Spain’s Omar Hernandez joins the growing list of Europeans working in Triple-A to achieve their major league dreams. Mathias LaCombe joins him, and will later head to Glendale in the Arizona Fall League. In the lower levels, Italy’s Nicolo Pinazzi and Giaconino Lasaracina had great finishes to already strong seasons, while Filippo Sabatini finally made his professional debut. Several others in the lower levels had strong debuts as well, painting the most recent crop of signings as one of the best in recent years.
September is also a time for roster trimming and, alas, Germany’s Max Kepler and Spain’s Peter Bonilla were released. There are several rumored European signings expected to be official by the start of the 2027 season, which we will cover, along with any off-season contracts.
With only a few days of Triple-A remaining, this will serve as the last update for 2026. As such, we dive behind the numbers for quite of few of the 29 players featured here, focusing on some of the more intriguing seasons compiled by players on the list. With lengthier analysis, this update will be formed of two parts: players in the upper levels of professional baseball in the U.S. (MLB down to Double-A) and those in the low minors. Thanks for reading along this year.
The first half of the final update of Europeans in the Majors and Minors can be found here [link].
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).
High-A (2)
Tyriq Kemp (23), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Kemp, after being drafted out of Baylor University in 2025, has 378 at bats in his first full pro season. The shortstop and his Quad Cities squad just won the Midwest League championship. Kemp finished with 13 home runs and a .230 batting average, with 33 stolen bases in 45 attempts. He struck out 88 times and walked in 58 plate appearances, resulting in a batting line of .230/.336/.394 despite a very low .264 BABIP.
Yannic Walther (22), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Walther is in his fourth pro season as a catcher, wrapping up his second consecutive season with at least 235 plate appearances. In 67 games this year, Walther is hitting .204/.335/.299. He has 11 extra base hits, 79 strikeouts, and 40 walks and has stolen two bases himself. Walther has thrown out 48 attempted base stealers, good for a 26 percent success rate, and has been charged with only six passed balls and seven errors, resulting in a strong .990 fielding percentage.
Single-A (5)
Peter Bonilla (21), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. Ontario Tower Buzzers.
Bonilla was released last month after five seasons in the Dodgers organization. He moved to Single-A in late June and, in nine innings at the new level, the lefty allowed 18 hits and 14 walks while striking out 11. He had a 1.52 WHIP in rookie ball while striking out more than 1.5 batters per inning, but that WHIP ballooned to 3.44 in Ontario with an ERA of 17.00. The left-hander finishes his career—at least for now—with a 17-4 record, a 3.98 ERA, and a 1.48 WHIP in 89 games and 134.1 innings. Bonilla punched out 171 in that time (11.5 strikeouts per nine innings), walking 94 (6.3 per nine).
Brandon Herbold (23), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Columbia Fireflies.
The Rotterdam lefty is in his fourth pro season, and his first in full-season A-ball. He finished the year with a 2-3 record, 7.50 ERA, and 2.10 WHIP in 30 innings. Herbold recorded two saves and one hold, striking out 38 and walking 33. His career line stands at 5-6 with a 5.98 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings, and 6.3 free passes per nine in 64 games and 105.1 innings.
Giaconino Lasaracina (23), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. Dunedin Blue Jays.
Lasaracina concluded his first pro season with a .292 average and .386 OBP while primarily playing catcher. He had 24 extra base hits in 50 games played, striking out 54 times and walking 26. He started the season by raking in the Florida Complex League, slashing .365/441/.788 in 14 games. Challenged with a late-June promotion from rookie ball to the Florida State League, the catcher and first baseman put up a very solid .262/.365/.500 line.
Had Lasaracina accumulated enough plate appearances to qualify for the leaderboard, his combined slugging mark of .584 would have been ranked No. 21 among all minor leaguers. Meanwhile, his .865 OPS would have ranked ninth among all players in low-A leagues, and his overall OPS of .971 would have been just inside the top fifty for the entire minor leagues. One caveat to his performance is that—in an admittedly small sample size—the percentage of his flyballs to leave the park was higher all but two other players at any minor league level (38.9 percent), double the rate of what would be considered excellent in the big leagues. Coupled with a high groundball percentage (48.7 percent), some regression to batted ball results could be in order.
On a more positive note, the underlying metrics show he actually improved his plate discipline after his promotion from the lower level. Lasaracina dropped his strikeout percentage from 30.5 percent to 24.3, and nudging his already stellar walk percentage from 11.9 percent to 12.8. Although he was playing against younger competition (2.6 years older than average in the FCL, 1.1 years older in the FSL), given his late start to professional baseball, the fact that he signed out of Europe, and his position, Lasaracina had a stellar debut.
Dominic Scheffler (22), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. Daytona Tortugas.
Scheffler finished his season with a 5.03 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, and a 4-1 record with two saves and one hold. He struck out 50 and walked 40, allowing only 13 extra base hits and 41 hits overall. Although his FIP (5.63) and average BABIP (.289) are not terribly encouraging, Scheffler—who was young for the level—posted one eye-opening statistic: a 61.6 ground ball percentage, meaning that more than three of five batted balls against him resulted in a grounder. Had the lefty thrown enough innings, this would have led all of minor league baseball. Similarly, his ratio of ground balls to fly balls (GB/FB) of 2.57 would have ranked No. 3 overall. Given that Scheffler managed a groundball mark above 51 percent and a GB/FB above two in his previous two seasons, this skill is clearly a calling card.
Giacomo Taschin (19), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. Dunedin Blue Jays.
Taschin allowed 10 runs in his last two starts (6.2 innings), bloating his overall season numbers, but still finished his first pro season in full-season A-ball at only 19 years old. For the year, across two levels, Taschin pitched 52.1 innings, striking out 65 and walking 24. He had a 5.16 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, finishing with a 1-4 record with one save and hold apiece.
