By DZ. Filed Oct. 7, 2025.
Minus Max Kepler’s ongoing playoff run with the Philadelphia Phillies, European contributions to Major League Baseball’s season have concluded. Italy’s Samuel Aldegheri finished the season in the big leagues, Slovakia and Ireland’s Adam Macko was added to the Blue Jays 40-man roster (and thus is eligible as a playoff injury replacement), San Marino’s Alessandro Ercolani was named Double-A Altoona’s Pitcher of the Year, and the Netherlands’ Tyriq Kemp debuted after being drafted from a U.S. university. Four of the players on this list then joined their national teams, each playing regularly during the European Baseball Championship, two of whom were among the standout performers in the tournament.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2025 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; FG (Fangraphs): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.
“NR” denotes not ranked (only included for players listed in other rankings).
MLB (2)
Sam Aldegheri (23), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Rocket City Trash Pandas.BA: 7; FG: 5; MLB: 13.
Aldegheri had a pair of 2025 stints in the major leagues, including his final two starts of the season. He debuted with the Angels last year shortly after being traded by the Phillies. Signed out of Italy in 2019, the southpaw registered a 7.90 ERA in 13.2 major league innings over four appearances this year. He totaled 10 walks and 12 strikeouts, hitting four.
Aldegheri, who only turned 24 after the season, posted numbers in 23 Double-A starts and his first appearance in Triple-A that offer plenty of hope for a meaningful major league future, with a 3.72 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 133.1 innings. He punched out 113 and walked 60, while continuing his trend of keeping the ball in the yard and inducing weak contact. He surrendered only 13 home runs (0.9 per nine innings) and induced infield fly balls on a whopping 31.2 percent of plays, tops among all minor league pitchers who saw time in Triple-A, seventh among those in full-season leagues, and No. 14 overall.
Max Kepler (32), Philadelphia Phillies. Germany.
Kepler’s Phillies are down 2-0 in the best-of-five playoffs vs. the Dodgers at the time of writing. The Berlin lefty swinger has a double and a triple in his two postseason games. He hit .216 with 18 homers in the regular season, though his .300 OBP and .391 slugging percentage meant that he was only about 12 percent below average. He is due to re-enter free agency this winter at 32 years old, having played left field regularly for the first time in his career.
Triple-A (3)
Adam Macko (24), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Buffalo Bisons. BA: 24; FG: 12; MLB: 22.
Minus some rehab appearances after getting injured during spring training, Macko spent the entire season at Triple-A Buffalo. In 64 innings across 18 games there, he struck out 65 and walked 36. Macko finished the season with a 3-8 record at the level, recording a 5.06 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. He pitched another 17 innings in rookie ball while recovering, striking out 26 and walking three. A couple of days ago, Macko was officially added to the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, signifying that Toronto has the left-hander in its plans. It also means that other clubs cannot select Macko in this winter’s Rule 5 Draft [link to explanation].
Ernesto Martinez Jr. (26), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Nashville Sounds. BA: NR; FG: 19; MLB: NR.
Martinez finished his first full season at Triple-A with a .265 average and .357 OBP in 80 games played. He concluded the season with an active eight-game hit streak. He scored 40 runs, had 40 RBI, knocked six home runs, and stole one base.
Martinez will be a minor league free agent again this winter; last year, he returned to the Brewers after his first opportunity to explore the market. The first baseman provided a post-season showcase at the Baseball Euros in Rotterdam, playing every game for France and hitting .348/.500/.391, with no strikeouts in 30 plate appearances.
Sem Robberse (23), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: 22; FG: 18; MLB: NR.
Robberse had surgery on his throwing elbow in June and finished the season on the injured list. He pitched 14.2 innings before the surgery, striking out 19 and allowing 23 hits and eight walks. This was the third season he played at least part of the year in Triple-A. The Zeist native will likely have a delayed start to his 2026 season as he continues to recover from surgery.
Double-A (3)
Alessandro Ercolani (21), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino. Altoona Curve. BA: NR; FG: Hon. Men.; MLB: NR.
Ercolani spent the last week or so of the season and the one week of playoffs on the injured list after pitching a career-high 100.1 innings, spending the entirety of his age-21 season at Double-A. He had a 4.04 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, striking out 68 and walking 39 with a 1-8 record (strongly influenced by the fact that he was limited to 3 or 4 innings per start for much of the season, limiting his opportunities to record wins). As noted in the intro, he was named the team’s Pitcher of the Year in its postseason awards.
Arij Fransen (24), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Chattanooga Lookouts. BA: NR; FG: Hon. Men.; MLB: NR.
Fransen pitched the entirety of the 2025 season in Double-A Chattanooga. In 30 games and 55.1 innings, the Deventer native struck out 49 and walked 41 with a 4-4 record and 6.34 ERA. Fransen signed in the middle of the 2019 season, but due to the pandemic he did not pitch in an official game until 2021. He has steadily progressed through the organization, including one appearance at Triple-A in 2024.
Omar Hernández (23), Kansas City Royals. Spain. NW Arkansas Naturals.
Hernández split the season between High-A and Double-A, receiving a mid-season promotion and hitting slightly better in AA. Combined, the catcher played 75 games, hitting .225/.259/.271 with 12 extra base hits, 10 steals, 54 strikeouts, and nine walks. Hernández appeared in four games for the Spanish national team in the recent European Championship, notching five hits, three RBI, and three runs scored. Playing in the outfield, he compiled a .333/.412/.400 line in 17 plate appearances.
