Today L&D Amsterdam Pirates announced on their Facebook page that Tom de Blok will leave the club. De Blok has signed a deal with the Detroit Tigers after his good performance during the World Baseball Classic for team Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Tom de Blok had a couple of solid outings during the World Baseball Classic. Tom pitched two innings during the WBC and did not allow a run, gave up one hit and recorded a WHIP of 0.50. Vs Israel, Tom pitched one inning in which he struck out one. In the 8-6 loss vs Japan, de Blok also pitched a scoreless inning in which he fanned one hitter.
De Blok has signed a four-year minor league deal with the Tigers organization. He will report in Florida for a medical check up and will head to Michigan to join the West Michigan White Caps of the Midwest League.
This is a huge blow for L&D Amsterdam Pirates, who had to deal with the loss for the season of Dennis Burgersdijk, who had a surgery to a herniated disk.
De Blok’s fastball easily reaches the low nineties. Because of his speed, the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the NPB also showed interest in him during the two practice games team Kingdom of the Netherlands played vs and in Japan in November 2016. Eventually, both parties did not agree on a contract.
In the Dutch hoofdklasse, De Blok had an ERA of 0.88 in 41 innings pitched. He gave up four earned runs on 21 hits and 11 walks as he struck out 43, kept his opponents limited to a batting average of .153 and earned five saves.
De Blok is a homegrown player of L&D Amsterdam Pirates. According to their Facebook page, Pirates’ manager Charles Urbanus is very proud of the 20-year old pitcher: “This contract is an appreciation for the way Tom has developed in the past years, both mentally and physically.
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