By DZ. Filed Aug. 31, 2023
There were several Europeans in the headlines in August, as Ernesto Martinez (France) and Samuel Aldegheri (Italy) both earned promotions, and Williams Wong continued a scorching start to his debut campaign. Meanwhile, at the big-league level, Max Kepler (Germany) is playing well for the division-leading Twins. Finally, several youngsters are concluding their minor league seasons and returning for the European Championships in prime game form, while Niklas Rimmel (Germany) and Claudio Scotti (Italy) were released, lowering the number of active European professionals in affiliated U.S. leagues to 30.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2023 (playing age this season).
MLB (1)
Max Kepler (30), Minnesota Twins. Germany.
The right fielder continues his strong second half, hitting .314 with six home runs and eight doubles in the month of August. He has totaled 53 runs scored and 50 RBI this season while raising his season average to .252. Playing almost exclusively in right field this season (he had one game as DH), Kepler has hit in every spot in the order, 1-9.
Triple-A (1)
Sem Robberse (21), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds.
The young righty, still 21 years old and already in Triple-A, has faced some adversity in his first month in a new organization—at the MLB trade deadline, Robberse both moved from the Toronto Blue Jays to the St. Louis Cardinals and was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A. In four starts with Memphis, the opposition have 24 hits and 14 earned runs in 15 innings, while Robberse has uncharacteristically walked 13. He is 0-1 in that stretch with an 8.40 ERA. He is now over 100 innings for the season, with 100 strikeouts and a 4.69 ERA.
Double-A (1)
Ernesto Wilson Martinez (24), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Biloxi Shuckers.
Building off his strong month of July, where he hit .366, Martinez was promoted to Double-A on Aug. 7 and is hitting .306 in his first 16 games at the higher level. He has walked 12 times for .452 OBP with eight strikeouts, adding a pair of stolen bases. The first baseman’s 2023 line now stands at .274/.361/.435 with 10 home runs and 15 stolen bases.
High-A (5)
Samuel Aldegheri (21), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. Jersey Shore BlueClaws.
Aldegheri was rewarded for a breakout season, earning promotion to High-A in early August and has already earned his first win at the new level. He has struck out 12 in 10.2 innings at the new level, while allowing 13 hits and 6.75 ERA. He’s 4-1 with a 4.25 ERA in 78.1 innings this year, striking out 91 and walking 34.
Darryl Collins (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
The Royals’ outfielder from Rotterdam is on the 60-day injured list and has not played since June 1. In 23 games earlier this year, he hit .244 with 4 stolen bases.
Adam Macko (22), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Vancouver Canadians.
Macko had 35 strikeouts in 22.1 innings across five August starts, recording a 1-1 record and 3.63 ERA. He’s 4-5 with a 5.11 ERA across 19 starts for the year.
Shervyen Newton (24), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Newton hit .321 in August with 14 extra base hits and two stolen bases. That dramatically improves his season line to .215 with a .292 on base percentage.
Niklas Rimmel (24), Minnesota Twins. Germany. Cedar Rapids Kernels.
Despite solid season results out of the Cedar Rapids bullpen this season, Rimmel was released Aug. 21. He had pitched only three innings in the month, walking six and giving up two hits. For the year he will finish with a 3-2 record and 3.16 ERA in 28 games over 42.2 innings, walking 24 and striking out 38.
Single-A (7)
Jiorgeny Casimiri (22), Toronto Blue Jays, Netherlands. Dunedin Blue Jays.
Casimiri spent three weeks in August in A-ball. He had pitched primarily with Dunedin in 2022 but had been in the rookie Florida Complex League this year until Aug. 3. In those three weeks, he pitched six innings in four games, walking four and striking out 11, but allowing six runs. He has a 2-1 record with a 4.13 ERA in 24 relief innings this season. In the last week of August, Casimiri was demoted back to rookie ball, although he has yet to pitch again at the level.
Alessandro Ercolani (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Bradenton Marauders.
Ercolani was placed on the seven-day injured list on Aug. 1 with a strained oblique, and he has not pitched since. The righty has a 4-5 win-loss record with a 4.43 ERA, 66 strikeouts, and 31 walks in 65 innings.
Arij Fransen (22), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Dayton Tortugas.
Fransen pitched 19 innings in five games (four starts) in August. He struck out 23 and walked seven, recording a win and a loss. In 2023, he is 3-8 with a 6.25 ERA and 1.66 WHIP.
Omar Hernandez (21), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Columbia Fireflies.
Hernandez hit .132 in August with two stolen bases and eight walks. The rare fleet-footed backstop, he has stolen 26 bags this year, hitting .233 while catching regularly.
Kay-Lan Nicasia (21), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Carolina Mudcats.
The middle infielder played in only 11 games in August, hitting .222 with a home run and two stolen bases. He is hitting .209 for the season with a .328 OBP and 24 stolen bases.
