By DZ. Filed Aug. 25, 2024.
One Italian was traded for a big leaguer at the MLB trade deadline, another allowed only three earned runs over the past two months, and a Dutchman turned his season around with ten scoreless appearances in his last twelve outings. Meanwhile, a different Netherlands pitcher and a Spanish hitter were released, both seeming to be casualties of the MLB’s new roster limitations, with new draft picks taking their roster spots. And a (the) German big leaguer is currently in playoff position as he approaches offseason free agency. Read more about Samuel Aldegheri, Alessandro Ercolani, Arij Fransen, Jiorgeny Casimiri, Frank Hernández, Max Kepler, and others below.
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 having a solid season as the Twins’ everyday right fielder. Over the last month he’s hitting .259. His power production has tailed off from previous years, as he has only nine extra base hits in July and August and eight home runs on the season. He has played 101 games.
Triple-A (1)
Sem Robberse (22), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: 11; FG: 8; MLB: 12.
After a two-month break due to injury, Robberse recently made two rehab starts totaling three innings in Single-A, with one strikeout, five hits, and an unearned run.
Double-A (3)
Samuel Aldegheri (22), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Rocket City Trash Pandas. BA: 6; FG: 5; MLB: 8.
Since our last update, Verona’s own was involved in a high-profile trade deadline deal, one of two pitchers moving to the L.A. Angels in return for their big league closer. Now a Trash Panda, Aldegheri has made four starts in his new organization, striking out 25 and walking nine in 17.1 innings, on the way to a 5.19 ERA and 0-2 record. Overall, his numbers since moving up to Double-A include a 4.61 ERA in 21.1 frames, with 13 free passes, zero home runs allowed, and an eye-popping 39 punch-outs (12.8 K/9). He slots into the Angels’ Top 10 rankings at MLB.com after a No. 24 listing with Philly.
Adam Macko (23), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. New Hampshire Fisher Cats. BA: 16; FG: 6; MLB: 9.
Macko remains on the injured list since we last checked, but he made a rehab appearance for Single-A Dunedin on Aug. 24, pitching two innings. After almost eight weeks off the mound, the southpaw is likely to remain in the Florida State League to build back up to game strength.
Ernesto Wilson Martinez (25), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Biloxi Shuckers.
Martínez was on a tear when we last checked and, while he has continuing to play regularly, his offense cooled in August. He has had two doubles, a home run, and two stolen bases across 42 at bats this month, for a .214 batting average and .283 OBP. For the year, he has nine HR and 18 SB, hitting .263.
High-A (4)
Alessandro Ercolani (20), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Since returning from a brief injured list stint in early July, the righty has turned things up a notch. He has pitched nine games and 29.1 innings, with seven walks, 38 strikeouts, and four runs (three earned) allowed. Ercolani, who remains the youngest pitcher on his team’s roster, is 5-1 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 70 innings pitched.
Arij Fransen (23), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Dayton Dragons.
In Fransen’s last 12 appearances since late June, he has allowed runs in only two of those games. He was 2-0 with a 1.10 ERA in July, and he has a 1.76 ERA thus far in August, while striking out a batter per inning on average. The righty had struggled the first two months of the season, but this stretch of successful multi-inning relief appearances brings his season ERA down to 3.32. He has a 3-3 record and three saves in 28 games across 62.1 innings.
Omar Hernández (22), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Hernández is hitting .245/.310/.283 in August, bringing his season numbers back up to .216/.272/.261. He has stolen 14 bases in 17 attempts while catching a bit more than half of the River Bandits’ games in High-A.
Shervyen Newton (25), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Newton moved from Double-A back to High-A Quad Cities in late July. In 23 games, he is hitting .214 with four home runs. He is batting .185 in 157 ABs across three levels this season.
Single-A (1)
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 (7)
The U.S. rookie leagues finished in late July. All the players below are likely still playing games in Arizona and Florida until early September, but those results are not official or publicly available. So, minus a late promotion, the info shown is likely complete for their 2024 seasons.
Ettore Giulianelli (21), St Louis Cardinals. Italy. FCL Cardinals.
Giulianelli hasn’t appeared since July 26 in A-ball; he was reassigned to the FCL team once instructional league began. In 20 Single-A games, he had a 3.96 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 31 walks in 25 innings.
Brandon Herbold (20), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
In Herbold’s second season in the Arizona Complex League, he pitched 38 innings with a 1-2 record and 5.68 ERA. He struck out 43 and walked 24 with a 1.53 WHIP.
