By DZ. Filed July 1, 2023.
There are several Europeans having relative success in the Florida State League, including an award winner, while a number of young players making their professional debuts in Arizona, Florida, and the Dominican Republic. Several others across the minors are suffering through long-term injuries and have yet to appear or been sidelined for the foreseeable future. In total, 31 players from Europe are rostered for the 2023 season, though that number should increase as a result of the European Development Tournament, held at Farnham Park in Slough, England, in advance of London Series 2023.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2023 (playing age this season).
MLB (1)
Max Kepler (30), Minnesota Twins. Germany.
Kepler has played 57 games around two injured list stints. The lefty from Berlin is hitting .211 with 11 home runs and a .280 OBP. He has 43 strikeouts and 15 walks. Kepler has a team option for 2024, but the guaranteed portion of his contract with the Twins ends at the end of this season.
Triple-A (1)
Didi Gregorius (33), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands.
Released on Aug. 4, 2022 by the Phillies, Gregorius—long the very first player on this list—returned to winter ball for the first time since his prospect days, this time in search of a new contract. When the calendar turned to June, the Dutch shortstop was in the midst of a Mexican League-MVP season for the Algodoneros de Union Laguna. Only 33, Gregorius had popped 11 home runs in 117 plate appearances as part of a .359/.431/.777 line. Those numbers, combined with strong defense at shortstop, attracted the attention of the Mariners, who signed him to a minor league contract on June 8. On June 30, Gregorius was assigned to the Tacoma Mariners, for whom he had not yet appeared as of July.
Double-A (1)
Sem Robberse (21), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
Robberse has an 0-5 record in 14 starts, pitching 67.1 innings to date. He has 26 walks and 66 strikeouts with 54 hits allowed for a batting average against of only .213.
High-A (5)
Darryl Collins (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
The elder Collins brother has 23 games at the High-A level, but has been on the 60-day injured list since June 1. He is hitting .244 with four stolen bases.
Adam Macko (22), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Vancouver Canadians.
The left-handed pitcher was born and learned baseball in Slovakia before living several formative years in Ireland, after which his family moved to Canada, from where he was drafted. This season, Macko has started 11 games, throwing 46.2 innings with a 2-4 record and 5.98 ERA. He has walked 20 and struck out 50.
Shervyen Newton (24), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
After six seasons in the Mets’ organization, Newton moved to the Royals, who returned him to High-A, where he finished the 2022 season. The 2023 season has been a struggle thus far, though he is on pace to set a career high for home runs amidst a .150/.233/.299 line. After spending virtually his entire career at shortstop, with limited appearances at second and third, Newton has lined up at first base in all but a few games for his Iowa club.
Ernesto Wilson Martínez (24), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
The Cuban lefty spent some teenage years at the CREPS national academy in Toulouse. He played only 28 games last season, so is repeating the A+ level. In 42 games and 145 at bats, he has 31 hits, 15 walks and 42 strikeouts. Martínez has stolen eight bases in 10 attempts, and has an overall slash line of .214/.301/.372. This is his sixth playing season with the Brewers.
Niklas Rimmel (24), Minnesota Twins. Germany. Cedar Rapids Kernels.
The Berlin native has a 3-1 record and 2.96 ERA in 18 games and 27 innings. Rimmel has walked 13 and has 22 strikeouts with 24 hits. This is the righty’s fifth season in the Twins system.
Single-A (7)
Samuel Aldegheri (21), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. Clearwater Threshers.
Aldegheri has 52 innings this season in 12 games (11 starts) after 33 innings the past two seasons combined, due to injury. He has a total of 24 walks and hit batters and has surrendered 47 hits while striking out 66. The lefty has a 3-0 record.
Jiorgeny Casimiri (22), Toronto Blue Jays, Netherlands. Dunedin Blue Jays.
Casimiri has pitched in six games and has 8 innings. He has 13 strikeouts and 3 walks and has allowed 3 hits. The righty is 0-1 with two saves and a 1.13 ERA.
Alessandro Ercolani (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Bradenton Marauders.
After a nine-strikeout outing in 4.1 innings on June 9, the teenaged Ercolani has recorded three scoreless appearances over 12 innings, with four hits, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. One of those starts resulted in the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week award. The San Marino righthander has 47.1 innings in low A, with a 3-4 record and 3.99 ERA. Ercolani has allowed a hit per inning and is registering a strikeout per frame, while walking a man every two innings.
Arij Fransen (22), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Dayton Tortugas.
Fransen has a 2-5 record in 45 innings across 15 games. The righty has allowed 59 hits and walked 22 while striking out 46.
Omar Hernandez (21), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Columbia Fireflies.
