MLB International and the MLB Scouting Bureau are holding tryouts for the MLB European Academy in Tirrenia, Italy right now. It started on Wednesday in Haarlem, Netherlands, followed by Bologna, Italy on Thursday. Barcelona, Spain (May 4), Mainz, Germany (May 7) and Prague, Czech Republic (May 8) are still on the schedule in the coming days.
Up to 60 prospects between 15 and 19 years old have been nominated to attend each tryout with the 50 best being selected for the MLB European Academy, which will be held from July 31 to August 16 in Tirrenia, Italy. Besides the coaches of MLB International, personal of the MLB Scouting Bureau and scouts from MLB organizations are at the tryouts, getting an overview about the talent in European Baseball.
Since the first edition in 2005 297 players from 30 countries have been invited to the MLB European Academy, 57 of them signed minor league contracts with 21 different Major League organizations. Two of them, Italy’s Alex Liddi (Seattle Mariners) and Germany’s Donald Lutz (Cincinnati Reds) made the jump and reached the big leagues. 28 of the 57 players from 12 countries are still active within their respective organizations.