September 5, 2022
Right-handed pitcher Sem Robberse has climbed the levels quickly since coming over from the Netherlands. Robberse, who came to North America from a nontraditional baseball country talks about the difference in the talent levels.
“Yeah, in the Netherlands most people play for fun besides their job or school they go to,” Robberse said of the talent jump. “And when you get to pro ball everyone has talent. In pro ball it’s a case of who is going to work the hardest and have the best mindset. They’re the ones who are going to make it.”
But the difference in talent hasn’t slowed down Robberse’s development. Already pitching 100 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A in 2022; Robberse has 85 K’s, a WHIP of 1.20, and he’s holding hitters to a .232 average against him.
Robberse has made some adjustments between High-A and Double-A, “I’m seeing little differences between High-A and Double-A,” explained Robberse. “It’s a little more thinking, a little more alert, and a little more executing than I had to do in High-A – but I like it.”
Another adjustment that he’s making is facing hitters who are more disciplined at the plate.
“Yeah, the hitters have a better idea of what their pitch is to hit,” Robberse added about the Double-A hitters. “They’re trying to get you to pitch to them and get that pitch. For me it’s a challenge of striking them out with my best pitch and setting it up the right way. There’s a little more thinking, sequencing, and executing in Double-A than there was in High-A.”
Currently using a four-pitch mix of a fastball, a curveball, a slider, and a changeup in his repertoire; Robberse likes to mix his pitches up to keep the hitters guessing every outing.
“It’s a lot sequence wise and a lot of mixing it up,” stated Robberse. “I don’t want them sitting on a particular pitch and you don’t want the hitters to guess on what you’re going to throw so I want to mix it up. I know all of my pitches work off my fastball very well.”
Using his curveball and slider more than his changeup, Robberse talks about what he likes about having two breaking balls.
“It’s the timing difference,” explained Robberse. “You want to mess up their timing – that’s your job as a pitcher. If I can throw you two different breaking balls with one being definitely slower than the other one – it makes it harder for them to pick it up and sit on a certain pitch. If I can go slow and very hard after it’s messing up their timing. That’s what I want to do.”
Be sure to follow Sem Robberse, as he continues to mess with hitters timing in North America.