In a press release, Curaçao Neptunus announced the acquisition of young catcher Dave Janssen. Born in 1999, Janssen is a big talent and one of the better defensive catchers in the Dutch hoofdklasse.
Since 2017, Janssen was playing for the flagship team of Oosterhout Twins but in the past two seasons, he has become more of a regular, serving as the backstop on the Saturday game of the three-game series in the Dutch hoofdklasse.
Besides playing for Oosterhout Twins, Dave has also played for the NCJAA Division One team, Indians Hills Warriors. He had a hell of a season in which he earned the honor of being the best defensive player of the year.
Dave had 343 putouts, one of only two Indian Hills players to have more than 100 to go along with a fielding percentage of .995. He threw out 17 runners on the season from behind home plate.
In the past two seasons, Dave served as the backup catcher of Jason Halman. With Curaçao Neptunus, Janssen will become the second catcher behind Dashenko Ricardo. Likely this will move Gianison Boekhoudt into the DH role. But as long as Janssen is playing college ball, Boekhoudt will be the second catcher. As written in the prologue, Janssen is a good defensive catcher, who is also blessed with a strong throwing arm.
Dave was the main catcher for team Kingdom of the Netherlands U23, which won the 2021 U23 European Championship.
The fact that Janssen is leaving for Neptunus is a big blow for Oosterhout Twins. In Janssen, Twins loses a homegrown player who is hard to replace.
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