Roster spots of Dutchies in US baseball

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about Dutch and Netherlands Antillian players and where I expected them to start the season. Now is the time to come to see whether is was right or not.
In case of leagues lower than AAA, the rosters will be revealed on Monday or Tuesday. So an update will follow later this week.

Let’s start with the MLB.

Xander Bogaerts
It won’t surprise you that I expected Xander to be with the Red Sox this season. He ended Spring Training with a .271 batting average. No doubt he will be the every day shortstop for the Bostonians.

Matt den Dekker
The outfielder of Dutch descent battled for a fifth outfield spot with the Mets. But because the 27-year old was out of options, the Mets could not send him down to AAA Las Vegas. So the Mets could choose between adding him to the 25-man roster and trading him. They opted for the latter. The Mets traded him to Washington in exchange for Jerry Blevins. Den Dekker ended Spring Training with a .283 batting average.

Didi Gregorius
On December 5 the Yankees traded for Dutch born shorstop Didi Gregorius. Many doubted if he could fill the shoes of Derek Jeter who hung up his spikes after a 19-year career. During Spring training he proved to be an upgrade over Jeter. Even though Spring Training stats do not say much he ended Spring Training with a decent batting average of .271. Especially vs lefties he did a lot better than expected. It is not clear yet if he will be the every day shortstop or that he will platoon with Brendan Ryan. Espcecially Brian Cashman wants to platoon the two at short. According to Joe Girardi, Gregorius will be the every day shortstop. Who is right in this case?

Kenley Jansen
The closer of the Dodgers will be on the DL until mid May due to surgery because of a growth on a bone in his foot. The Curacao native converted 44 of 49 save opportunities and posted a 2.76 ERA. As soon as he returns to the 25-man roster, his role as a closer will be undoubted.

Jurickson Profar
Jurickson will miss the season for the second year in a row. Last year he started the season on the 60-day disabled list. The Rangers expected him to be back around June but later they announced that he injured himself again and that he would be out for the season. At the start of 2015 Profar had season ending shoulder surgery.

Jonathan Schoop
In his first full season with the Orioles Jonathan played some solid defense but will need some improvement at bat. For the time being there will be no follow up from the farm system. The O’s number ten prospect, Jomar Michel Reyes played in the Gulf Coast League last season. It will take two seasons at least before he will knock on MLB’s doors.

Andrelton SImmons
The shortstop from Curacao won his second consecutive gold glove last year even though his fielding percentage was a tad lower than the previous year. At bat Simmons needs to do better than the .244 he hit last year.

AAA

The players mentioned below won’t see any action until coming Thursday.

Roger Bernadina
After he opted for free agency at the end of the 2014 season, Roger Bernadina signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. During Spring Training he struggled at bat and eventually he was sent down to AAA, so once again he will play at Albuquerque. Last season he also played there when the Pacific Coast League club was still a farm team of the Dodgers.

Jair Jurrjens
The one time All Star (2011 when with the Atlanta Braves) signed a minor league deal with the Rockies as well. But the 29-year old Curacao native could not convince the Denver based club to add him to their 25-man roster, despite posting a 3.00 ERA and fanning six in six innings pitched. So just like Roger Bernadina, Jurrjens will start the season in Albuquerque.

Juan Carlos Sulbaran
Even though Juan Carlos Sulbaran was added to the roster of the Omaha Storm Chasers during the play offs, he never was used in a game. So despite being mentioned on the roster of the Storm Chasers, it is not clear yet where he will start the season: Omaha or the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

Shawn Zarraga
Shawn had a decent season with the Huntsville Stars last year. In the off season, the Brewers traded him to the Dodgers. After a good Spring Training in which he batted .375 he was not added to the Dodgers 40-man roster. Therefore he may be eligible to participate with the Netherlands in the Premier 12 tournament later this year.