Verge: From Zeist, The Netherlands to New Hampshire ... Robberse on track
Right-hander Sem Robberse is the Toronto Blue Jays’ seventh best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
April 14, 2023
By Melissa Verge
Canadian Baseball Network
Unpredictable situations.
Sem Robberse thrives on them.
The uncertainty of what the next few innings will bring every time he takes the mound is part of what excites him about the game. The 21-year-old Blue Jays prospect -- ranked the club’s No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline -- doesn’t have to know what the final outcome will be. He just knows he’s playing hard, and he’s playing to win.
That’s always been his mindset. It didn’t matter that back home -- Zeist, Netherlands -- where he grew up, a place where the game was played with more of a laid back outlook. Blue Jays assistant general manager Andrew Tinnish (Burlington, Ont.) signed Robberse.
It was something people liked to do after work to relax, Robberse said, hang out with friends, and play a little ball. But for him, being the best he could be and winning is what made it fun.
“From a young age, I was trying to get better, work with my Dad, trying to make it more fun for me,” Robberse said. “And the way it got more fun for me is when I started to get better and I wanted to continue to do that, so the mindset never really changed [when I came to the U.S.].”
That desire to be the best, along with crucial and unpredictable in-game adjustments have helped Robberse have early success this season. In his two starts for the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, he’s struck out a combined 16.
In his first start, April 6, he had a 75-pitch outing, working 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run, walked two and struck out eight in an 8-2 win against the Altoona Curve.
A switch the righthander made in his start April 12th helped him to that total. He had to adjust his release point, when the sides from the rubber to home plate seemed a bit off, he said. He felt like he was throwing more cross body, and ended up walking two in the first inning. That adjustment had a big impact on his outing and his ability to execute pitches. He ended up recording eight strikeouts, allowing one run on two hits in five innings of work in a 3-2 win over the Portland Sea Dogs.
Part of his early season success is also credited to the work he did when the fans were gone, when his uniform was hung up for the season, he said. Getting stronger and packing on the pounds were big focuses of his off-season. It was key for him to maintain a good balance to help with his velocity.
After two starts, he has a 1.86 ERA, holding opponents to a .176 batting average.
His scouting report read “there’s hope he can bump his fastball up closer to the 93-94 mph range eventually…” With the weight he’s put on, Robberse said he’s brought his fastball up to that range already, where it sits around 94 mph, sometimes touching 95.
He’s always working to get better, and keeping the weight on is an important piece to the puzzle. He gets on the scale every day, and makes sure the number stays between 200 and 205. When he sees it inching closer to 202, he makes sure he eats a bit more over the next couple of days. That helps it keep it in the range it needs to be for his continued success.
This season he’s focusing on staying healthy and maintaining his body weight. That way he can work on making the adjustments he needs to make to be as successful as he can be on the diamond.
With two impressive starts under his belt in 2023, the rest of the season is still uncertain. But that’s what Robberse has always loved about the game.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Everybody is trying to beat each other, everybody is trying to win, and I feel like that’s what makes the game so unpredictable and so much fun.”