Today all ABL clubs presented their opening day roster. Three clubs have players from the 2018 Dutch hoofdklasse on their roster: Sydney Blue Sox, Brisbane Bandits and Perth Heat.
Let’s start with the Brisbane Bandits. The team from Brisbane has acquired Dutch reliever Loek van Mil. Van Mil who has been pretty dominant in the past seasons in the Dutch hoofdklasse was rather successful in the past two seasons with the Adelaide Bite. Van Mil had the lowest ERA of all pitchers in the 2018 hoofdklasse season: 0.22. In 25 appearances and 40 innings he struck out 52 and limited his opponents to a humiliating batting average of .140. With the Adelaide Bite, Van Mil wasn’t as successful in 2018 as in the previous two seasons as he posted an ERA of 3.63. In the 2017 season, he posted a microscopic ERA of 0.40. His overall ERA over three seasons stands at 2.25.
The Perth Heat has an Aussie on its roster that played in the Netherlands in the past season. Utility player/infielder Sam Kennelly played for De Glaskonning Twins in Oosterhout. With the club from the province of Brabant, Sam hit a modest .255 but managed to win the home run crown with six dingers. Even though his bat wasn’t what Twins hoped for, his defense was very good. Sam was a great team player, who was willing to play every position his manager thought was necessary.
The Sydney Blue Sox are home to two players that played in the Dutch hoofdklasse in 2018. First of all the winner of the batting crown and MVP award, Dwayne Kemp. Kemp is an infielder who mainly plays on the left side of the infield. Despite being a good shortstop, he mainly played third base in 2018 and he did a solid job on that position. As a batter, Kemp surpassed the magical .400 as he hit .407 with 11 doubles, 4 triples and a home run.
Another player from the Dutch hoofdklasse on the Blue Sox’ roster is pitcher Shogo Nakashima. The Japanese import had an impressive season with De Glaskoning Twins. Nakashima made appearances as a starter and as a reliever but he performed best in the role of starting pitcher. He posted a 1.99 ERA with 32 Ks and an opponent BA of .202. Nakashima isn’t a flamethrower but he has some nasty breaking balls he uses to keep his opponents off balanced.
Next to these players, there are two other players in the ABL that have played in the 2018 Dutch hoofdklasse: Greg Mosel (Adelaide Bite), Ryan Dale (Melbourne Aces).
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