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 strong start in Triple-A, as are Italians Samuel Aldegheri and Alessandro Ercolani in High-A. Ettore Giulianelli, also from Italy, made his full-season debut after three seasons in rookie ball, and he has not yet allowed a hit. On the transaction front, Germany’s Paul Hoff signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, while five players’ (two Italians, and one each from Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Russia) U.S. pro careers have taken at least a pause. In total, 26 Europeans have contracts with MLB organizations.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2024 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.
MLB (1)
Max Kepler (31), Minnesota Twins. Germany.
The Twins picked up their $10 million dollar option on Kepler for the 2024 season, his 10th season in the big leagues, all with Minnesota. He will be a free agent at the end of the season. The Berlin native and former Regensburg Legionaere fouled a ball off his own knee to open the season, playing through it for 20 at bats before going on the injured list (with one hit to that point). He returned to action this week, getting two more hits and three RBI in his first game back as the Twins regular right fielder.
Triple-A (1)
Sem Robberse (22), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: 11; MLB: 12.
Beginning his first full season in the Cardinals organization after a 2023 mid-season trade from Toronto, Robberse is off to a great start. In four games pitched, he is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA, throwing eight innings of one-hit baseball in his latest outing. He has walked six, struck out 23, and allowed 15 hits in 22.2 innings.
Double-A (2)
Adam Macko (23), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. New Hampshire Fisher Cats. BA: 16; MLB: 9.
Drafted out of a Canadian high school after learning the game in Slovakia and playing in Ireland, Macko has now reached Double-A. He has a 3.07 ERA in three starts with 11 hits, six walks, and 17 strikeouts in 14.2 innings in his first month at the new level.
Ernesto Wilson Martinez (25), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Biloxi Shuckers.
After his return to the French national team program last fall, Martinez is back in Double-A with a home run and two stolen bases in his first 15 games. He’s hitting .245/.323/.396 with six walks and 12 strikeouts.
High-A (4)
Samuel Aldegheri (22), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. Jersey Shore BlueClaws.BA: X; MLB: 24.
The Verona native was promoted to Jersey Shore for his last four starts of 2023, and the comfort he developed with the new level showed in his first two starts. In 10.1 innings, Aldegheri has yet to allow an earned run, with only four hits and four walks to pair with his 11 strikeouts. On Apr. 16, he was placed on the seven-day injured list.
Alessandro Ercolani (20), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Greensboro Grasshoppers.
The San Marino righty extended his 2023 season with his selection to the prestigious Arizona Fall League, and he begins 2024 at a higher level. In his first two starts at High-A, Ercolani has struck out eight, walked two, and allowed six hits in eight innings for a 1-0 record and 2.25 ERA.
Arij Fransen (23), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Dayton Dragons.
Fransen continues his steady climb in the Reds organization, progressing to High-A for the first time. He has thrown five innings across four games with six hits, eight walks, and five strikeouts.
Omar Hernandez (22), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Quad Cities River Bandits.
The Barcelona catcher spent all of the last three seasons at single-A, other than a jump to Double-A for a nine-game cameo towards the end of last season. He’s splitting the difference in 2024, playing for High-A Quad Cities. He has logged seven games, with four hits and four stolen bases thus far.
Single-A (4)
Jiorgeny Casimiri (23), Baltimore Orioles. Netherlands. Delmarva Shorebirds.
The Orioles picked up the Dutch reliever shortly after his release by the Blue Jays during spring training. He has pitched 2.2 innings for his new organization, allowing five walks, nine hits, and 10 runs (six earned), while striking out five.
Ettore Giulianelli (21), St Louis Cardinals. Italy. Palm Beach Cardinals.
Giulianelli spent three seasons in rookie ball before a strong early showing at Palm Beach. In his first five full-season appearances, he has struck out 12 in 8.1 innings and has yet to allow a hit. He has walked 10 hitters in that time.
Frank Hernandez (22), Chicago Cubs. Spain. Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
The outfielder and Cub of the Hernandez brothers (twin Omar is above as a Royals catcher) did get 16 games in Single-A in 2022, then spent all of 2023 in the rookie Arizona Complex League. Hernandez has seven hits in his first 6 games back in A-ball, hitting .438 with three strikeouts.
Kay-Lan Nicasia (24), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Carolina Mudcats.
The outfielder from Oss (drafted out of a Florida high school) has three home runs and four stolen bases in his first 14 games of the season. He is hitting .261/.345/.522 with seven walks and 13 strikeouts.
Yet to appear in 2024 (14)
Peter Bonilla (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
The Spanish southpaw had a second consecutive strong campaign in 2023, accumulating a 1.41 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 32 relief innings spread out over 19 games. Bonilla had 38 Ks and allowed only 5.9 hits per nine, though he did issue 20 free passes. The Barcelona native now has a 1.68 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 75 strikeouts, and only 44 hits in 64.1 career frames.
Gijs van den Brink (19), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. DSL Royals Gold.
The left-hander appeared only in the Hoofdklasse in 2023, generally appearing as a multi-inning reliever. Van den Brink had a 5.15 ERA with a 38/39 K/BB ratio in 43.2 innings.
Darnel Collins (20), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals Gold.
The younger of the Collins brothers, Darnel returned to Arizona for his third season in 2023, finishing with a .172/.232/.299 mark in 27 games. The first baseman has a career batting line of .208/.270/.289 in 91 games.
Tim Fischer (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Bautista.
The Regensburg right-hander held down a spot in the starting rotation for one of the Dodgers’ two Dominican teams. Across 12 games (11 starts) and 26.1 innings, Fischer had a 6.84 ERA and 19 walks, though he did punch out 30.
