Europeans in the Majors & Minors: July 2025 Update
By DZ. Filed July 19, 2025
French baseball leads Europe in this edition, as first baseman Jordan Ouanyou signs and debuts in the Cincinnati Reds system, while Mathias LaCombe earns a promotion to full-season baseball with the Chicago White Sox. Barcelona’s Omar Hernández moves up to Double-A with the Kansas City Royals, and Italy’s Samuel Aldegheri again earned a spot start in the big leagues with the Los Angeles Angels. A recent addition during the MLB draft brings the total number of Europeans in MLB organizations to an even two dozen.
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.
Kepler does not seem to have found his groove in Philadelphia. He is hitting .182 with a home run over his last 15 games and .191 over his last 30 games. For the season, the 31-year-old Berlin native has 10 home runs, 35 runs, 31 runs batted in, and zero stolen bases to pair with his .207 average and .303 OBP. The lefty-swinging right fielder remains a contributor for the playoff-bound Phillies, although his struggles have led to some lost at-bats against left-handed pitching.
Triple-A (3)
Adam Macko (24), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Buffalo Bisons. BA: 24; FG: 12; MLB: 14.
Macko started the year on the injured list and does not seem to have discovered his rhythm yet this season. Macko has an 8.28 ERA in 25 Triple-A innings, striking out 22 and walking 17 while allowing 35 hits. Opponents are hitting .360 against him in July. The highly regarded prospect (average team ranking of 17 across three polls) was born in Bratislava, learned baseball as a child in Ireland, then was drafted out of a Canadian high school.
Ernesto Martínez Jr. (26), Milwaukee Brewers. France. Nashville Sounds. BA: NR; FG: 20; MLB: 30.
Martinez took Nashville by storm to open the season, hitting .327 with a .415 OBP through the end of April. The league caught up with him, however, as he has not exceeded .200 at the plate in any month since then. Martinez continues to play first base nearly every day, just one step from the majors. He has six home runs and a .237 average with an OBP of .359 in 53 games.
Sem Robberse (23), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: 22; FG: 16; MLB: 14.
Robberse had surgery on his throwing elbow in June and is on the injured list for the remainder of the season.
Double-A (4)
Sam Aldegheri (23), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Rocket City Trash Pandas.BA: 7; FG: 5; MLB: 5.Verona’s Samuel Aldegheri pitched twice in the big leagues this summer, once in Boston in early June and again on July 8 vs the Rangers. Both times he was optioned back to Double-A the day after pitching. In the majors, he has a 10.38 ERA in 4.1 innings, with six hits, five runs, five walks, and four strikeouts. In 15 games and 77.2 innings with Rocket City, he has a 4.75 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 45 walks. Aldegheri remains stretched out, pitching 5-to-6 innings as a starter in the minor leagues as he works towards another big league recall.
Alessandro Ercolani (21), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino. Altoona Curve. BA: NR; FG: Hon. Men.; MLB: NR.
The San Marino native has a 3.61 ERA in 67.1 innings while pitching in his year-21 season, despite the average age of 24 for a pitcher in Double-A, and appears to be on an upward trajectory. In three July appearances across 13.2 innings, Ercolani has a 1.32 ERA with only seven hits allowed, striking out six and walking or plunking eight. His ERA by month has progressed from 6.17 in April, 4.50 in May, 2.86 in June, and 1.32 thus far in July. He has 45 strikeouts and 52 hits allowed, with a 1-6 record. He has been stretched out as the season has progressed, making four consecutive five-inning appearances and throwing at least 60 pitches in five of his last six outings.
Arij Fransen (24), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands. Chattanooga Lookouts. BA: NR; FG: Hon. Men.; MLB: NR.
Fransen has a 2-2 record and 3.76 ERA in 19 games and 38.1 innings. In 16 innings since June 1, he has 15 strikeouts, 12 walks, 18 hits, and 11 earned runs. Fransen has been a steady presence in the Reds’ organization since the 2021 season, staying healthy and moving up through the system methodically.
Omar Hernández (23), Kansas City Royals. Spain. NW Arkansas Naturals.Hernandez played 34 games in High-A Quad Cities with a .203 average and .242 on base percentage, swiping six bags. About three weeks ago, he was promoted to Double-A and he has hit .256 with a double, nine strikeouts, a walk, and a stolen base in 11 games there. The Spanish national team player has been in the Royals’ system since 2019.
High-A (1)
Kay-Lan Nicasia (23), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Nicasia is in his first season at High-A Wisconsin. In 39 games, including three in Single-A, he is hitting .146/.314/.341 with four stolen bases in five attempts. For the first time in his five-year career, he has not played a single inning in the infield, playing only right field and center instead, where he has combined for a 1.000 fielding percentage and one assist.
