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 towards October baseball. The right-handed pitcher has maintained an ERA below two and has punched out more than a batter per inning all season long, soaking up crucial innings for Houston’s bullpen. Elsewhere, David Matoma finished a very strong year in the Pirates’ system, while Ben Serunkuma saw his time with the Dodgers come to an end. Finally, the first Ugandan battery in professional baseball history—featuring a graduate of the MLB Draft League—suited up in Hokkaido, Japan, to make history on Aug. 18.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2024 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; FG (Fangraphs): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.
MLB (1)
Tayler Scott (32), Houston Astros. South Africa.
Scott continues to dominate in a leverage relief role with the Astros. He is 7-3 with a 1.89 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 62 innings (55 games). The late-bloomer (he pitched for three different teams in Triple A and two big league teams just in 2023) was recently featured on MLB.com for his unique path to the big leagues and his desire to give back to South African baseball [link].
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (1)
The U.S. rookie leagues finished in late July. Matoma is likely still playing games in Florida until at least early September, but those results are not official or publicly available. So, minus a late promotion, the info shown is both dated and likely complete for his 2024 season.
David Matoma (18), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. FCL Pirates. BA: Not listed; FG: 15; MLB: Not listed.
Matoma pitched 22 innings with Pittsburgh’s Florida rookie league squad, allowing a run in only two of his 15 games. He missed a bit over three weeks in the middle of the summer, but he returned with four shutout appearances in July in which he surrendered only a pair of hits and walks, whiffing four. He finished the season with a 0.82 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, two holds, and three saves, striking out 28 and walking nine.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (1)
The Dominican Summer League season just finished. Ajoti’s statistics below are final from the 2024 season, although he is likely still in the DR playing unofficial games and getting live at bats.
Allen Ajoti (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. DSL Dodgers Mega.
Ajoti was placed on the active roster July 31 and played in eight games this month. He collected three hits, including a double, in his abbreviated debut season, with three walks and three strikeouts. All told, his batting line was .200/.333/.267.
Released (1)
Ben Serunkuma (22), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. ACL Dodgers.Serunkuma was released on Aug. 6, likely to create roster space for 2024 draft picks. Between the Dodgers’ team in Arizona and a single scoreless appearance in Single-A, the right-hander appeared in a career-high 17 games, tossing 21.1 innings with 20 Ks, 26 hits, and 12 walks. Serunkuma spent 2022 in the Dominican Summer League, while competing the last two seasons in the Arizona Complex League (making three additional appearances with Rancho Cucamonga). He finished his three-year career with a 5-3 record and 4.15 ERA in 41 games and 56.1 innings. He struck out 60 and walked 25.
MLB Draft League (1)
Dennis Kasumba (20), Free Agent. Uganda. Frederick Keys.
After spending his second spring in the MLB Draft League, Dennis Kasumba signed a contract with the Hokkaido Baseball League’s Asahikawa Be:Stars [sic] on Aug. 12. The backstop becomes the second player from Uganda on the Asahikawa club, joining national team ace Allan Kabenge, a right-hander who signed on June 27, noting that he can hit 93 m.p.h. (150 k.m.h). After irregular posting, the Kasumba signing stimulated a burst of Kasumba-related content appeared on the club’s social media accounts, which installed him on the Be:Stars’ header images. The club advertised the two players’ debut pairing on Aug. 18 [link], as Asahikawa made professional baseball history by fielding the pair of Ugandans on the mound and behind the plate. The game can be watched on YouTube [link]. Note: Google Translate was used to translate Asahikawa’s tweets.
Read previous posts in this year’s series:
April [link].
June [link].
Mid-July [link].