Lou Helmig (21), Philadelphia Phillies. Germany. FCL Phillies.
A first baseman-outfielder from Paderborn, Helmig suited up in the Florida Complex League for a second campaign, finishing with a .149/.293/.298 line in 16 games that was similar to his 2023 output. He saw reduced time in the outfield, though did start two games at the hot corner.
Paul Hoff (18), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 1.
The newest European in the minors, the right-hander signed with Milwaukee on Jan. 15 and was assigned to the Dominican Summer League on Mar. 22.
Mathias LaCombe (21), Chicago White Sox. France.
Only the second French player ever drafted, LaCombe heard his name called in the 12th Round of the 2023 MLB Draft and signed on July 25. The right-handed pitcher was assigned to the Arizona League on Aug. 10, but did not appear in a game for the White Sox’ complex squad, though he did spend time on the injured list. LaCombe remains with the ACL White Sox for 2024.
Shervyen Newton (25), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
The infielder finished last season at High-A and has yet to appear in 2024, though he is listed on the Double-A roster. He started the season on the injured list and was recently transferred to the 60-day version. The second-longest serving European pro, Newton signed with the Phillies as a minor league free agent after seven seasons with the Mets. Only a fortnight later, the Royals acquired the Tilburg native off waivers. Newton added 1B to his resume in 2023 after having primarily played short for New York’s affiliates. After a brutal first four months of the season, the switch-hitter flipped the switch on July 28, posting a .317/.396/.603 line the rest of the way.
Connor Prins (21), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
The Amsterdam Pirates prospect signed with Seattle on Jan. 23, 2023, and saw action in 10 games, starting three games and closing out the same number. Prins posted two wins and two saves in 24 innings, striking out 24 and allowing 19 hits and 19 walks.
Stijn van der Schaaf (20), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
Another January 2023 signing, van der Schaaf was originally slated for the Dominican Summer League, but was bumped up to Boston’s stateside complex. The right-hander allowed only 10 hits in 18.1 innings with a 4.42 ERA and a 14/15 K/BB ratio for the Red Sox’ rookie team.
Dominic Scheffler (20), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.
After signing with the Reds in January as the inaugural Swiss professional, the six-four southpaw was assigned to Arizona, but spent some time on the inactive list and did not appear in a game.
Boris Vecerka (21), Arizona Diamondbacks. Czechia. Visalia Rawhide.
Officially on the Single-A injured list, Večerka has yet to make his pro debut.
Yannic Walther (20), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 1.
After a strong debut season, the backstop from Heidelberg was the subject of a MLB.com article [link] after Milwaukee signed fellow German Paul Hoff (see below). Walther suited up behind the plate and at first for Brewers 1 in the Dominican, posting a superb .394 on-base percentage in 32 games, hitting .235 overall. He had a .991 fielding percentage at catcher, throwing out 25 percent of runners.
Williams Wong (18), Texas Rangers. Italy. DSL Rangers Blue.
The third European to sign on Jan. 15 last year, Wong appeared for both of the Rangers’ Dominican Summer League teams, with almost identical results for each. A regular starter, Wong finished with a superb .285/.431/.358 line in 39 games, swiping six bags in nine attempts. He appeared primarily at second base, but also had brief appearances at shortstop and third.
Released Since the End of the 2023 Season (5)
Yoanis Aleksandrov (20), Chicago Cubs. Bulgaria. DSL Rookie.
Bulgaria’s first U.S. signing—professional or via university baseball scholarship—hung up his Cubs’ uniform for the final time on Apr. 3. Aleksandrov played sparingly in two seasons in the Dominican, primarily serving as a designated hitter, while also starting three games at 1B in 2023 and appearing at catcher for seven games the year before. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder improved significantly from his first to his second seasons, but still finished with a .172/.273/.172 line in 33 plate appearances.
Darryl Collins (22), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. High-A.
The elder brother of Darnel (see above), the Dutch corner outfielder saw his playing time reduced significantly in 2023, appearing in only 23 games after back-to-back 80-game seasons. Collins continued to show solid plate discipline, but he had only three extra base-hits and finished with a .244/.322/.308 line for Quad Cities. His four-year minor league career concludes with a strong .261/.370/.358 line with 29 stolen bases in 238 games.
Daniele Di Monte (22), Detroit Tigers. Italy. FCL Rookie.
The right-hander from Monfalcone struggled with the strike zone during his four campaigns in the Florida Complex League, walking more than a batter per inning in 78.1 career frames. Di Monte did strike out 17 in his 15.2 innings in 2023, but his ERA and WHIP were at a career low.
Nicolo Pinazzi (24), Cincinnati Reds, Italy. Single-A.
One of two Europeans on Reds’ rosters in Dayton (Fransen) and Arizona (Scheffler), Pinazzi saw regular action at both levels in 2023. After posting intriguing numbers in his third ACL season (25 K and only 14 hits in 17.2 IP), he struggled with his command for the Dragons and finished with his highest ERA and WHIP of his career. Pinazzi did strike out 50 in 36 innings, boosting his career totals to a whopping 154 strikeouts in 96 frames (14.4 K/9), with erratic control sabotaging his results.
Enrike Sevilya (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia. DSL Rookie.
A six-foot-three right-hander, Sevilya returned to the Dominican Republic for a second season in 2023, but saw action in only four games (two starts), totalling just 3.1 innings and continuing to struggle with his command. In total, his professional career comes to an end after 18.2 innings.