The Cuban-born, Barcelona-raised catcher is playing his third season in Columbia, S.C., and has already played 50 games this season. Hernández hitting .229 with a .310 on-base and has stolen 21 bases in 28 attempts. He has nine extra base hits and 20 walks against 29 strikeouts.
Kay-Lan Nicasia (21), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Carolina Mudcats.
Nicasia was moved to the outfield in 2022 and has switched to right field full time this season. The early results have been positive, as Nicasia has thrown out five runners in 50 games. The Dutch prospect has stolen 18 bases and posted a .211/.343/.300 mark at the plate.
Claudio Scotti (25), New York Mets. Italy. St. Lucie Mets.
The 6-foot-4 righthander has yet to appear this season and is currently on the 60-day injured list.
Rookie League, US Complex Leagues (11)
Darnel Collins (19), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals Gold.
Collins has nine hits, one walk, and one strikeout in 10 games and 43 at bats. The lefty outfielder is repeating the complex level.
Daniele Di Monte (21), Detroit Tigers. Italy. FCL Tigers West.
Di Monte has six innings pitched in as many games. He has allowed seven hits and 10 walks while striking out eight. He’s 0-1 with a hold, giving up six earned runs.
Ettore Giulianelli (20), St Louis Cardinals. Italy. FCL Cardinals.
Giulianelli, a right-handed pitcher, has pitched five innings in five games. He has allowed four hits and three walks while striking out eight and has yet to allow a run. The Italian has a 1-0 record.
Lou Helmig (20), Philadelphia Phillies. Germany. FCL Phillies.
The German outfielder, born in Paderborn and most recently from Regensburg, has played eight games this season. He has six hits, three walks, and a stolen base with nine strikeouts.
Brandon Herbold (18), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
The towering (6-foot-6) left-hander has started his first professional season by pitching shutout baseball in all but one of his mostly one-inning starts. Overall, in seven innings over five games, Herbold has permitted only one run on four hits, a single walk, and one hit batter, sending down four on strikes.
Frank Hernández (21), Chicago Cubs. Spain. ACL Cubs.
The Cuban outfielder, who played his teenage years in Barcelona, was promoted from the D.R. to the U.S. this year, and he has five hits in his first eight games at the new level. In 25 at bats, he has walked twice and struck out three times.
Nicolo Pinazzi (23), Cincinnati Reds, Italy. ACL Reds.
The Milanese lefty has seven appearances (7.2 IP) with 12 strikeouts in June, with six hits and eight walks permitted, resulting in 5 runs.
Connor Prins (19), Seattle Mariners, Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
After signing last autumn, Prins made his debut in the Arizona Complex League this month. He has pitched 5.1 innings across three games, with three hits, nine walks, and two hit batters, leading to seven runs. However, Prins has also recorded nine strikeouts.
Stijn van der Schaaf (19), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
The Amersfoort RHP signed after the U18 European Championship, and has now appeared in his first three pro games. He has allowed only a single hit in 3.1 innings, but has walked 10 and hit two batters. Van der Schaaf has punched out three and has allowed seven runs.
Dominic Scheffler (19), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.
Scheffler signed out of the Regensburg Academy in January. Already recovering from an injury at that time, the Swiss native is on the full season injured list.
Boris Vecerka (20), Arizona Diamondbacks. Czechia. Visalia Rawhide.
Večerka signed this past offseason and is on the full-season injured list.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (5)
Yoanis Aleksandrov (19), Chicago Cubs. Bulgaria. DSL Cubs Red.
The first-ever Bulgarian native to play minor league baseball managed only two hits in 54 at bats last year in his debut. He has logged a hit and a run scored in seven at bats so far this season. The outfielder has not played since June 9.
Peter Bonilla (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
Bonilla has pitched in eight games through July 1, totaling 10.2 innings. The Barcelona lefty has 16 strikeouts and nine walks, allowing 11 hits and four runs.
Tim Fischer (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Bautista.
In his first three professional games, Fischer has allowed one hit in 5.2 innings. He has walked six and struck out half a dozen in that time, resulting in 3 runs.
Enrique Sevilya (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia. DSL LAD Bautista.
The left-handed pitcher has not appeared this season, and is on the 60-day injured list.
Yannic Walther (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 1.
The Heidelberg native and recent Heidenheim catcher has hit the ground running in his pro debut. He has 14 hits and 10 walks in his 50 at bats for a .280 average and .393 on base percentage. His totals include a trio of doubles and one home run.
Transactions
Delson Guzmán (20), Milwaukee Brewers. Spain. Carolina Mudcats.
Guzmán has officially been released. He pitched 11.2 innings after signing in July 2021.
Previous Posts in This Year’s Series
May [link].
Note from the editor: Brandon Herbold was added to the list after publication thanks to Twitter follower @thefrilledshark.
