Career-high K outing at Double-A now, Dutch national team next?

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sem Robberse saved one of the best for final Saturday, and he might have given greater than Toronto one thing to consider alongside the best way.

The lone tally in opposition to the 20-year-old right-hander got here within the first inning when high Nationals prospect Robert Hassell III reached on an error by second baseman Hugo Cardona after which scored on a double by the next hitter, Wilson García. A single by Trey Harris and stroll by Jackson Cluff loaded the bases earlier than Robberse escaped with a punchout of Yasel Antuna.

“I am unable to actually do a lot about it,” Robberse mentioned of the primary inning. “I used to be already making good pitches. So I used to be simply sticking to it, possibly including just a little bit extra conviction into it, and it labored out the remainder of the best way. I made certain I did not actually get into my very own head and simply stored doing the identical factor. It labored out.”

After Darren Baker’s two-out single within the second inning, the Netherlands native didn’t permit a single Harrisburg baserunner the remainder of the best way, retiring the ultimate 13 Senators he confronted. Robberse left after the sixth body having thrown 83 pitches, 55 for strikes with 14 whiffs.

Of these 83 pitches, Robberse felt just like the offspeed ones had been the keys to his Saturday dominance. He experimented with a unique really feel to his changeup in his earlier bullpen work and located a grip that he may find a lot better — an necessary element in opposition to a Harrisburg lineup that includes six left-handed hitters, highlighted by MLB’s No. 23 general prospect Hassell, who struck out within the second and grounded out in opposition to Robberse once more within the fifth.

“I simply made certain I used to be capable of keep unfastened with it, not do an excessive amount of with it and belief it,” he mentioned. “Tonight, it got here up huge time.”

The 6-foot-1 hurler was additionally capable of preserve the Senators out of whack by continually flipping in early low-80s curveballs that dropped within the strike zone and gave him an early benefit.

It was his first six-inning efficiency since July 13 with Excessive-A Vancouver and simply one of the best of his 5 outings since debuting with New Hampshire on Aug. 20. He completes his first go-round with the Fisher Cats with a 3.65 ERA, 19 strikeouts and 10 walks in 24 2/3 innings.

“It’s not like in Excessive-A the stuff is worse,” Robberse mentioned. “It is simply the consistency of it’s higher right here in Double-A. That is what I needed to discover just a little bit, the consistency and the conviction in all my pitches. I really feel like after I’m ready to do this, I’ve management of the sport, and I can do just about what I need.”

Robberse, who sat within the low-90s together with his heater for a lot of Saturday, provides that his plan is to work on including energy within the offseason within the hopes of supplementing a number of further ticks of velo to his fastball.

There might be some worldwide choice makers eager about that growth.

Robberse says he’s been in contact with Netherlands officers a few potential roster spot on the nation’s World Baseball Traditional pitching workers, however these preliminary conversations have been so far as he’s gone so far. That doesn’t imply he handled Saturday’s ultimate begin as an audition both.

“In the event that they suppose I am adequate, then I am adequate to affix them,” Robberse mentioned. “In the event that they suppose in any other case, then it is as much as them. All I can do is put up numbers, and I consider I did that. It is nonetheless no assure.”

Typically, a superb begin is only a good begin. And that is one Robberse plans to hold with him for a number of months.

“It’s an upwards development,” he mentioned. “So I prefer to see that, particularly going into the offseason. I’ll have that enhance of confidence in having the ability to compete subsequent 12 months, at this stage too in all probability.”