By DZ. Filed 28 April 2022.
The full-season minor leagues now have three weeks or more of games, and multiple European farmhands have posted intriguing stat lines. France’s Ernesto Martínez and Czechia’s Vojtech Mensik have combined for twelve stolen bases, while Netherlands’ Sem Robberse had a seven-inning shutout start. Five new names have joined the list thanks to our readers, including Seattle’s ninth-highest-ranked prospect according to Fangraphs. On the big league side, both Germany’s Max Kepler and Netherlands’ Didi Gregorius are off to productive starts, playing key roles offensively and defensively for teams expecting to contend.
MLB (2)
Didi Gregorius, Philadelphia Phillies. Netherlands.
Gregorius missed five games last week after being hit by a pitch on his hand, but he collected four hits and four runs scored in his first two games back. After a sluggish start, the shortstop is hitting .341/.391/.439 through his first 41 at bats.
Max Kepler, Minnesota Twins. Germany.
The Twins right fielder had two home runs and a walk on a frigid Wednesday night in Minnesota, his third consecutive game with multiple hits. Thanks to the productive end to April, he has raised his season line to .263/.391/.509. Kepler has four home runs and a stolen base for the first place Twins.
Double-A (1)
Markus Solbach, Detroit Tigers. Germany.
Erie SeaWolves. Solbach had a great first start, an uncharacteristic three walks in his second start, and then went on the injured list. The 30-year-old veteran of four MLB organizations had a strong spring, and we await further information.
High-A (2)
Adam Macko, Seattle Mariners. Slovakia.
Everett AquaSox. Macko, a six-foot southpaw, makes his debut on this list, though not on the site. After moving from Bratislava, he played in the Mariners Baseball organization in Ireland (formerly the Greystone Mariners), before moving to Canada and the elite Vauxhall Academy. He was drafted in the Seventh Round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Mariners [link] and once more made Mister-Baseball.com headlines in March when Fangraphs rated him the No.9 in the Seattle system [link], thanks in part to a 98-mph fastball.
This year, Macko has sent down 34 batters on strikes in only 20.2 innings, a 14.8 K/9 ratio similar to his career line (14.2). He has walked seven in those four starts and batters are hitting .253 against him. Three balls have left the yard, leaving him with a 5.23 ERA.
Ernesto Wilson Martínez , Milwaukee Brewers. France.
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. In seven games since our last update, the Cuban-French lefty has six stolen bases, two doubles, and a home run. He has a .216 average with a .400 OBP.
Sem Robberse, Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands.
Vancouver Canadians. Robberse has made three starts this season, with his latest a gem. The righty threw seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out seven. He has one walk and fourteen strikeouts through his seventeen innings of work.
Single-A (8)
Samuel Aldegheri, Philadelphia Phillies. Italy.
Clearwater Threshers. Yet to appear this season.
Jiorgeny Casimiri, Toronto Blue Jays, Netherlands.
Dunedin Blue Jays. Yet to appear this season.
Darryl Collins, Kansas City Royals. Netherlands.
Columbia Fireflies. The Rotterdam-area OF recorded four hits in 31 ABs since our last report, setting his season numbers through the first three weeks at .226/.323/.321. He has stolen two bases.
Arij Fransen, Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands.
Dayton Tortugas. Twenty-year-old Fransen pitched three times in the last 12 days, including two starts. In 10 innings, he surrendered seven hits and four walks (and hit two batters), striking out six and allowing half a dozen runs. He has a 0-1 record and 5.84 ERA in 12.1 innings so far.
Omar Hernandez, Kansas City Royals. Spain.
Columbia Fireflies. The right-handed hitter from Barcelona has recorded a hit in seven of his last nine games. He has a double amongst those hits, while stealing two bases in three attempts. He’s hitting .235 with a .339 OBP through 51 at bats.
Vojtech Mensik, Los Angeles Angels. Czechia.
Inland Empire 66ers. The 23-year-old infielder had five hits in his first four games, with three in his last seven. He has pilfered six bases without being caught. The Brno native, via NC State, has 45 official professional at-bats to his name.
Shervyen Newton, New York Mets. St. Lucie Mets.
St. Lucie Mets. The Netherlands-raised, Curaçaoan-finished Newton returns to Single-A for the third consecutive year, and after two disappointing seasons in his initial attempts, the infielder is off to a solid start. Through 15 games, he is hitting .264/.333/.472 as the team’s everyday shortstop.
Niklas Rimmel, Minnesota Twins. Germany.
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. The Berlin native, who joined the Twins via the Regensburg academy, made his full season debut on Apr. 16 with three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. He has been placed on the injured list with a shoulder impingement.
Rookie, Domestic Complex (9)
Note: There will be no official rookie league games — and, therefore, stats — until mid-June.
Marc Civit, Toronto Blue Jays. Spain.
FCL Blue Jays.
Darnel Collins, Kansas City Royals. Netherlands.
ACL Royals Gold.
Daniele Di Monte, Detroit Tigers. Italy.
FCL Tigers West.
Alessandro Ercolani, Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy.
FCL Pirates.
Ettore Giulianelli, St Louis Cardinals. Italy.
FCL Cardinals.
Kay-Lan [also Kaylan] Nicasia, Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands.
ACL Brewers Gold.
Nicolo Pinazzi, Cincinnati Reds, Italy.
ACL Reds.
Rushenten Tomsjansen, Los Angeles Dodgers. Netherlands.
ACL Dodgers.
Rookie, Foreign Complex (4)
Delson Guzman, Milwaukee Brewers. Spain.
DSL Brewers 1.
Frank Hernandez, Chicago Cubs. Spain.
DSL Cubs Blue.
Jediah Kwidama, Arizona Diamondbacks. Netherlands.
DSL D-backs 1. A new addition to the list, Kwidama signed with Arizona on Jan. 17, 2020, and debuted last summer in the Dominican Republic. The 6-foot-3 right-hander registered a 4.37 ERA in 22.2 innings, walking 13 and striking out 18.
Yevganni Reinita, Boston Red Sox. Netherlands.
DSL Red Sox Red. A new addition to the list, Reinita signed with the Red Sox on Jan. 15, 2021, and hit .238 with a .396 on-base percentage in 16 games last season.
Not yet assigned (5)
Yoanis Aleksandrov, Chicago Cubs. Bulgaria.
Peter Junior Bonilla, Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain.
Lou Helmig, Philadelphia Phillies. Germany.
Claudio Scotti, New York Mets. Italy.
Enrique Sevilya, Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia.
Updates in this year’s series:
April 14 [link]