Europeans in the Majors & Minors: May 2025 Update

By DZ. Filed May 9, 2024.

After finishing 2024 with a slate of promotions, the state of Europeans in MLB organizations continues to look bright as the 2025 minor league season commences, whilst the current face of MLB baseball on the continent, Max Kepler, is off to a good start after his first trip through free agency. This first installment contains the 2025 snapshot of Europe’s representatives in the North American affiliated professional ranks, including two signings over the winter, with all 24 players who grew up within European leagues or development systems included. Last year saw the debut of Italy’s Sam Aldegheri, while three players beginning the year in Triple-A signify that the next European big leaguer may not be that far behind.

Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2025 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; FG (Fangraphs): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.
“NR” denotes not ranked (only included for players listed in other rankings).

MLB (1)
Max Kepler (32), Philadelphia Phillies. Germany.
After 10 seasons as a Minnesota Twin, the Berlin native now has six weeks as a Phillie on his resume. He is hitting .252/.336/.443 in his first 115 Philadelphia at bats, scoring 18 runs, with seven doubles and five home runs, which equates to roughly 10 percent above average (by measure of OPS+). The right fielder signed a one year, $10m contract as a free agent this offseason.

Triple-A (3)
Adam Macko (24), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Buffalo Bisons. BA: 20; FG: 12; MLB: 15.
Macko officially began the season on the Triple-A roster, where he finished 2024. The seventh-round draft pick from 2019 has been on the injured list until now; however, he made his first rehab start in Florida on May 6. In that one registered outing of the season, the southpaw threw 3.1 innings with six strikeouts, three free passes and three hits. Macko is likely to return to Buffalo soon.

Ernesto Martínez Jr. (26), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Nashville Sounds. BA: NR; FG: NR; MLB: 30.
Martínez was born in Cuba and naturalized as a French citizen while at the Toulouse academy as a teenager. After playing all of 2024 in Double-A, he is off to a very strong start in Triple-A Nashville, hitting .303/.390/.485 with three home runs, one captured here: https://x.com/baseballamerica/status/1911781885027733531. Previously a threat on the basepaths, the first baseman has stolen one base in four attempts through 18 games. He has not played since April 22 after injuring his thumb on a slide.

Sem Robberse (23), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: 20; FG: NR; MLB: 14.Robberse made four starts before going on the injured list on April 21. The day before, he had given up seven runs in 2.2 innings, ballooning his early season ERA from 3.75 to 7.36. Across all 14.2 innings, the Dutchman has allowed 23 hits and 12 earned runs, striking out 19, while walking 8. His record stands at one win and one loss, with a 2.11 WHIP.  

Double-A (3)
Sam Aldegheri (23), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Rocket City Trash Pandas.BA: 3; FG: 5; MLB: 5.Aldegheri had a whirlwind 2024 season. He pitched the first half of the year in High-A, striking out 95 and allowing only 44 hits in 68 innings in the Phillies organization. In July, he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels, and by the end of August, he had debuted in the major leagues. The Veronese lefty began 2025 in Double-A, where he finished 2024 after three big league appearances. In 27 innings thus far, Aldegheri has allowed 24 hits and 10 runs while striking out 29 and walking 14. He is 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA in five starts. 

Alessandro Ercolani (21), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino. Altoona Curve. BA: 21; FG: Hon. Men.; MLB: NR.
Ercolani has made five starts since his opening day promotion to Double-A. He has pitched between 1.2-to-4 innings each time out, allowing 15 hits across 15.2 innings. He has walked five, hit a batter, and struck out 15 as the youngest pitcher on his team’s roster (the San Marino native turned 21 two weeks ago).

Arij Fransen (24), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Chattanooga Lookouts. BA: NR; FG: Hon. Men.; MLB: NR.
Fransen pitched the entire 2024 season in relief at High-A Dayton before receiving a promotion to Triple-A Louisville for a single appearance at the end of the year. Given that caveat, his appointment to the Double-A roster to open 2025 is really a promotion. He is off to a great start to the season, pitching 17.1 innings and allowing three runs for a 1.56 ERA. He has walked five, struck out 19, and recorded three holds.

High-A (2)
Omar Hernandez (23), Kansas City Royals. Spain. Quad Cities River Bandits.Cuban-born and Barcelona-raised, Hernandez returns to High-A Quad Cities. In 13 games played, the catcher is hitting .208/.240/.271 with three doubles and two stolen bases. He has struck out 11 times and had 10 hits.

Kay-Lan Nicasia (25), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The outfielder, who was born in Oss and attended high school in Florida, finished last year on the injured list and he is there again as of April 22. Nicasia got 12 at bats back in the Carolina League (where he spent all of 2023-24) before promotion to High-A Wisconsin. Between the two levels, he hit .167/.231/.472 before he was hurt, with five extra base hits, 17 strikeouts, and three walks in nine games.

