Sem Robberse Named NWL Pitcher of the Week
VANCOUVER, BC – Minor League Baseball has recognized Vancouver Canadians starter Sem Robberse as the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week for May 23 to May 29. He is the fourth C’s player to earn the honor and the third Canadians pitcher to be highlighted at the top of their
VANCOUVER, BC – Minor League Baseball has recognized Vancouver Canadians starter Sem Robberse as the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week for May 23 to May 29. He is the fourth C’s player to earn the honor and the third Canadians pitcher to be highlighted at the top of their position, joining Chad Dallas, Trent Palmer and P.K. Morris as league award winners for the Canadians this season.
Robberse’s seven shutout innings on Tuesday, May 24 in Hillsboro set the standard for Northwest League pitchers this week. He limited the Hops to two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out four, though a ninth inning rally spoiled what would have been his team-best third win of the year.
As of this writing, Robberse is among league leaders in ERA (2.37, 5th), innings pitched (38.0, T-7th), WHIP (0.84, T-2nd), batting average against (.199, 6th) and starts (7, T-6th). He has been a picture of consistency; the right-hander has averaged five and two-thirds innings per outing, has collected three of Vancouver’s four quality starts this year and has gone six or more stanzas in three turns. Remarkably, he has handed out just four walks in 38 innings of work, averaging 7.3 strikeouts for every ball four.
Robberse – who MLB.com ranks as Toronto’s #7 prospect and their second-best pitcher in the system – was signed out of his native Woudenberg, Netherlands on July 24, 2019 and made his professional debut that year with Bluefield to the tune of an 0-2 record with a 0.87 ERA in five games (three starts) that spanned 10.1 innings. After spending 2020 in Florida during the pandemic and cancelled season, Robberse began his age 19 season in 2021 with Low-A Dunedin and went 5-4 with a 3.90 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) across 57.2 frames while striking out three hitters for every walk he issued. He then joined the Canadians on August 9 for his High-A debut and logged 31 innings to close out the season.
Robberse will make his eighth start of the year tonight at 7:05 p.m. as the C’s begin a six-game series with Spokane (Rockies) at Nat Bailey Stadium. Coverage can be found on CanadiansBaseball.com, the Sportsnet Radio Network and MiLB.TV.