The Antillean right-handed pitcher Arshwin Asjes has signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds organization. The signing was mentioned by Honkbalsite.com and Baseball America. The 24-year-old was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 2005 amateur draft, but didn’t sign. He attended Temple University after and wasn’t selected again in 2008.
Asjes joined the Midwest Sliders of the independent Frontier League and made 33 appearances (one start) in 2009, going 1-4 with twelve saves and an ERA of 5.00. He struck out 34 in 36 innings, while walking 16. He later was added to the Dutch roster for the 2009 IBAF Baseball World Cup, where he had a 7.71 ERA in five games (4.2 IP, 3 SO, 2BB), taking the loss in relief against Canada.
The Dutch pitching coach during this tournament, Jim Stoeckel, also works as a scout for the Reds and brought Asjes into his organization. He would have stayed with the Sliders getting a new contract in October. The club now moves to Oakland to become the Oakland County Cruisers without him. With Alex Smit, Juan Carlos Sulbaran and Wladimir Balentien, he is going to see several familiar faces during Spring Training.
