The promoted Chevaliers de Beaucaire have added three young players to bolster the roster for the 2012 season in the Division 1 league in French Baseball. The biggest name is probably Joris Navarro, one of the better young pitchers in European Baseball. The 21-year-old played for the Montpellier Barracudas in 2011, striking out 44 and walking 21 in 37 2/3 innings. He had an ERA of 4.78. He also played for the French national team during the 2010 European Championship and has been invited to the MLB European Academy in Tirrenia.
The second 21-year-old from Montpellier is infielder Simon Vicente. He played three years for the Barracudas, but attended Douglas College in Vancouver recently. He batted .299 last year. The third new player is the 25-year-old third baseman Florent Rolet. The former member of Paris UC and the baseball academy in Rouen was playing in Marseille since 2006. As usually in Europe Beaucaire’s success will also depend on the strength of the foreign players, but the foundation is there for a good season.