By DZ. Filed July 14, 2026.
Two new free agent additions join the list this month — Germany’s Kenny Fermin (Athletics) and Netherlands’ Cayro Hazel (Blue Jays) are added to the rolls. Hazel is with Celwin Hurkmans (Blue Jays, Netherlands) at the Under-18 European Championships in Italy this week [link]. Additionally, two Europeans in the collegiate ranks were selected in this past weekend’s annual MLB amateur draft — Switzerland’s Fabio Bundi went from a California junior college to the Marlins in the 11th Round, and France’s Mathis Nayral was selected from the University of Kansas by the Blue Jays in the 14th Round. Neither player has signed [ed.: As of July 16], so they will be added to our updates only after inking papers. Meanwhile, among those players already with MLB organizations, there have been too many promotions and huge successes to highlight them all here, so please read through all the names and prospects below.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2026 (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)
Max Kepler (33), Arizona Diamondbacks. Germany.
The Berlin native has 35 at bats with the D’backs since his return from suspension. The 12-year big league veteran has seven hits, including one home run, while playing mostly left field. In a dozen games, he has shown plenty of signs of rust, with a line of .200/.211/.343 line and 10 strikeouts in 38 plate appearances. After returning from his PED suspension, Kepler suited up for just 10 games across three minor league levels, hitting .333/.474/.567 with more walks than strikeouts.
Adam Macko (25), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. BA: 20; FG: 17; MLB: 20.
Macko is back in the big leagues for the second time this year, after a two-week return to Triple-A following a strong debut. He has pitched 17.1 innings across 17 games for the big club, striking out 25, walking six, and compiling a 2-0 record and 3.63 ERA. Although he will soon exhaust his prospect eligibility, both Baseball America and MLB.com bumped him to their Top 20 Blue Jays’ prospects in their mid-season updates.
Triple-A (3)
Sam Aldegheri (24), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Salt Lake Bees.Aldegheri has been up and down multiple times this season, and he has currently been back in Triple-A for one week. He has a 3-4 record and 5.08 ERA in 33.2 big league innings, and a 4-4 record and 7.41 ERA in 51 Triple-A innings. The left-hander is officially no longer a prospect, having passed the minimum numbers for MLB rookie status.
Ernesto Martínez Jr. (27), New York Yankees. France. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders.
Martinez is hitting .259/.358/.431 with 15 home runs in Triple-A. He has struck out 79 times and walked on 32 occasions while stealing five bases.
Sem Robberse (24), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: NR; FG: 22; MLB: NR.
In his return from Tommy John elbow surgery, Robberse has now made five rehab appearances across two levels. He has pitched nine innings, allowing 12 hits, striking out nine and walking no one.
Double-A (3)
Alessandro Ercolani (22), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Altoona Curve.
Ercolani returned to the Double-A injured list with continued shoulder issues, an injury which kept him from being part of Italy’s World Baseball Classic run this spring. Ercolani has a 4-1 record in 2026 in 18 games and 25 innings, albeit with a 1.76 WHIP and 7.56 ERA.
Omar Hernández (24), Kansas City Royals. Spain. NW Arkansas Naturals.
Hernandez continues to hum along, catching regularly while hitting .287 with a .342 OBP for the year. He has 17 stolen bases and seven extra base hits, striking out 38 times and walking 12 times in 51 games.
Mathias LaCombe (24), Chicago White Sox. France. Birmingham Barons. BA: 15; FG: 30; MLB: 15.
Right before publication, FFBS (the French federation) announced LaCombe’s all-star break promotion to Double-A. He has pitched in 18 games this year (16 in High-A, two rehab appearances in rookie ball) with a 2-0 record, 2.57 ERA, and 1.04 WHIP. He has struck out 39 in 28 innings, walking 12.
High-A (3)
Tyriq Kemp (23), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Kemp had a 16-game debut last season after being drafted out of Baylor University. He has had a 77-game run thus far in High-A, hitting .240/.359/.398 with 21 stolen bases and seven home runs.
Nicolo Pinazzi (25), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Tri-City Dust Devils.
Pinazzi has not allowed an earned run since May 17, a span of eight weeks. In June and July, he has 35 strikeouts and five walks. In typical Angels’ style, he has bounced between A-ball (22 appearances), Triple-A (one appearance, and a second short stint with the team without appearing), and now High-A (6 appearances). He is older for his current level, but he continues to do everything asked of him. The lefty has a whopping 70 strikeouts in 41 innings with a season ERA of 1.10.
Yannic Walther (22), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Walther had 36 games in A-ball and was recently promoted to High-A. He has played six games at the new level and already has three extra base hits and five walks there. For the season he’s hitting .185 with a .342 OBP. The backstop has thrown out a strong 28 percent of baserunners with a .993 fielding percentage, drawing rave reviews on defense.
