The Toronto Blue Jays have signed one of Italy’s top young pitchers, Giacomo Taschin, with the left-handed pitcher becoming the latest of a series of Italians to sign with MLB organizations. Despite…
Africans in the Majors & Minors: May 2025 Update
By DZ. Filed 11 May 2025. The number of Africans playing for MLB organizations has remained fairly steady of the last two decades, but this year marks a continued shift in the…
Europeans in the Majors & Minors: May 2025 Update
By DZ. Filed May 9, 2024. After finishing 2024 with a slate of promotions, the state of Europeans in MLB organizations continues to look bright as the 2025 minor league season commences,…
Phillies Sign Two Italian Pitchers
It was quite a summer to remember for Italian baseball, with Samuel Aldegheri making his major league debut and its national squad winning the Under-18 European Championship. On Sept. 17, the Federazione…
A Dutch State of Play, Part V: A Hank in Holland
By Jason Daniels. The Dutch have a way with athletics – and their culture at large: they get a deep squeeze out of their talents, cherish consensus, and maximize precious resources. Such…
A Dutch State of Play, Part IV: Island Strength
By Jason Daniels. The Dutch have a way with athletics – and their culture at large: they get a deep squeeze out of their talents, cherish consensus, and maximize precious resources. Such…
A Dutch State of Play, Part III: Dutch Engine
By Jason Daniels. The Dutch have a way with athletics – and their culture at large: they get a deep squeeze out of their talents, cherish consensus, and maximize precious resources. Such…
A Dutch State of Play, Part II: Polder Work
By Jason Daniels. The Dutch have a way with athletics – and their culture at large: they get a deep squeeze out of their talents, cherish consensus, and maximize precious resources. Such…
A Dutch State of Play, Part I: Making Sense of Europe’s Top Baseball Power
By Jason Daniels. The Dutch have a way with athletics – and their culture at large: they get a deep squeeze out of their talents, cherish consensus, and maximize precious resources. Such…
Africans in the Majors & Minors: Final 2024 Update
By DZ, with additional reporting by Gabriel Fidler. Filed Sept. 23, 2024. The season ended with only three Africans in major league organisations, but two of those have made particular marks over…
Europeans in the Majors & Minors: Final 2024 Update
By DZ. Filed Sept. 23, 2024. The final month of the minor league season can be summed up in one word for Europeans playing in affiliated baseball in the U.S.: PROMOTIONS! In…
Africans in the Majors & Minors: August Update
By DZ, with additional reporting by Gabriel Fidler. Filed Aug. 25, 2024. The surging Astros look to be playoff-bound, and South Africa’s Tayler Scott will play a crucial role in the push…
Europeans in the Majors & Minors: August Update
By DZ. Filed Aug. 25, 2024. One Italian was traded for a big leaguer at the MLB trade deadline, another allowed only three earned runs over the past two months, and a…
A German, A Spaniard, and A Hot Dominican Summer: European Baseball and the DSL [Part III]
By Jason Daniels. It is rare that our staff has the opportunity to visit the heart of the Caribbean to cover European baseball, despite the fact that dozens of teenagers from Europe…
A German, A Spaniard, and A Hot Dominican Summer: European Baseball and the DSL [Part II]
By Jason Daniels. It is rare that our staff has the opportunity to visit the heart of the Caribbean to cover European baseball, despite the fact that dozens of teenagers from Europe…
A German, A Spaniard, and A Hot Dominican Summer: European Baseball and the DSL [Part I]
By Jason Daniels. It is rare that our staff has the opportunity to visit the heart of the Caribbean to cover European baseball, despite the fact that dozens of teenagers from Europe…
Africans in the Majors & Minors: Mid-July Update
By DZ, with contributions from Gabriel Fidler. Filed 16 July 2024. Tayler Scott once more steals the headline among Africans at the various levels of MLB. Houston has benefited from the breakout…
Europeans in the Majors & Minors: Mid-July Update
By DZ. Filed July 16, 2024.The Phillies moved Verona, Italy’s Samuel Aldegheri up to Double-A, where France’s Ernesto Martínez is raking during July. Meanwhile, the MLB Draft had more of an international…
Africans in the Majors & Minors: June 2024
By DZ, with contributions from Gabriel Fidler. Filed June 26, 2024. There are three Africans currently participating in MLB-affiliated baseball, and all three are having tremendous success. The veteran journeyman Tayler Scott…
Europeans in the Majors & Minors: June 2024
By DZ. Filed June 26, 2024. The big news over the last month has been the continued dominance of Italy’s Samuel Aldegheri. The righthander has been striking out hitters consistently in a…
Europeans in the Majors & Minors: Mid-May 2024
By DZ. Filed May 17, 2024. Several Europeans in the upper minors are performing well, while Dominic Scheffler of Switzerland and Gijs van den Brink from the Netherlands made their pro debuts….
Africans in the Majors & Minors: April 2024
By DZ. Filed 23 April 2024. Along with several African players that have contracts in Mexico and Japan, there are three players on the rosters of MLB organizations, headlined by the Astros’…
Europeans in the Majors & Minors: April 2024
By DZ. Filed 23 April 2024. The 2024 season is upon us! Veteran Max Kepler continues to headline the list of Europeans in pro ball, while Sem Robberse is off to a…
Derhak Bridging Baseball Divides for Czech Baseball
By Jason Daniels, contributing writer. Late in 2023, we covered everyone’s favorite new baseball relationship: the blossoming partnership between Japan and the Czech Republic. Going into 2024, tracking the impact of Czechia’s…
Japan Blanks Europe in Game 1 of Global Baseball Games
Team Japan defeated Team Europe in the first game of the Global Baseball Games series in Osaka on Wednesday, 5-0. The hosts jumped to an early lead after two first-inning runs and…