promoted to Wilmington and in his first High-A at-bat he hit a homerun.

Does anybody know if he can play an adequate 2B? Because it seems like he can hit.

That seems to be the biggest thing holding back right now. Many speculate that he was placed in low-A to work on his defense.

That is true. His defense is a big question mark and having Greenville manager Luis Alicea work with him was a big reason he was down there for this long. There is no question he can hit but it was always his defense holding him back a bit and having a former secondbaseman in Alicea working with him probably helped him out to a degree.

Here's the Wilmington News-Journal story on Natale's first game:

Kristian Pope - New player has blast, but Rocks lose

WILMINGTON -- Jeff Natale made himself right at home on Thursday night.

In his first at-bat with the Blue Rocks since getting called up from Greenville of the South Atlantic League, Natale crushed a solo home run.

That was the good news Thursday night.

...


Natale, a second baseman at Greenville, was hitting .343 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs for the Drive this season.

Trailing 2-0 in the second inning, Natale caught up with a 3-2 pitch from Salem's Chad Reineke and sent it over the left field wall and into the visiting bullpen.

In the third inning, Natale had a chance to do more damage. But with two Rocks aboard, he struck out swinging.

A 32nd-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in the June 2005 draft, Natale played at NCAA Division III Trinity College.He had spent the better part of last season at Greenville.

This guy is the next Dan Uggla. I don't see questionable defense holding that guy back.

June 17th Globe Article

From the Wilmington News Journal on August 27:

Natale powers Blue Rocks to win

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Jeff Natale went 4-for-5 with two homers, three RBIs and four runs scored as the Blue Rocks rallied for a 9-7 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats on Saturday night.

I drove 3 hours from my house to see Bowden pitch this game and was impressed by Natale's offensive night. more on Bowden in his thread. Natale looked good at SS but Lowrie is fantastic and Natale might suffer by comparison.

I am shocked that looking at his stats he has 17 homeruns between Greenville and Wilmington. I would never have thought that as he is not a big guy.

From the Bristol Press:

Ken Lipshez - Natale one of many local products in Portland

When he hit .343 through the first 50 games at Greenville last year, he was promoted to high Class A Wilmington in the Carolina League and hit a solid .278-7-46 in 82 games. To be in Double-A less than two years after playing for Trinity is living in the fast lane.

"It's awesome," said Natale, who also excelled in hockey during his scholastic days. "The only kids from my draft class that are here are the high picks - Ellsbury, Lowrie, a lot of the top guys. It's an honor to be here."

What really stands out is how selective he's been at the plate. In 97 games over two seasons with Greenville, he walked 69 times with just 34 strikeouts. He attributes it to his experiences at Trinity and Westminster.

"It taught me plate discipline and that's one of the reasons why I'm such a patient hitter," he said. "At those levels I was one of the better players and often I'd get pitched around so it taught me to stay back and wait for that pitch because when I got that pitch I didn't want to miss it."
While Natale's start with Portland this year has been slow by his standards (.231, 6 RBI, 7 BBs, 3 Ks coming into Saturday), manager Arnie Beyeler sees his potential shining through.