Single-A (3)
Jurrangelo Cijntje (21), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. Everett AquaSox. BA: 11; FG: 79 [Overall], 3; MLB: 8; BP: 91 [Overall].
Last year’s No. 15 overall draft pick made his professional debut in April and has already appeared in eight games, including five starts. The Hague native has tossed 22.1 innings and surrendered only 17 hits, with 24 punch-outs, but he has walked 17 and given up 15 runs for a 6.04 ERA. Cijntje has had noticeably better results in his starts, with a 2.65 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 20.1 frames.

The switch-pitcher has been exceptionally tough on right-handed batters as a righty (an opponents’ slash line of .154/.241/.231), with moments of promise against them as a lefty (.192 average, but a .921 OPS). Batters of both handedness have solved him when throwing from the left (.316/.567/.737) in limited action (30 plate appearances, exactly one-quarter of his total). He is currently listed in two Top 100 Prospect lists, ranked No. 79 by Fangraphs and No. 91 by Baseball Prospectus.

Dominic Scheffler (21), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. Daytona Tortugas.BA: NR; FG: Hon. Men.; MLB: NR.
Scheffler is coming off his debut season in the Arizona Complex League (after recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery during the 2022-23 seasons), and he was promoted to Single-A Daytona for 2025. He has pitched in six games thus far, accruing seven innings, allowing 11 hits and 11 walks while striking out 10.

Yannic Walther (21), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. Carolina Mudcats.Walther was limited to 44 at bats in his 2024 U.S. debut, but he’s already visited the plate 35 times in 2025. He has five hits and five RBIs while walking eight times, for an on-base percentage of .365. Walther is a catcher from Heidelberg.

Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (7)
The US rookie complex leagues officially began play a few days ago. Our next update will share results from those games. All players below (unless noted otherwise) have been playing extended spring training games for the past month; those games or their stats are unavailable outside the organization.

Peter Bonilla (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. DSL ACL Dodgers.
For more on Bonilla, see Jason Daniels’ series, “A German, A Spaniard, and A Hot Dominican Summer: European Baseball and the DSL” [link].

Darnel Collins (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
Collins is on the Restricted List and has not played for the Royals since 2023.  At this stage, it seems unlikely he will be reinstated.

Brandon Herbold (22), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.

Mathias LaCombe (23), Chicago White Sox. France. ACL White Sox.
LaCombe has yet to make his professional debut.

Connor Prins (21), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
Injured 60-day.  

Stijn van der Schaaf (21), Boston Red Sox. Netherlands. FCL Red Sox.
The Dutch righty was released during spring training 2025. Van der Schaaf pitched in 19 games between 2023-24, totalling 44.2 professional innings with a 4.03 ERA, 6-0 record, and one save.

Gijs van den Brink (20), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.

Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (3)
The Dominican rookie leagues officially open their season on June 2. The players below are likely to be playing unofficial games for all of May, but we will not know anything about their results until the league is technically underway next month.

Tim Fischer (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. DSL LAD Mega.
Fischer was activated from the injured list on Nov. 3 as a procedural move, and has not been involved in a roster transaction this year. For more on Fischer, see Jason Daniels’ series, “A German, A Spaniard, and A Hot Dominican Summer: European Baseball and the DSL” [link].

Paul Hoff (18), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers Gold.

Williams Wong (19), Texas Rangers. Italy. DSL Rangers Red.

Not Yet Assigned to Affiliate (2)
Filippo Sabatini (18), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies.
The right-hander from Anzio capped a memorable year by agreeing to terms with Philadelphia on Sept. 17 [link], with MLB.com reporting his contract as official on Jan. 15. As a 17-year-old, Sabatini was electric for Italy’s Nettuno in 2024, striking out a whopping 66 in 40.1 innings, with a 5-1 record, 2.23 ERA, and 0.95 WHIP in 11 games, including five starts. The year prior, he tossed 51 innings at the top flight, striking out 58 in 51 frames, registering a 5.12 ERA and 1.77 WHIP.

Patrick Silva (16), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies.
The youthful first baseman signed with the Phillies on the same day as Sabatini, but he does not yet have a profile on MLB.com. Last year, he was a regular for Settimo in the Italian Serie A, splitting time between 3B and 1B (with one game in CF). Despite suiting up at only 15 years old, he hit .246/.297/.348. Both Silva and Sabatini trained at Philadelphia’s Dominican Republic facility in the autumn, while Silva has returned to Italy, where he has played four games for Settimo, hitting .133/.278/.200 with two stolen bases as third baseman.

Released During the Off-Season (1)
Boris Vecerka (22), Arizona Diamondbacks. Czechia. Vecerka was released over the offseason. He injured his elbow before playing in an official game, and he could never get healthy enough to return.

Read posts in last year’s series:
April [link].
Mid-May [link].
June [link].
Mid-July [link].
August [link].

Additional statistical research by Gabriel Fidler.