(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen)
 Righthander Juan Carlos Sulbaran joins pitching-staff of DSS
Nederlands
 HAARLEM (Neth.) -
Rigthanded pitcher Juan Carlos Sulbaran will play in the Dutch big league this season for DSS.
The addition of the former professional pitcher was announced on Friday (March 22) by the club.
...Juan Carlos Sulbaran pitching Storks...
...in the Dutch big league in 2018...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
JC Sulbaran agreed to play for the Haarlem-based club on Thursday and will join the team immediately.
He is scheduled to make his debut on Sunday-afternoon when DSS plays against Onze Gezellen, starting at 2 PM.
That game will be the fourh scheduled to be played by DSS this weekend when it participates in the tournament organized by Kinheim at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem.
DSS will play two games on both Saturday and Sunday.
DSS opens the regular season on April 4 against Meerlease Pioniers.
,,Sulbaran is a welcome and necessary addition to our pitching staff'', Head Coach Marco Wels stated on Friday.
,,He brings a lot of experience to our team'', added Wels, who this season makes his debut as Head Coach of DSS.
At the moment, DSS has to do without lefthander Nick Keur and righthander Scott Prins, who are both on the disabled list and will not be available in the near future.
Keur also missed the entire last season, as he is recovering from Tommy John-surgery.
Last year, Sulbaran made his debut in the Dutch big league when he played for Silicon Storks.
He then joined the team in June, but left Storks less than a month later when he returned to professional baseball.
Sulbaran was signed by Winnipeg Goldeyes in the American Association (Independent League).
Sulbaran had pitched in three games (all starts) for Storks and struckout 13 batters in nine innings, while giving up nine basehits.
He also was used once as a designated hitter and played one game as leftfielder.
Shortly thereafter, Sulbaran was released again by Winnipeg, where he was 1-2, pitching in six games.
He returned to Storks for whom he then pitched in the Relegation Pool.
The righthander again pitched in three games and then struckout 25 batters in 18 1/3 inning, but also gave up 19 basehits and 18 runs, which gave him a 6.87 ERA.
Next, Sulbaran dominated in the Promotion/Relegation Series against Kinheim.
In that Series, he appeared in two games and struckout 24 batters in 13 innings, finishing with an 0.69 ERA.
Storks won the Series to prolong its stay in the highest division.
Overall, Sulbaran was 2-3 while playing for Storks.
...Juan Carlos Sulbaran pitching for the Netherlands...
...during the 2017 World Baseball Classic...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
The 29-year old righthander, who was born on Curaçao, played in the Minor Leagues from 2009 through 2016.
As a High School-student in Florida, he was drafted in the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft by Cincinnati Reds.
Sulbaran played in the Reds-organization in 2009-2012 at the Single-A level.
During the 2012 season, the pitcher was traded to Kansas City Royals.
In that organization, Sulbaran played in 2012-2015 mostly in Double-A, but he reached Triple-A in 2015.
After becoming a Free Agent in December 2015, he was signed by St. Louis Cardinals.
There, he played in Double-A and Triple-A in 2016.
In eight Minor League-seasons, Sulbaran threw in 202 games, most of them as a starter.
The righthander was 49-65 with a 5.48 ERA and struckout 859 hitters in 925 2/3 inning, giving up 959 basehits.
Sulbaran pitched for the Dutch Caribbean Team in the 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week.
Hereafter, he was added to the roster of the Netherlands Team, with whom he then participated in the Olympic Games in Beijing (China) later in the year.
Sulbaran also was a member of the successful Netherlands Team that captured the title at the World Championship in Panama.
In following years, Sulbaran pitched for the Orange squad during the 2009 and 2017 World Baseball Classic, the 2015 Premier12 and 2016 Japan Warm-Up Games.
(March 22)
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