Roster team Kingdom of the Netherlands for U18 World Cup

It took a while. Other countries had announced their 20-man roster already but finally today the KNBSB announce d the 20-man roster of team Kingdom of the Netherlands U18.
The team contains three professionals of which one has signed a contract but hasn’t played a professional game yet. The professionals are Sherten Apostel, Mike Kelkboom (both active) and Richgelon Juliana.

The U18 World Cup will be played in Thunder Bay in Canada. Team Kingdom of the Netherlands will play in Group B together with the USA, Japan, Cuba, Mexico and South Africa. Seven years ago, when the tournament was also held in Thunderbay, the Dutch finished in sixth place.

The following names are listed:

Sherten Apostel
The 18-year old Curaçaoan is a third baseman in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Last year he made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League where he currently hits a modest .258, which is quite an improvement over the .205 he hit last year.

Donny Breek
Donny is a 17-year old pitcher from Almere, playing for DSS in the Dutch hoofdklasse. Donny posted a 1-3 record with a 7.95 ERA in twelve games (ten starts).
Even though his numbers may not look as impressive, Donny was still fourteenth in the rankings when it comes to strikeouts as he fanned thirty-four batters. Donny participated in the Power Showcase in Miami.

Denzel Bryson
The 17-year old Denzel Bryson is back up catcher for De Glaskoning Twins in the Dutch hoofdklasse. Three weeks ago, Denzel was part of the Dutch team that won the Colt League World Series.
In the regular hoofdklasse season, Denzel hit .210 but with runners on base he hit much better with an average of .269.

Jiorgeny Casimiri
The 15-year old talent is playing for SV Wassenaar in de Dutch overgangsklasse (one level below the hoofdklasse). Because of his age, Jiorgeny is allowed to throw only 75 pitches per game. Jiorgeny was part of the Dutch Colt League team that won the tournament in Lafayette, Indiana. He pitched the final inning of the championship game.

Aaron de Groot
Aaron is a right handed pitcher for Storks from The Hague (overgangsklasse). In 2016 he played for Tridents, the farm team of Curaçao Neptunus. Earlier this year, Aaron received an invitation to the MLB camp which was held in Spain.

Koen Halderman
Koen is catcher for DSS of the Dutch hoofdklasse. In 22 games, Koen batted .254 with an on base percentage of .370. The 2017 season was his third with DSS in the hoofdklasse. But on the roster of TKON, Koen is listed as outfielder.

Enrique Hatma
The 17-year old catcher Enrique Hatma used to play for the Marchena Braves on his home island of Curaçao. Enrique also played for a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. He played for an international prospects team that participated in the International Prospect Series, an initiative of USA Baseball and Major League Baseball.

Stefan Ianelli
Son of former Lazio Roma soccer player Luigi Ianelli, participated in the 2016 U18 European Cup with the Dutch team that won the championship by beating Italy 7-3.
The 17-year old studies international business and management in Rotterdam. Stefan is pitching for Tridents, the farm team of Curaçao Neptunus.

Richgelon Juliana
Richgelon Juliana is a right handed pitcher, who recently signed a contract with the San Francisco Giants. During the 2012 Little League World Series, Richgelon served as a catcher for Curaçao.

Makesiondon Kelkboom
The 17-year old shortstop from Leiden in the Netherlands is currently playing for a combined team of the Indians and the Brewers in the Dominican Summer League. In his very first professional season, Makesiondon is hitting .211 with an on base percentage of .291. Makesiondon signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians in the 2016/2017 signing period for international players.

Christopher Koeiman
Christopher participated with Curaçao in the 2012 Little League World Series where he served as a right handed pitcher and as a third baseman. Christopher was also part of the U15 team that won the European Championship in 2014 in Paderborn, Germany as he went 2 for 4 in two games played.

Dylan Koster
Dylan is playing for HCAW of the Dutch hoofdklasse. In the regular season, Dylan hit a decent .273 with a .298 on base percentage. This year, he played his first full season in the Dutch hoofdklasse.

Frensly Leito
Curaçaoan Frensly Leito also was a member of the U16 Dutch team that won the 2016 European Championship. In three relief appearances, Frensly posted a 4.50 ERA and kept his opponents limited to a .222 batting average.

Delano Selassa
Delano is a regular in the lineups of HCAW from Bussum. He debuted in the hoofdklasse in 2016 as he played in eight games (not starts). This season, he hit a decent .281 in nineteen games (seventeen starts) with a .324 on base percentage.  Of the eighteen hits he collected, three were doubles and two were triples.

Tijmen Takke
Tijmen is one of the regulars of the hoofdklasse team of Pickles UVV. This season, he batted .279 in 35 games (all starts) with an on base percentage of .349. The utility man has played all infield positions this year.

Luuk ter Beek
Recently, Luuk made his hoofdklasse debut with Hoofddorp Pioniers. Two weeks ago, Luuk participated with the Dutch Colt League team in the Colt League World Series. Luuk was vastly dominating in the two starts (both wins) and he was named best pitcher of the tournament.

Jeandro Tromp
Jeandro is from Zwolle in the Eastern part of the Netherlands, not a part where the most baseball talents are coming from. Because of the lack of a baseball academy in that area, it is harder for players to step into the limelight. Jeandro debuted with HCAW in the hoofdklasse but did not collect a hit in the two at bats he got. Also Jeandro was part of the Dutch team that won the Colt League World Series three weeks ago.

Tommy van de Sanden
Tommy debuted with DSS in the hoofdklasse in 2015. Back then he only hit .197. In the 2017 season, Tommy appeared in only 11 games and his numbers did not improve (.077). His defensive numbers slpped below .900 as he posted a .892 fielding percentage.

Mic van den Ven
Mic is playing for De Glaskoning Twins from the Dutch hoofdklasse. In ten hoofdklasse appearances this year, Mic went 1 for 4 with an ERA of 8.00. His opponents hit .242 with Mic on the mound. Last year Mic participated in the Power Showcase in Miami.
Mic participated in the U18 European Championship last year and posted the best ERA of the Dutch team with 1.69. In three appearances, he had two starts and posted two wins.

Lars Peter Vogelaar
Lars Peter is playing in the Dutch hoofdklasse for DSS from Haarlem. In thirteen appearances, of which five were starts), he posted a 1-3 record with a 7.68 ERA.
The 2017 season is Lars Peter’s second season with DSS in the hoofdklasse.