The left-hander had above-average marks for limiting damage on batted balls in the air, inducing an infield fly on a whopping 36.2 percent of balls in play (41.2 percent in the FCL) and allowing line drives on only 19.4 percent of batted balls. The latter figure would have been second in the minor leagues with enough innings pitched. Coupled with a few more fly balls leaving the yard than might be expected (19.0 HR/FB ratio overall, and a 26.5 mark in Single-A), the overall picture is of a successful debut.
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (4)
Fabio Bundi (22), Florida Marlins. Switzerland. FCL Marlins.
Bundi played in Switzerland, took part in MLB European camps, and has represented his national team. He went to California to attend a junior college, and he was playing this summer for Hamburg in the German Baseball Liga when he was drafted. He was assigned to the rookie complex league, but did not make an in-game debut, though he has likely competed unofficially while making the adjustment to pro baseball.
Tijn Fredrikze (19), New York Yankees. Netherlands. FCL Yankees.
The Neptunus lefty signed, then spent the entire season on the injured list. He has yet to debut.
Mathis Nayral (22), Toronto Blue Jays. France. FCL Blue Jays.
Nayral, a right-handed pitcher from Montpelier, attended a two-year program at Cochise College in Arizona before transferring to the NCAA Division I University of Kansas for one season. He was drafted in July 2026, but has yet to appear in an official professional game.
Gijs van den Brink (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
The Dutch left-hander has been able to pitch only once in the last two seasons, logging two innings in 2025 and spending all of 2026 on the injured list. He has 24.1 career innings pitched since signing in July 2023.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (9)
Tom Apfelbaum (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Bautista.
Apfelbaum started 11 games and pitched 29.2 innings in his first pro season. The Cologne lefty struck out 26, walked 27, hit another 13, and gave up 23 hits for a 5.46 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. Still, taking a regular turn in the starting rotation at his age, particularly given his nationality, is an accomplishment, as were his batted ball percentages of 56.3 ground balls and 29.4 infield flies induced.
Kenny Fermin (19), West Sacramento Athletics. Germany. DSL Athletics.
Fermin’s debut season ended with a .211 batting average and .392 OBP. He stole nine bases in 10 attempts and struck out 29 times while drawing 17 walks and knocking three extra base hits. He logged time at every position except pitcher, catcher, and left field.
Paul Hoff (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers Gold.
Finally healthy after missing all of the 2025 season, Hoff pitched to a 2.01 ERA and 6-0 record across 44.2 innings. He struck out 45 while walking 21 for a 1.14 WHIP. His advanced statistics suggest some luck involved (.240 BABIP, 4.16 FIP), but some very real reasons for positive assessment (45.7 ground ball percentage, 26.8 infield fly ball percent). Given that he averaged almost 4.5 innings per appearance, he may well be given the chance to start or work in bulk relief in 2027.
Juan Holmann (17), Minnesota Twins. Germany. DSL Twins.
Holmann had a strong season, although he did not play over the final four weeks. Thus, his first year in pro ball concludes with a .314 average, .538 OBP, and 14 stolen bases. He had 10 extra base hits (.535 slugging percentage) and walked 31 times while striking out 31 times.
Over a full season, his superb numbers would have ranked among the very best performances in the Dominican, with his .533 OBP second-best, his 1.069 OPS ranked No. 8, and more advanced metrics painting a picture of him as one of the top prospects in the league (a wOBA of .530 would have been No. 2, a wRC+ of 170 as third, a 29.8 line drive percentage at No. 4). The Twins gave him almost equal time at each of the infield positions to the left of first, while also giving him four games in left field, another factor that may help him move up the ladder more quickly.
Celwin Hurkmans (19), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. DSL Blue Jays Blue.
The DSS and TalentTeamNL lefty had a 12-inning first taste of professional life at the end of the summer, appearing in four games. He allowed 16 runs on 16 hits, 11 walks, and 11 strikeouts.
Jordan Ouanyou (18), Cincinnati Reds. France. DSL Rojos.
Originally from Paris and passing through the academies in Montpelier and Toulouse, the first baseman concluded his first full pro season with a .264 average and .427 OBP in 91 at bats. He tallied seven extra base hits (for a .396 slugging percentage) and a stolen base. Ouanyou finished the season with 24 hits, 24 walks, and 24 strikeouts. He drew a free pass in a very good 20.5 percent of at bats which, had he appeared in enough games, would have ranked in the top 17 percent of players in the DSL.
Ricardo Pulles (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia/Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
The catcher/first baseman from Moscow hit .161 with a .315 OBP in 87 at bats. He stole two bases, had four extra base hits, and walked 17 times against 35 strikeouts. He threw out 28% of attempted base stealers when catching.
Filippo Sabatini (19), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies.
The Nettuno righty, signed two years ago, finally made his pro debut after elbow surgery. In 20 innings across 10 games in his inaugural DSL season, Sabatini won six games with a 7.65 ERA and 1.85 WHIP. He struck out 18, allowing 16 free passes and 25 hits.
Patrick Silva (17), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies.
Silva played mostly third base, logging additional time at first and at DH. He concluded the season with 70 at bats, hitting .271 with a .393 on-base percentage. He had three extra base hits (resulting in a .343 slugging) and walked 12 times versus 18 strikeouts. Perhaps not coincidentally, he was on the field for the first three games that his teammate and fellow Italian Sabatini was on the mound, and seven of his 10 total appearances.
Articles in This Year’s Series
April [link].
May [link].
June [link].
July [link].
August [link].
Additional statistical analysis by Gabriel Fidler.