Nicolo Pinazzi (23), Cincinnati Reds, Italy. Daytona Tortugas.
After four early season appearances in A-ball, Pinazzi pitched in the rookie Arizona Complex League for two months. He then returned to Daytona on Aug. 3, and in 7.2 innings across six games, he has walked 10, struck out five, and given up seven hits for a 1-1 record and 9.39 ERA. Across all levels this season, he is 3-3 with a 7.59 ERA and a save in 32 innings.
Claudio Scotti (25), New York Mets. Italy. St. Lucie Mets.
Finally activated from the injured list on Aug. 11, Scotti had three rehab appearances in the Florida Complex League, facing 15 batters, which resulted in five hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. He was released from his contract on Aug. 28. He ends his time with the Mets with 13.1 innings across 2022-23.
Rookie League, US Complex Leagues (10)
Darnel Collins (19), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals Gold.
Collins got his first three hits in August in his last two appearances, including doubles in back-to-back games. He struck out six times without a walk in 16 August at bats. Across 87 ABs this season, he is hitting .172/.232/.299 with a pair of stolen bases and six extra base hits.
Daniele Di Monte (21), Detroit Tigers. Italy. FCL Tigers West.
The lefty is pitching his fourth season for the Tigers’ Gulf Coast league team. He walked four and struck out four in 4.2 August innings. This season, he is 0-3 with an 11.49 ERA in 16 games and 15.2 innings.
Ettore Giulianelli (20), St Louis Cardinals. Italy. FCL Cardinals.
Giulianelli is playing his third season in the Florida Complex League. He pitched 4.2 innings in August, allowing only one hit while walking seven and striking out eight. In 15 games and 19 innings on the year, he has a 1-1 record and 6.16 ERA.
Lou Helmig (20), Philadelphia Phillies. Germany. FCL Phillies.
Helmig had seven at bats and three strikeouts at the start of the month before traveling to Wiener Neustadt, Austria, to represent Germany in the U23 European Championships. Upon returning from that tournament, he was immediately placed on the 60-day injured list. He is hitting .149 in only 47 at bats this season, walking nine times with four extra base hits and two stolen bases.
Frank Hernandez (21), Chicago Cubs. Spain. ACL Cubs.
Hernandez had three hits in his 15 August at bats. In 23 games this season he is hitting .242/.296/.348 with four extra base hits.
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, has not suited up in a game for the White Sox’ complex squad.
Connor Prins (19), Seattle Mariners, Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
In eight August innings, Prins struck out seven and walked two while giving up four hits. After an 11.81 ERA in his debut month of June, he posted a 4.22 ERA in July and a 2.25 ERA in August. He has registered a 2-2 record with two saves in 24 innings overall.
Stijn van der Schaaf (19), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
The Dutch righty held his opponents to two runs on eight hits and three walks, punching out nine in 11 August innings. He is 3-0 with a 4.42 ERA in 18 innings this year.
Dominic Scheffler (19), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.
Scheffler signed out of the Regensburg Academy in January. He was already recovering from an injury at that time. The Swiss native is on the full season injured list.
Boris Vecerka (20), Arizona Diamondbacks. Czechia. Visalia Rawhide.
Vecerka signed this past offseason and is on the full-season injured list.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (7)
Yoanis Aleksandrov (19), Chicago Cubs. Bulgaria. DSL Cubs Blue.
The developing catcher recorded 22 at bats in August, collecting four hits and a stolen base while striking out 14 times without a free pass.
Peter Bonilla (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
The southpaw Bonilla pitched nine August innings without allowing an earned run. He earned two wins while striking out 11, giving up five hits and five walks. He is 6-1 with a 1.41 ERA in 32 innings this season.
Tim Fischer (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Bautista.
The Regensburg native pitched 10 August innings, recording 14 hits and five walks while striking out 10. He is 0-2 with a 6.84 ERA in 26.1 innings.
Enrique Sevilya (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia. DSL LAD Mega.
The left-handed pitcher from Moscow returned from the 60-day injured list to pitch 3.1 innings over the final six weeks of the regular season. He allowed eight hits and six walks with four strikeouts in those four games.
Gijs van den Brink (18), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. DSL Royals Gold.
The 6-foot-6 lefty became the twelfth player from the Netherlands in MLB systems after signing on July 30. Although K.C. has officially announced the signing, Van den Brink will not pitch professionally until next year.
Yannic Walther (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 1.
Walther had two hits in eight August games for a .105 batting average, but accumulated nine walks for a .414 on base percentage. The catcher finished his first professional season hitting .235/.394/.304.
Williams Wong (17), Texas Rangers. Italy. DSL Rangers Blue.
Wong continued the hot start to his career, hitting .406 in August with seven walks and only three strikeouts. In his first 39 professional games, he is hitting .285/.431/.358. He has stolen six bases and has eight extra base hits, walking 32 times and striking out 33.
Previous Posts in This Year’s Series
May [link].
June [link].
July [link].