Europeans in the Majors & Minors: Mid-July Update
By DZ. Filed July 16, 2024.
The Phillies moved Verona, Italy’s Samuel Aldegheri up to Double-A, where France’s Ernesto Martínez is raking during July. Meanwhile, the MLB Draft had more of an international flavor than normal in the first round, as Australian Travis Bazzana was taken with the first pick and the Seattle Mariners called the Netherlands-born college pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje at slot No. 15. On the downside, a couple of high-level European pitchers find themselves on the injured list.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2024 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; FG (Fangraphs): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.
MLB (1)
Max Kepler (31), Minnesota Twins. Germany.
Kepler is hitting .256 with a .309 OBP at the All-Star break. He has 16 doubles and six home runs, scoring 31 times and driving in 32 in 72 games played.
Triple-A (1)
Sem Robberse (22), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: 11; FG: 8; MLB: 12.
Robberse went on the injured list before our last update, and he remains there. He sits on a 4.65 ERA and 5-4 record in 13 Triple-A appearances. He has 71 strikeouts and 25 walks in 71.2 innings.
Double-A (4)
Samuel Aldegheri (22), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. Reading Fightin Phils.BA: Not listed; FG: 22; MLB: 24.Aldegheri’s strong season has led to a mid-season promotion to Double-A. He has pitched once since moving up, striking out eight in five innings, with two walks and four hits. He left High-A with a 6-5 record, 3.18 ERA, and 95 strikeouts in 68 innings.
Adam Macko (23), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. New Hampshire Fisher Cats. BA: 16; FG: 7; MLB: 9.
The Bratislavan-Irish-Canadian went on the injured list in early July. He has a 5-4 record and 4.42 ERA in 77.1 innings, striking out 86 and walking 28 (and hitting nine more).
Ernesto Wilson Martínez (25), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Biloxi Shuckers.
Martínez has had a streaky season, and he is in the middle of a red-hot streak right now. The lefty is hitting .382 with a .533 on base percentage so far in July, and has only struck out four times this month. This comes after hitting .183 in June. He has logged 263 at bats already, batting .255 with 27 extra base hits and 13 stolen bases.
Shervyen Newton (25), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Newton is getting sporadic playing time since his activation from the injured list. He has played in four games this month, logging one hit and striking out eight times in 13 at bats. The infielder has now played 22 games this season, with a cumulative .151/.244/.274 slash line.
High-A (3)
Alessandro Ercolani (20), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Ercolani had a brief (two-week) injured list break, and he has thrown six scoreless innings since his return. He is 3-1 for the season in 46.2 innings, with 55 strikeouts versus 19 walks and 39 hits.
Arij Fransen (23), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Dayton Dragons.
Fransen is pitching 2-to-3 innings at a time in relief and has not allowed a run in his last four outings (11 innings). He has also gotten his walks under control, making him a very effective pitcher for most of the last two months. For the season, he is 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA in 20 games (38.2 innings).
Omar Hernández (22), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Hernandez has one hit this month in 21 at bats. He hit .167 in April and May before surging to a .302 average for the month of June. In total, he is hitting .190 and has swiped 11 bases.
Single-A (4)
Jiorgeny Casimiri (23), Baltimore Orioles. Netherlands. Delmarva Shorebirds.
Casimiri is being used as a 1-to-2-inning reliever. He had not given up more than a single run in over a month before getting tagged for five runs in his last appearance before the all-star break. He still gave up only a single hit, but he hit two batters and walked two more while recording one out. After a solid run of good appearances, that result swelled his season ERA to 7.28 in 29.2 innings pitched.
Ettore Giulianelli (21), St Louis Cardinals. Italy. Palm Beach Cardinals.
The Italian righty is also pitching 1-to-2 innings at a time, limiting opposing team’s hits, but still walking way too many batters most outings, with 10 free passes in his last 9.1 innings. For the season, the Rimini native has a 4.13 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 24 innings. He has walked a whopping 31 batters for a WHIP of 2.00.
Frank Hernández (22), Chicago Cubs. Spain. Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Hernández is currently on the development list – a designation where he stays with the team to practice but is not active in games. He was transitioning from outfield to catcher this season, which could explain the move. He is hitting .243 in 136 at bats and has stolen four bases.
Kay-Lan Nicasia (24), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Carolina Mudcats.
Nicasia remains on the injured list, last appearing in a game in late May.
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (6)
Gijs van den Brink (19), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. DSL Royals Gold.
Utrecht’s van den Brink has pitched 21.1 innings across nine games with a 3.38 ERA. He got the win in his professional debut. He has walked 17 and struck out 19, surrendering 21 hits.
Brandon Herbold (20), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
The Neptunus lefty has made 11 appearances in his second season in Arizona. He has 21 walks and 39 strikeouts in 33 innings. Herbold is 1-2 with an ERA of 6.00, recording one hold.
Connor Prins (20), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
Prins has not pitched since June 11. He is 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA in 12.2 innings, walking 11 and striking out 10.
Stijn van der Schaaf (20), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
Van der Schaaf has allowed seven hits and five runs in his last nine innings. He has pitched between two and four innings each time out, with nine appearances thus far. In total, he is 2-0 with a 4.43 ERA in 22.1 innings, striking out 22 and allowing 16 free passes.
Dominic Scheffler (20), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.
Scheffler has pitched 23 innings in his debut season after recovering from elbow surgery. He is allowing over two base runners per inning, but he walked only one in his last two appearances (5.2 innings). He got his first professional win on July 2, firing four scoreless relief innings.
Yannic Walther (20), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 1.
Walther returned from injury on June 19 and has three hits in 24 at bats since then. The catcher has two RBI and five hits in 30 ABs for the season.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (4)
Peter Bonilla (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
Bonilla has pitched in four games and has yet to allow a run. In 7 innings, he has given up four hits and a walk while striking out nine.
Tim Fischer (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Mega.
Fischer has pitched 4.2 innings across three starts. He has walked seven and struck out eight while allowing five hits for a 9.64 ERA. He has not pitched since June 18.
Paul Hoff (17), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 2.
Hoff took a break from the D.R. to make two appearances last week for Germany in the U18 European Championships, winning an early game against Spain and leaving the final after recording a single out. His last pro appearance was July 1, when he earned the win after permitting just one hit and punching out six in five innings.
Williams Wong (18), Texas Rangers. Italy. DSL Rangers Red.
Wong is hitting .207 with a .381 OBP in 92 at bats. He has hit a home run, stolen two bases, and has eight doubles.
Yet to Appear in 2024 (4)
Jurrangelo Cijntje (21), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. Unassigned. Draft Rankings—BA: 24; FG: 34; MLB: 25.
The switch-pitcher from Gravenhage was drafted in the 18th Round by Milwaukee in 2022, but significantly improved his stock with a 2024 season for Mississippi State University that included a 3.67 ERA and 11.2 K/9 in 90.2 innings, compiled over 16 games, all starts. Pitching primarily from the right side, switching to the left for certain matchups, he also halved his walk ratio to 3.0 per nine and permitted only a .211 batting average by opponents.
Darnel Collins (20), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals Gold.
Collins is on the Restricted List and has not played for the Royals in 2024.
Mathias LaCombe (22), Chicago White Sox. France. ACL White Sox.
LaCombe was drafted last summer. He is on the active roster for the Arizona complex team but has yet to appear in a game.
Boris Vecerka (21), Arizona Diamondbacks. Czechia. Visalia Rawhide.Officially on the Single-A injured list after elbow surgery, Brno native Vecerka has yet to make his pro debut.