By DZ. Filed Aug. 3, 2023.
Sem Robberse was in the international baseball news twice this month — first for playing in the MLB Futures Game, and then for being traded to the Cardinals in a deadline deal and promoted to Triple-A in the process. In other news, follow Dutch pitcher Gijs van den Brink joined the professional ranks and French-Cuban Ernesto Martínez had 30 hits at High-A in July. Meanwhile, Stijn van der Schaaf has allowed only two hits in his first 10-plus pro innings, and Italy’s Williams Wong hit over .300 in his first full month of pro ball.
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.
It appears that Kepler may finally be finally healthy. The sole European big leaguer hit .291 in the month of July, including four home runs. He scored 15 times and knocked in 14, raising his season numbers to .230 with 15 home runs, 40 runs, and 39 RBI.
Triple-A (2)
Didi Gregorius (33), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. Tacoma Rainiers.
After one month in the Mariners organization (signing at the end of June out of the Mexican League), Gregorius opted out of this contract on Aug. 2. He hit .192 in 25 games with three home runs and a stolen base. The knighted Dutchman is again a free agent.
Sem Robberse (21), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds.
As noted in the introduction, Robberse was one of two prospects traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the St. Louis Cardinals for big league reliever Jordan Hicks on July 30. He has been with Double-A New Hampshire for the entire season, but the Cardinals assigned him to Triple-A Memphis (though he had yet to pitch in the Cardinals’ organization at the time of writing). In addition to four starts in July, leading to a 3-0 record, 2.53 ERA, and 20 strikeouts in 21.1 innings, Robberse pitched one inning in the MLB Futures Game as part of the All-Star Game festivities in Seattle. For the season, Robberse has tossed 88.2 frames with a 4.06 ERA, walking 33 and striking out 86.
High-A (5)
Darryl Collins (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
The Royals’ outfielder from Rotterdam did not play in July, as he remains on the 60-day injured list. In 23 games earlier this year, he hit .244 with 4 stolen bases.
Adam Macko (22), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Vancouver Canadians.
The Bratislava native made 4 starts since the calendar flipped to July, recording two wins over 17 IP and allowing 12 hits, 11 walks, and 17 strikeouts. He has a 5.23 ERA on the season with 67 strikeouts and 31 walks, good for four wins and two losses.
Shervyen Newton (24), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
The infielder from Tilburg hit .235/.316/.456 in the month of July, recording 16 hits (seven of them for extra bases), seven walks, and 19 strikeouts. This raised his season line to .178/.261/.350 and coincided with a return to shortstop after switching to first base for the first three months of the campaign. Prior to this season, Newton’s entire professional body of work was in the Mets system.
Ernesto Wilson Martinez (24), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Martinez hit a strong .366 for the month of July, including 5 home runs and 5 stolen bases. He walked 8 times and struck out 12. This boosted his season numbers at high-A to .264/.341/.437 with 10 home runs and 13 stolen bases. He has played 64 games and has 31 runs scored and 26 driven in.
Niklas Rimmel (24), Minnesota Twins. Germany. Cedar Rapids Kernels.
The righty from Berlin continues his strong season in relief for the Iowa minor league team. He allowed six hits and four runs in 12.1 July innings, striking out 14 and walking five. In these seven games he was credited with a save and a loss (five of the six hits and all four runs came in this outing). For the season Rimmel is 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 25 games and 39.2 innings. His career high for innings was 41, set last season.
Single-A (6)
Samuel Aldegheri (21), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. Clearwater Threshers.
Aldegheri had four starts in the last month, recording one loss in 15.2 innings. He gave up only 12 hits but walked nine and allowed three home runs. He still struck out 13, and his season numbers remain strong, with a 3-1 record, 3.86 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 67.2 innings.
Alessandro Ercolani (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Bradenton Marauders.
San Marino’s native son made five appearances (four starts) in July for a total of 17.2 innings. After a 2.14 ERA in June, Ercolani posed a 5.60 ERA in July, allowing 16 hits, 11 runs, and 7 walks while striking out 21. The second-youngest player on the Bradenton roster, the righty’s season numbers are a 4-5 win-loss record, 4.43 ERA, 66 strikeouts, and 31 walks in 65 innings. Ercolani was placed on the seven-day injured list Aug. 1.
Arij Fransen (22), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Dayton Tortugas.
Fransen made four starts in the last month, recording one win and two losses across 17.1 innings pitched. He struck out 13 and walked four, allowing 20 hits. For the year, Fransen has a 3-7 record with 6.35 ERA. He has 59 strikeouts and 26 walks across 62.1 innings.
Omar Hernández (21), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Columbia Fireflies.
The Barcelona-raised catcher hit .294 in July with three home runs and three stolen bases. He walked seven times and struck out in 11 at bats. In 66 games this year, Hernández is hitting .238 with five home runs and 24 stolen bases while getting regular playing time behind the dish.
Kay-Lan Nicasia (21), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Carolina Mudcats.
Born in Oss, Netherlands, and drafted in 2021, Nicasia is experiencing a full-season pro league for the first time. He’s already played 73 games (more than the 59 he tallied in the two previous pro seasons combined) and is hitting .203/.322/.325. He’s stolen 22 bases, walked 41 times, and struck out 85 times in 73 games. In July, he hit three singles, three doubles, and three home runs, stealing four bases without being caught. He hit .164 for the month.
Claudio Scotti (25), New York Mets. Italy. St. Lucie Mets.