Single-A (2)
Mathias LaCombe (23), Chicago White Sox. France. Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.
LaCombe was promoted to Single-A on over the All-Star break, but at the time of writing he has yet to appear at the level. In 12 appearances at rookie-level Arizona, he pitched 35.2 innings with a whopping 50 strikeouts, but also 20 free bases (11 walks and an eye-popping nine hit batters. With only 23 hits allowed, however, he accumulated a 2.52 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and 0-1 win-loss record. After nearly two years away from official competition due to injuries since being drafted, LaCombe now moves to a more age-appropriate level (the average pitcher in Single-A is 22 years old).
Yannic Walther (21), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. Carolina Mudcats.Walther has nearly doubled his career at bats already this season, with over a month yet to go. In 2025 he is hitting .165 with a .303 OBP, plus five doubles and a home run. He has 23 walks against 44 strikeouts, recording 20 hits. Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (8)
Peter Bonilla (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain. ACL Dodgers.
In his fourth professional season, Bonilla has a 4.79 ERA in 20.2 innings. In June and July (through the 18th), he has pitched 12 innings in nine games, with 13 hits, seven runs, 13 strikeouts, and 14 walks. He has a career win-loss record of 13-3 with a 2.78 ERA after some dominant performances in the Dominican Summer League.
Tim Fischer (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany. ACL Dodgers.Fischer is in his third season as a Dodger and first in the U.S. He has pitched in 13 games, posting 16 innings with an ERA of 4.50. He has struck out 12, walked 17, and allowed 14 hits. He has a career 6.32 ERA and 1.94 WHIP in 47 innings.
Brandon Herbold (22), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
Herbold is in his third season in the Arizona Complex League. In seven appearances in June and July, he has given up runs in only two of them, striking out 13 and walking six in 9.2 innings. He has recorded one win, no losses and a 2.13 ERA in 10 games and 12.2 innings for the year to date.
Connor Prins (21), Seattle Mariners. Netherlands. ACL Mariners.
The Haarlem native has not pitched this season due to an elbow injury and is listed on the 60-day injured list.
Dominic Scheffler (21), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. ACL Reds.
Scheffler has pitched for the rookie-level Reds for the last two months. His first three outings back at the level (after beginning the season in Single-A) were shutouts: eight innings, four hits, one walk, and 11 strikeouts. He gave up a couple of runs in an outing at the end of June, but appeared to be dominating the level and on the verge of a return trip to full-season baseball. In three July appearances, however, Scheffler has allowed 10 runs and 13 hits in seven innings. His ERA in rookie ball this season is now 4.94, with 25 strikeouts and eight walks. He has pitched 31 total official innings between the two levels.
Giacomo Taschin (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. FCL Blue Jays.
Taschin signed with Toronto earlier this spring and has now reported to Florida, although he has not yet appeared in a game.
Gijs van den Brink (20), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
Van den Brink made a single appearance of two scoreless innings on May 6 and, despite remaining on the active roster, has not pitched since. He gave up one hit and one walk while recording 6 outs.
Williams Wong (19), Texas Rangers. Italy. ACL Rangers.
Promoted to the U.S. rookie league in May, Wong now has 83 at bats across 28 games in Arizona. He is hitting .229 and continuing to display excellent strike zone judgement with a .340 on base percentage (he is a career .235 hitter with .380 OBP). He has two doubles, two home runs, and two stolen bases.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (3)
Paul Hoff (18), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers 2.
The northern German native from Buchholz is on the injured list and has yet to pitch in 2025. He debuted last season with a 3.64 ERA in 29.2 innings.
Jordan Ouanyou (17), Cincinnati Reds. France. DSL Rojos.
The lefty signed a couple of weeks ago and has already debuted, appearing in one game and three at bats in the DSL. Ouanyou is a power-hitting first baseman, born in Paris, and more recently training at the French academy in Toulouse. For more on his signing, see our article [link].
Filippo Sabatini (18), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies White.
Sabatini reportedly underwent elbow surgery; thus, his debut will be delayed until at least 2026.
Not Yet Assigned to Affiliate (1)
Tyriq Kemp (22), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands.
Kemp was taken by the Royals in the Sixth Round of the 2025 MLB Draft and signed with K.C. for $147,500 on July 15. He has yet to be assigned to an affiliate, though it is unlikely he becomes teammates with fellow countrymen Herbold and van den Brink given his university pedigree. For more on Kemp, see our post-draft article [link].
Previous Articles in This Year’s Series
May [link].
June [link].