Connor Prins (20), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
Prins missed a little over one month of game action but returned for a pair of one-inning scoreless appearances in the second half of July. He finished his second ACL season with a 1-1 record and 3.07 ERA, with 12 free passes and 10 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.
Stijn van der Schaaf (20), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
The Dutch righty finished his second season in the Florida Complex League with a 3-0 record and 3.76 ERA. He pitched 26.1 innings, permitting 21 hits, 21 free passes, and 23 strikeouts.
Dominic Scheffler (20), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.Scheffler pitched 28.1 official innings across 12 games, striking out 42 and walking 33 with 25 hits allowed. He also had 10 wild pitches. He finished his debut season with a 7.62 ERA and 2.05 WHIP.
Gijs van den Brink (19), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
The UVV lefty completed his debut season with a 1-1 record, 4.03 ERA and 1.79 WHIP. He struck out 20 and walked 18 in 22.1 innings.
Yannic Walther (20), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. ACL Brewers.After playing 2023 in the Dominican, Walther’s US debut ended with 44 at bats across 16 games. He was injured to start the season and got sporadic playing time on his return. He hit .182 with six walks and 12 strikeouts.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (4)
The Dominican Summer League season just finished, and the playoffs continue until September 1st. All statistics below are final from the 2024 season.
Peter Bonilla (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL LAD Bautista.
Bonilla pitched his third consecutive season in the DSL with the Dodgers, though he appeared only once before July 2. He went 1-0 with a 4.34 ERA in 11 games and 18.2 innings, striking out 23 and walking 11 for a 1.18 WHIP. For more on Bonilla, see Part III of Jason Daniels’ series, “A German, A Spaniard, and A Hot Dominican Summer: European Baseball and the DSL” [link].
Tim Fischer (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Mega.
Fischer pitched 4.2 innings across three starts in mid-June before going on the 60-day injured list. He finished his second pro season with five hits and five runs allowed, with eight strikeouts and seven walks. Including 2023, he has tossed 31 career innings. For more on the Regensburg right-hander, see Part II of Jason Daniels’ series, “A German, A Spaniard, and A Hot Dominican Summer: European Baseball and the DSL” [link].
Paul Hoff (17), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 2.
In Hoff’s debut season, he pitched 29.2 innings to a 2-2 record and 3.64 ERA. He had 21 strikeouts and 18 walks. In his seven August innings, he did not allow a run.
Williams Wong (18), Texas Rangers. Italy. DSL Rangers Red.
Wong finished the year with a .356 OBP in 45 games, walking more (35) than he struck out (27). He had 10 extra base hits and two stolen bases, hitting .179 with a .279 slugging percentage.
Yet to Appear in 2024 (4)
Jurrangelo Cijntje (21), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. ACL Mariners. BA: 10; FG: 9; MLB: 7.
The No. 15 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, Mississippi State’s switch-pitcher signed with the M’s on July 23 and was assigned to Arizona on Aug. 5. The native of The Hague did not appear in any official games, and an MLB.com article [link] hints that the focus was on best utilizing Cijntje’s skills, rather than on having him face live hitters.
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.
Since his selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, LaCombe has not yet made his official pro debut. He was placed on the injured list in July with a shoulder injury.
Boris Večerka (21), Arizona Diamondbacks. Czechia. Visalia Rawhide.
Večerka hasn’t yet made his official pro debut. He has been on the injured list all season with an elbow injury.
Released (2)
Jiorgeny Casimiri (23), Baltimore Orioles. Netherlands. Delmarva Shorebirds.
Signed by the Orioles in spring training after his Blue Jays’ career ended, Casimiri pitched 38.1 innings with Delmarva, striking out 45 and walking 27 with a 3-2 record and 6.34 ERA. He was released by Baltimore Aug. 5. Over five minor league seasons, he threw 121.2 innings over 87 games, all in relief, totalling a 5.10 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 5.0 BB/9, and 10.9 K/9.
Frank Hernandez (22), Chicago Cubs. Spain. Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Hernandez finished his fourth pro season with a .243/.318/.257 slash line in 38 games in A-ball. He was released on Aug. 8, leaving Omar as the only Hernández twin still active. Over four years and 154 games, he hit two home runs and stole 17 bases, finishing with a career .253/.341/.304 line.
Read previous posts in this year’s series:
April [link].
Mid-May [link].
June [link].
Mid-July [link].