Today in “Summing up the Dutchies” an organization that has had many Dutchies through the years; players like Kalian Sams, Greg Halman, Wladimir Balentien and Lars Huijer to name a few. It is time to shed some light on:
Number of Dutchies: 2
Gianfranco Wawoe:
Gianfranco Wawoe is a 21-year old shortstop from Curacao. He signed a contract with the Mariners in February 2011 at the age of 16. His first steps on a professional ball field were made in that same year when he played in the Venezuelan Summer League, where he would play the following two seasons as well.
His first promotion came in 2014 when he played for the Pulaski Mariners (advanced rookie Appalachian League) where he batted .275 with nine doubles, one triple, two homeruns and an OPS of .675.
This stay with the Pulaski Mariners would be his only one with that club. Not only because that club is defunct, but also because he was promoted to the Clinton LumberKings for the 2015 season.
He played for the LumberKings from April 11 until June 6, when he was sent to the Jackson Generals of the AA Southern 
League, where he played only four games before he was sent down to Clinton again. A strange move if you’d ask me since he was hitting better at AA level than he did (and does) at A Full Season Level (.333 vs .269 right now).
The bulk of the 44 games with the LumberKings he played at shortstop. In those 22 games he posted an .892 fielding percentage. Perhaps that is the reason why he played at other positions too, just to see how he would fare there. In twelve games at third base he played without committing an error. And so he did in the eleven games that he played in the outfield.
With the number of errors at shortstop, it is to be expected that the Mariners will try to develop Gianfranco at another position. His hitting isn’t bad but there is room for improvement.
If the Mariners decide that he has spent enough time with the LumberKings, I expect Gianfranco to start the 2016 campaign with the A Advanced Bakersfield Blaze of the California League.
Eugene Helder:
Eugene Helder debuted for the Mariners organization in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2014. The 19-year old shortstop from Aruba played 61 games and collected 60 hits in 225 at bats (.267).
The 2015 season he debuted with the DSL Mariners. With that team he is hitting a lot better than in his previous seasson: .313 with an OPS of .700 and sixteen doubles.
As a shortstop Eugene played only two games in which he posted a .875 fielding percentage. He played the most games at third base (39). He committed eight errors on that position. Defensive wise he fared best at second base, where he played twelve games and committed only three errors.
So far Eugene is hitting very well, but it is clear that he needs to work on his defensive skills.
Dutch Baseball Hangout 