In this week’s edition of Dutchies around the world, we pay attention to Andrelton Simmons, Shairon Martis, Sharlon Schoop, John Polonius, Shakir Albert, Ryan Oduber and Kalian Sams.
Andrelton Simmons
Even though Andrelton’s batting average has been fluctuating in the month of June, it is well above his career batting average of .263 with an average of .277. Andrelton has hit seven dingers so far and is on his way to equal his record of 17 home runs in a season that he hit in 2013.
About halfway the season, Andrelton has committed eight errors resulting in a fielding percentage of .976.
Shairon Martis
After a long absence from affiliated baseball, Shairon Martis finally has joined the AAA Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles). So far the 30-year old Curaçaoan made five relief appearances in which he gave up six hits, walked one, struck out four but kept his ERA at 0.00. The batting average of his opponents is on the high side with .286.
Sharlon Schoop
Teammate of Shairon Martis and fellow Curaçaoan Sharlon Schoop has been 
moved around by the O’s this season. Currently, he is playing with the Tides again, but the O’s have moved him to AA Bowie and also to A-Short Season Aberdeen.
Since June 21 he has played on a quite regular basis as he played four games since. At bat Sharlon struggles with a batting average of .200. During his stint with the Bowie BaySox (AA Eastern League), he hit a respectable .348.
So far Sharlon has played 20 games as an infielder at both AAA and AA. At second base he played nine games and remained perfect. At third base, Sharlon played eight games and committed one error at AA level. At first base (one game) and at shortstop (two games) he did not commit an error either.
John Polonius
The San Francisco Giants have moved around John Polonius quite a bit so far. John was on the opening day roster of the Richmond Flying Squirrels (AA Eastern League) but was sent to extended spring training four days later without having played a game. On June 2nd, The infielder from Curaçao was sent to the Sacramento RiverCats (AAA Pacific Coast League), where he played three games in which he went 2 for 5 with a triple and a RBI. Four days later he was sent down to extended spring training again before he was moved up to A-Advanced San Jose in the California League.
Hitting remains an issue for him as he collected three hits in sixteen at-bats in five games with the San Jose Giants. In San Jose, he has played all infield positions but first base. In three games at shortstop, John committed one error.
Shakir Albert
After spending the previous three seasons at Rookie-level (DSL and AZL), the outfielder from Curaçao was promoted to A Full Season. With the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers), he struggled at the plate in his first four games before he hit the DL. After the last game he played on April 12, his BA stood at .231.
Ryan Oduber
The 19-year old Ryan Oduber was promoted to A-Short Season after having spent a part of the 2016 season at the GCL. So he skipped the Advanced Rookie Level of the Appalachian League. With the Lowell Spinners of the New York – Penn Leauge (Boston Red Sox), the Aruban pitcher made two relief appearances of 3.1 innings and 4.0 innings. In those rather long relief outings, he gave up six hits, walked none and struck out four as he did not allow a run either.
Kalian Sams
The 30-year old outfielder from The Hague has joined the ranks of the Quebec Capitales 
for the third straight season. So far Sams is on fire with the independent club from the CanAm League. In 35 games and 142 at-bats, he collected 51 (.359) of which nine doubles, a triple and fourteen home runs. The speedy outfielder swiped eight bags so far.
Last night against the Trois-Rivières Aigles (Eagles), Kalian played one of his best games of the season as he went 3 for 5 with a double, a homer, three RBI and a stolen base in the 10-8 win. In the standings, the Capitales are trailing the Rockland Boulders by 2.5 games in the six-team league. To avoid that the teams have to play too many games against the same teams, the league has invited the national teams of the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Especially the Cuban team isn’t a shadow of its former self. The Cuban team mainly contains players of which is known that they will not leave the country.
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