Former Thunderbolts Natili, Carver Reach MLB Milestones
SILVER SPRING, JULY 16—Since 2000, the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts have seen their fair share of players reach the professional baseball ranks. This past week, two former TBolts made headlines for being drafted by and signing with MLB organizations.
On July 11, the Colorado Rockies selected catcher Jack Natili with the 76th pick in the MLB draft. Natili played his freshman season with Rutgers, and spent his last two with the Cincinnati Bearcats. Last spring, he batted .339 with a 1.098 OPS, 46 assists, 65 RBIs and 19 home runs. In Cincinnati’s NCAA tournament win over Louisiana, Natili went 4-5 with three home runs. Additionally, the catcher was named to the Second Team All-Big 12 team.
As a rising college freshman, Natili played five games with the Thunderbolts in the summer of 2023; the Pennsylvania native was hosted by current TBolts pitcher Vince Anzidei’s family. In total, he batted .188 with three RBIs, two walks, and four strikeouts. Natili’s summer ended early after breaking his wrist while sliding into first on an infield single. Nevertheless, he went on to have a decorated college career with the Bearcats.
Natili becomes the highest drafted Thunderbolts player since Brett Cecil was drafted 38th overall in 2007. Thunderbolts Head Coach Brock Hunter is not surprised in the slightest that Natili flourished into a third round pick.
“I think that was an obvious one that everyone saw coming,” Hunter expressed. “As a rising freshman, he was hitting the ball 100 miles an hour in batting practice, it was pretty incredible. He had every tool, but was a high school player and hadn’t developed into a college player with those tools.”
“I knew it was coming from the day we met him,” Assistant Coach Max “Skip” Eckert said. “You could tell he was a dawg. He could catch, he could throw, he could block, and he could absolutely mash.”
Yesterday, pitcher John Carver signed a contract with the Houston Astros organization. The right-hander spent four years at Adelphi University, and had his best season this past spring. He started 10 games in 2026, recorded a 2.67 ERA, and struck out 92 hitters. Moreover, Carver recently won the Northeast 10 Pitcher of the Year Award and was named a D2CCA All-American.
Unlike Natili, Carver spent a whole summer with the TBolts in the summer of 2024. The righty started seven games, threw 22.1 innings, allowed 17 hits, and carved 23 strikeouts.
Skip Eckert has fond memories of mentoring the rising sophomore in 2024. After Carver’s summer in Silver Spring ended, the Director of Player Development still made sure to relay tips to the righty whenever he could.
“He was a kid physically that looked like Paul Skenes, but he was a little bit chubbier. He channeled some of the feedback he got and became a hoss,” Eckert reminisced.
We wish nothing but the best for these former Thunderbolts as they look to begin their journeys in professional baseball.