By DZ.
We are nearly two months into the 2023 season, and not far from the start of the short-season leagues. Here’s a list of Max Kepler, this year’s sole European major leaguer, plus the minor league players developed in European baseball. If you see anyone missing, please let us know in the comments.
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.
Kepler is currently on the injured list for the second time this season. He battled knee soreness shortly after the regular season started, and he is currently recovering from a hamstring strain. He is expected back in the week ahead. The Berlin native has played in 28 regular season games with five doubles, six home runs, and a batting average of .212/.298 on base percentage/.444 slugging percentage (hereafter referred to as the triple slash line). This is Kepler’s last season under a five-year, $35-million guaranteed contract, although the Twins have a club option for next season worth $10 million (or a $1 million buyout).
Double-A (1)
Sem Robberse (21), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
The Dutch righty was promoted to Double-A for the last month of the 2022 season, and he has continued at the new level for the first two months this year. In nine starts and 43.2 innings, Robberse has 47 strikeouts, 17 walks, and 33 hits for an 0-4 record and 4.95 ERA. While generally successful, his biggest issue has been the nine home runs allowed already (after 11 and 7 in the entirety of 2022 and 2021, respectively).
High-A (4)
Darryl Collins (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
The lefty outfielder has 18 games played this season after spending two weeks in April on the injured list, hitting .262/.369/.356. He has five walks, 11 strikeouts, and two stolen bases without being caught.
Adam Macko (22), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Vancouver Canadians.
The left-handed pitcher was born and learned baseball in Slovakia before living several formative years in Ireland (after which his family moved to Canada, from where he was drafted). This season, he has started six games, throwing 26.2 innings. He has 31 strikeouts, 10 walks, 27 hits, and 19 earned runs. Macko is repeating high-A after pitching only 8 games last season before missing the remainder with an injury.
Ernesto Wilson Martinez (24), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
The Cuban lefty spent some teenage years at the CREPS national academy in Toulouse. He played only 28 games last season, so is repeating the High-A level. He has played 26 games thus far, with three home runs and five stolen bases while hitting .159/.253/.307.
Niklas Rimmel (24), Minnesota Twins. Germany. Cedar Rapids Kernels.
Rimmel is pitching regularly in relief, with most outings between one and two innings. He has 13 appearances covering 19.2 innings. Rimmel has 20 strikeouts, nine walks, and 16 hits for an ERA of 3.66 and a 3-1 record.
Single-A (7)
Samuel Aldegheri (21), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. Clearwater Threshers.
Due to injury, the lefty from Verona had pitched only 25 innings in his first two seasons before this year. Aldegheri has already thrown 29 innings this year in seven games, registering one win, while striking out 40 and walking eight.
Jiorgeny Casimiri (22), Toronto Blue Jays, Netherlands. Dunedin Blue Jays.
Yet to appear this season.
Alessandro Ercolani (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Bradenton Marauders.
Ercolani has started six games while pitching 22.2 innings in his first full-season experience. The Italian has walked 15 and struck out 21 while allowing 24 hits, resulting in a 1-3 record and 6.35 ERA.
Arij Fransen (22), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Dayton Tortugas.
Fransen has a 2-2 record in 26.2 innings across nine outings (four starts). He had a couple short outings early in the season, but he has not given up more than two runs in an outing (all 3-to-5 innings) in May. The Dutch moundsman has allowed nine walks against 30 strikeouts, with 33 hits, and has yet to allow a home run. He has a 2-2 record and 5.74 ERA.
Delson Guzmán (20), Milwaukee Brewers. Spain. Carolina Mudcats.
Yet to appear this season. Currently on the 60-day injured list. Pitched 11.2 innings between 2021-2022.
Omar Hernández (21), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Columbia Fireflies.
The Cuban-born, Barcelona-raised catcher has played 29 games and received 102 at bats thus far. Hernández has walked 13 times, struck out in 14 at bats and, notably, has already stolen 14 bases in 18 attempts. He has a triple-slash line of .206/.302/.255.
Claudio Scotti (25), New York Mets. Italy. St. Lucie Mets.
Yet to appear this season. Currently on the 60-day injured list.
Rookie Leagues (15)
Although the rookie leagues officially begin in early June, these players are already playing games regularly at their teams’ complexes. However, there are no publicly available scores or stats. More updates will be available in the next update.
Yoanis Aleksandrov (19), Chicago Cubs. Bulgaria. DSL Cubs Red.
Peter Bonilla (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
Darnel Collins (19), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals Gold.
Daniele Di Monte (21), Detroit Tigers. Italy. FCL Tigers West.
Tim Fischer (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Bautista.
Ettore Giulianelli (20), St Louis Cardinals. Italy. FCL Cardinals.
Lou Helmig (20), Philadelphia Phillies. Germany. FCL Phillies.
Frank Hernandez (21), Chicago Cubs. Spain. ACL Cubs.
Nicolo Pinazzi (23), Cincinnati Reds, Italy. ACL Reds.
Connor Prins (19), Seattle Mariners, Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
Stijn van der Schaaf (19), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
Dominic Scheffler (19), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.
Enrique Sevilya (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia. DSL LAD Bautista.
Boris Vecerka (20), Arizona Diamondbacks. Czechia. Visalia Rawhide.
Večerka signed this past offseason and is on the full-season injured list.
Yannic Walther (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 1.