Dutch right-handed pitcher Rick van den Hurk has been promoted to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) according to a blog post by Chris Kabout. Getting injured in Spring Training, Van den Hurk didn’t receive the call earlier due to impressive performances by the other foreign players on the roster. For the farm team he had an ERA of 1.17 in 61 2/3 innings, while striking out 71 and walking 11.