The first season in the American Minor Leagues is over for the four German prospects. The premiere year was a mixed one.
Donald Lutz of the Gulf Coast League (GCL) Reds started strong into the season, hitting .345 in the first month, but struggled in the following. However he had the most appearances of all four German talents with 34 games. He finished with a batting average of .250 (OBP .317/SLG .361) with nine doubles, one homerun, 22 runs scored and 19 RBI. He also stole four bases in five attempts. He mostly appeared on first base and as designated hitter, but also manned left field for a couple of game at the end of the year. After his season in Florida Lutz won bronze with the national team at the European Championships Under 21 in Pamplona, Spain. He was named to the All-Star team after hitting .320 (.346/.320).
Catcher Kai Gronauer had the highest hopes of all four players, when he signed with the New York Mets organization this spring. But his arrival to Florida got delayed due to paperwork and he had a late start into the season. Nonetheless he held his ground at a crowed position with the GCL Mets, fighting for playing time against five other catchers on the roster. He appeared in 16 games, batting .356 (.408/.378) with one double, four runs scored and ten RBIs. He also threw out six of ten potential base stealers. During the regular season of the German Baseball-Bundesliga, before going to the US, he batted .433 (.536/.642) with two homeruns, two triples, two doubles, 28 runs scored and 19 RBIs in 17 games.
The third German player in the Gulf Coast League was pitcher Jennell Hudson of the GCL Red Sox. The 18-year-old right-hander appeared in ten games in his debut season, primarily as a reliever. He allowed three earned runs each in three of the ten matches, pitching scoreless in the other seven. Overall he had an ERA of 5.40. He struck out eleven in 15 innings pitched, while walking eleven. He gave up one homerun all season. Opponents hit .263 against him. He had his best outing in his last game of the season against the GCL Pirates, when he struck out three in 3 1/3 no-hit, no-walk innings.
Third baseman Ludwig Glaser was the fourth of the quartet and the only one, who played not in Florida. The 20-year-old was injured during spring training, when he was hit in the face by pitch. He missed significant time during training camp, which probably led to a cut of his playing time during the season. He appeared in just eleven games with the Arizona Summer League (AZL) Angels, batting .222 (.302/.306) with a triple, a double, two runs scored and five RBIs. Together with his former teammate at the German Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg, Donald Lutz, Glaser went on to the European Championships Under 21 in Pamplona after finishing the season in Arizona. He hit .267 (.450/.467) with three doubles, six runs scored and four RBIs in five games.
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