Single-A (6)
Peter Bonilla (21), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. Ontario Tower Buzzers.
Bonilla started back in Arizona for the second season, and pitched to a 4-0 record and 3.98 ERA in 20.1 innings, registering an eye-popping 35 strikeouts, but also 18 walks. He recently received a promotion to Single-A, and in his first five games and five innings, he has walked six and allowed nine hits while striking out four.
Ettore Giulianelli (23), Cleveland Guardians. Italy. Hill City Howlers.
Giulianelli continues his career arc of limiting contact but struggling to throw strikes. Since May 1, he has pitched just 7.1 innings across seven games, allowing seven hits. In that same time, he has struck out 10, but walked 14. He has a 3.60 ERA and 2.41 WHIP.
Brandon Herbold (23), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Columbia Fireflies.
Herbold has pitched four consecutive relief outings without allowing a hit, dropping his ERA to 4.96. In his last eight innings, he has 11 strikeouts and seven walks, with six hits and six runs allowed. After three years in the rookie leagues, the left-handed reliever is holding his own in the full-season bullpen.
Giaconino Lasaracina (22), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. Dunedin Blue Jays.
Newly signed this autumn, the catcher moved up after 14 rookie games, hitting .365 with 10 extra base hits. He has had two more doubles and two more home runs in 12 games in Dunedin, hitting .262 with a .396 OBP. Overall, he has posted a triple slash line of .319/.420/.638 in his first taste of professional baseball.
Dominic Scheffler (22), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. Daytona Tortugas.
The Swiss lefty has 16 games and 26 innings pitched to date. He has walked 25 and struck out 23 while allowing 25 hits for a 5.88 ERA and 1.92 WHIP. He had registered three consecutive games without a walk before putting six men on in 1.1 innings in his last appearance before the All-Star Break.
Giacomo Taschin (19), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. Dunedin Blue Jays.
The Italian LHP opened his pro career in the United States, and the rookie league provided him little challenge. After seven games with a 1.99 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, the Jays promoted Taschin to Single-A. In four games and 14.2 innings there, he has struck out 17 and walked nine, with a 5.52 ERA and a .214 batting average against.
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (3)
Tijn Fredrikze (19), New York Yankees. Netherlands. FCL Yankees.
The Neptunus lefty has yet to debut, as he is on the injured list.
Keegan Pieternella (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. FCL Blue Jays.
Pieternella has played 14 games, hitting .216 with a .326 batting average. He has walked six times and struck out 14, with two extra-base hits.
Gijs van den Brink (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
Gijs made just one appearance last season, dealing with a shoulder injury. He has been on the 60-day injured list thus far in 2026.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (10)
The DSL season is well underway, starting in early June, with playoffs by the end of August.
Tom Apfelbaum (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Bautista.
Apfelbaum has started eight games for 22.1 innings, allowing 17 hits and striking out 21 while walking 18 and hitting another nine. His ERA is 4.43 and WHIP 1.57.
Kenny Fermín (19), West Sacramento Athletics. Germany. DSL Athletics.
Fermin signed with the Athletics as a two-way player, but he has debuted in the DSL as a hitter only thus far. In his first 44 at bats, the Germany Under-18 and Under-23 veteran has eight hits, including a home run, and he has stolen a pair of bases.
Cayro Hazel (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands.
The recent signee has yet to debut in North America. However, he has had three base hits while playing shortstop and leading off for the Netherlands at the Under-18 European Baseball Championship through the first two games.
Paul Hoff (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers Gold.
Hoff has five appearances totaling 20.2 innings. He has 21 strikeouts and 12 walks with 13 hits allowed for a 3.05 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.
Juan Holmann (17), Minnesota Twins. Germany. DSL Twins.
The Twins’ shortstop is off to a hot start in his pro debut, hitting .311 with a .543 OBP. He has seven doubles and three home runs while striking out 27 times and walking 28. He also has 13 stolen bases in 16 attempts.
Celwin Hurkmans (19), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. DSL Blue Jays Blue.
The southpaw has yet to debut, but pitched 4 scoreless innings vs Czechia on the first day of the U18 Baseball Euros [link].
Jordan Ouanyou (18), Cincinnati Reds. France. DSL Rojos.
Ouanyou has 19 games under his belt after a 15-game debut last season. He has nearly doubled his OBP (.231 to .453), hitting .293 with 17 walks against 11 strikeouts. The first baseman has four doubles amongst his 17 hits.
Ricardo Pulles (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia/Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
The switch-hitting catcher has a .200/.305/.280 slash through 19 games, with a double and a home run. He has walked seven times and struck out 15.
Filippo Sabatini (19), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies.
The RHP is on the injured list and has yet to make his debut.
Patrick Silva (17), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies.
Silva has 12 hits in his first 50 at bats. He has walked five times and struck out 14.
Articles in This Year’s Series
April [link].
May [link].
June [link].