High-A (1)
Kay-Lan Nicasia (23), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Nicasia completed his first season at High-A Wisconsin, playing 78 games this year in total (75 in High-A). The outfielder hit .157/.306/.314 with 11 stolen bases in 13 attempts. Nicasia had 19 extra bases while striking out 105 times and taking 43 walks. The latter has been his calling card across parts of five seasons in the minors, as he has drawn 133 free passes in 256 games.
Single-A (3)
Tyriq Kemp (22), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Columbia Fireflies.
The Rotterdam infielder, who spent the last two seasons at Baylor University in Texas, was drafted by the Royals in the sixth round in the midsummer selection of amateurs. Kemp debuted in full-season A-ball, playing 16 games and accumulating 11 hits and 11 walks for a .193/.338/.298 slash. He stole five bases in eight attempts.
Mathias LaCombe (23), Chicago White Sox. France. Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. BA: 28; FG: NR; MLB: 21.
Drafted in the 12th round in 2023 from Cochise College in Arizona, the Toulouse academy product fought minor injuries and was finally able to pitch in May 2025. After the long delay, LaCombe had a strong debut, pitching in 19 games, 12 at rookie-level Arizona, and his last seven at full-season Kannapolis, with the late-season boost earning him consideration in two sets of team prospect rankings.
The French righty struck out 73 in 53.1 innings with a 3.04 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He struck out an eye-popping 32.6% of all opponents, a rate bettered by only 55 pitchers across every level of the minor leagues. LaCombe’s mark of 12.32 strikeouts per nine innings in at least 50 innings was topped by only 63 minor league hurlers.
Yannic Walther (21), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. Carolina Mudcats.Walther finished the season with a round .200 average and .318 OBP in 200 at bats. Appearing in 65 full-season games, the catcher from Heidelberg struck out 69 times and walked an excellent 33 times while tallying 40 hits. He tossed out 17 percent of runners and was charged with only two passed balls, finishing with .990 fielding percentage.
The young catcher was an absolute behemoth for Germany at the Baseball Euros, playing in every game, going yard against the Czech Republic and Spain, collecting three hits versus Israel, and controlling the running game well. Overall, he hit .400/.464/.680, finishing fourth in home runs (tied) and sixth in total bases (17).
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (7)
Peter Bonilla (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. ACL Dodgers.
Bonilla finished the Complex League season strong, allowing only one run in his last five appearances. He walked eight and struck out six in this span, but allowed just three hits. He pitched 22 innings this season, compiling an 0-2 record and 4.50 ERA while striking out 27 and walking 21.
Tim Fischer (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. ACL Dodgers.Fischer concluded his third season as a Dodger and first in the U.S. He pitched in 15 games (two since our last update – allowing four runs and five walks in 2 innings) and 18 innings, with an 0-2 record, one hold, and a 6.00 ERA. He walked 22 and struck out 14.
Brandon Herbold (22), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
Herbold concluded his third pro season with a 1-0 record and 2.63 ERA in 13.2 innings. He allowed nine hits and 10 walks while striking out a whopping 21 batters. The lefty enters the offseason and 2026 spring training with the hope that performance earns him a chance in full-season baseball. He has now pitched 75.1 pro innings, striking out 79, with a 1.42 WHIP and 3-3 record.
Dominic Scheffler (21), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.Scheffler had only two more appearances since our last update before the ACL season finished. In those games, he pitched an additional 2.2 innings, walking one and striking out two while allowing eight hits. A tough performance in his final two-thirds of an inning raised his season ACL ERA from 4.91 to 6.15, demonstrating how fickle even full-season stats are in such limited periods. After not appearing since July 23, the tall (6-4, 196 lb.) southpaw suited up for Switzerland in the European Baseball Championship, appearing once for 1/3 of an inning, walking three and giving up two hits.
Giacomo Taschin (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. FCL Blue Jays.
Taschin signed with Toronto and reported to camp in Florida. He will wait until 2026 to make his official debut.
Gijs van den Brink (20), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
Van den Brink made one appearance of two scoreless innings on May 6. He was later placed on the 60-day injured list. This was his second season in the minors, after pitching 22.1 innings in 10 games in Arizona in 2024.
Williams Wong (19), Texas Rangers. Italy. ACL Rangers.
Wong played the entire season in the Arizona Complex League (which wrapped up in late July), and he played with Italy at the Under-23 European Championship in Třebíč, Czech Republic. Wong finished his third pro season with a .214/.314/.291 slash line, playing 33 games. He had four extra base hits and two stolen bases, walking 15 times and striking out in 33 trips to the plate.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (5)
Paul Hoff (18), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers Gold.
The northern German native spent the season on the injured list and did not pitch in 2025. He debuted last season with a 3.64 ERA in 29.2 innings.
Matteo Marelli (19), New York Mets. Italy. DSL Mets Blue.
Marelli pitched 13.2 innings across six games in his debut season. He walked 19 and hit six more, while allowing 16 hits and striking out 12 en route to a 9.22 ERA.
Jordan Ouanyou (17), Cincinnati Reds. France. DSL Rojos.
The slugging first baseman completed his first pro season as a 17-year-old with 15 games played and a .196/.231/.239 slash line, striking out 17 times with three walks while hitting a pair of doubles.
Keegan Pieternella (17), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. DSL Blue Jays Red.
Pieternella walked more than he struck out in the first 35 games of his career. He tallied 18 hits, 21 walks, and 18 strikeouts for a .200/.363/.222 slash line. He played catcher, second, third, DH, and all three outfield positions.
Filippo Sabatini (18), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies White.
Sabatini reportedly underwent elbow surgery; his debut will be delayed until at least 2026.
Previous Articles in This Year’s Series:
May [link].
June [link].
July [link].
August [link].
Additional statistical content by Gabriel Fidler, using advanced statistics from Fangraphs [link].