The Rome native, signed from the FIBS academy in Tirrenia, has yet to appear this season as he remains on the 60-day injured list. Scotti debuted with the Pirates’ rookie league team in 2016-17 and, after a couple of seasons back playing for Bologna, he signed out of the last European Championships with the Mets.
Rookie League, US Complex Leagues (11)
Jiorgeny Casimiri (22), Toronto Blue Jays, Netherlands. FCL Blue Jays.
Casimiri pitched 10 innings across five games in July, recording one win and two saves while walking four, striking out 13, and allowing 7 hits for a 1.10 WHIP and 3.60 ERA. For the season, the righty is 1.1 with a 2.50 ERA and 4 saves in 11 games and 18 innings in the FCL (3.54 ERA overall).
Darnel Collins (19), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals Gold.
The young outfielder recorded three hits in 28 at bats in July, stealing one base and hitting a triple. He is hitting .162 for the year in only 74 at bats, including two home runs and two stolen bases.
Daniele Di Monte (21), Detroit Tigers. Italy. FCL Tigers West.
The lefty is pitching his fourth season for the Tigers’ Gulf Coast League team. In five July games, he pitched five innings, walking eight and hitting five batters, leading to eight runs despite allowing only 4 hits. He struck out five. In 11 innings this season, he’s 0-2 with an 11.45 ERA, striking out 13 and walking 18.
Ettore Giulianelli (20), St Louis Cardinals. Italy. FCL Cardinals.
Rimini’s own RHP threw 8.2 innings in July, limiting opponents to three hits, but walking 11, striking out an impressive 16 hitters. He gave up six runs despite a batting average against of .107. In his third season at the complex level, Giulianelli is now 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 14.1 innings with seven hits, 16 walks, and 26 strikeouts.
Lou Helmig (20), Philadelphia Phillies. Germany. FCL Phillies.
Helmig recorded two hits in 19 at bats in July, walking six times, striking out five times, and stealing a base. In 15 games this season, the lefty-swinging outfielder has four extra base hits, 12 runs scored, six RBI, and two stolen bases.
Brandon Herbold (18), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
One of two 6-foot-6 Dutch left-handers in the Royals’ system, Herbold started four games in July, relieving in another. Although he earned a win, his totals included 15 earned runs on 18 hits and five walks over 10.2 innings with eight Ks. Batters slugged .809 against him.
Frank Hernández (21), Chicago Cubs. Spain. ACL Cubs.
In 26 July at bats, Hernandez had eight hits and three walks and scored five runs. He struck out eight times and had three extra base hits to hit .308 for the month. In his 17 games in Arizona, the outfielder is hitting .255/.321/.373.
Nicolo Pinazzi (23), Cincinnati Reds, Italy. ACL Reds.
Pinazzi pitched 10 innings across five games in July, striking out 13 while allowing seven walks and eight hits. He earned one save and had a 5.40 ERA. For the season, including four games in A-ball early in the year, the lefty has a 2-2 record and 7.03 ERA in 24.1 innings. He has registered 37 strikeouts and 30 walks and hit batters, while allowing 23 hits and 19 runs.
Connor Prins (19), Seattle Mariners, Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
Prins improved his debut season numbers with a 4.22 ERA in July, giving up five earned runs in 10.2 innings with 12 hits, eight walks, and eight strikeouts for a 1-1 record. He is 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 16 innings on the season.
Stijn van der Schaaf (19), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
Amersfoort’s van der Schaaf pitched seven innings in the last month, allowing only one hit and three walks while striking out six. He has hit four batters and walked 13 in 10.1 innings this season, but has allowed only two hits this year for a 2-0 record with one save.
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 first ever Bulgarian native to play minor league baseball managed two hits in 54 at bats last year in his debut. He’s managed a hit and a run scored in 10 at bats so far this season. The outfielder played Aug. 1 for the first time in nearly two months.
Peter Bonilla (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
The young lefty from Sant Boi’s youth program pitched seven games in July for 13 innings. He had a 2-1 record with seven hits and seven walks allowed while striking out 12. His season ERA now stands at 1.96 in 23 innings.
Gijs van den Brink (18), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. DSL Royals Gold.
The statuesque southpaw (6-foot-6) gave the Netherlands an even dozen players in the minor leagues after signing on July 30. On Aug. 2, the former UVV player was assigned to DSL Royals Gold.
Tim Fischer (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Bautista.
Fischer pitched five games for 10.2 innings last month with 14 strikeouts, eight walks and 14 hits allowed for nine runs. He has a 6.61 ERA in eight games on the year.
Enrique Sevilya (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia. DSL LAD Bautista.
The left-handed pitcher from Moscow has not appeared this season and is on the 60-day injured list. He debuted in 2022 with 15.1 innings in 12 games.
Yannic Walther (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 1.
German catcher Walther recorded eight hits in 37 at bats in July, walking eight times and striking out 16 for a .216 average and .362 on base percentage. In his first 83 ABs, he is hitting .265 with five extra base hits and 17 walks.
Williams Wong (17), Texas Rangers. Italy. DSL Rangers Blue.
The recently signed infielder from Turin his .333 with two stolen bases for the month. In his first 30 professional games, Wong has six extra base hits, 26 walks, and five stolen bases while striking out 29 times. He’s hitting .266/.418/.340.
Awaiting Assignment (1)
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 awaits his first professional assignment after a dominant season with Cochise College.