Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45 

Robberse signed with the Blue Jays out of Zeist, Netherlands, in July 2019, and he stayed stateside during the lost 2020 pandemic season. Since then, he's followed a pattern of playing for two teams per season following a repeat of a level and an in-season promotion. In 2023, the 21-year-old had a 4.06 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings for Double-A New Hampshire when Toronto dealt him to the Cardinals alongside Adam Kloffenstein for Jordan Hicks at the Trade Deadline. St. Louis moved Robberse to Triple-A Memphis after the transaction, and he posted a 4.84 ERA with 44 K’s and 24 walks in 35 1/3 innings there. With his Rule 5 eligibility looming, the Cards added Robberse to their 40-man roster in November.  

There has long been hope that the 6-foot-1 right-hander would add velocity as he’s aged, and that hasn’t quite manifested yet. His fastball primarily sat 91-93 mph in 2023, and without much movement, it wasn’t much of a bat misser. However, his secondaries showed a good amount of promise, starting with an 82-86 mph breaking ball with sweep and depth that helped him wear out the low, gloveside corner. An upper-80s changeup may not have the separation of a typically great pitch of that designation but the armside fade was good enough to fool batters en route to a 43 percent whiff and chase rate. Robberse also worked with an upper-80s cutter right around the 0 horizontal movement mark. 

Because he doesn’t overthrow from his three-quarters slot, the Dutch hurler hasn’t suffered many control issues outside of Triple-A, where ABS may have played a role. Any velo/movement improvement on the heater could get him to St. Louis before his 23rd birthday. He was dealing with elbow tightness in June that led to an extended IL stint.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Robberse is a unique development story, originally signed out of Zeist, Netherlands, in 2019. He was able to make his pro debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League that season, allowing just one run over 10 1/3 innings. When the pandemic stopped baseball, Robberse was unable to return to the Netherlands and stayed at a hotel near the Blue Jays’ complex with a group of prospects, including many of the Venezuelan players. This added yet another interesting wrinkle to his growth as he was often forced to work out by himself. 

Coming out of that, Robberse posted a 4.36 ERA over 88 2/3 innings in 2021, split between Single-A Dunedin and High-A Vancouver. Each number moved in the right direction in 2022, as Robberse climbed another level to Double-A and finished with a cumulative ERA of 3.23 over 111 1/3 innings, striking out 97. Much of Robberse’s game is self-taught, which gives him a unique ability to adjust on the fly, and the Blue Jays were encouraged with some of his physical growth, too.

After trying to keep on weight for years, Robberse finally packed it on in ’22 and is now up above 200 pounds, which was the goal. There’s hope this can bump his fastball up closer to the 93-94 mph range eventually. An increased strikeout ability would serve Robberse well, as at this point he relies on finesse with a promising package of secondaries. Now with the Cardinals after a Jordan Hicks trade at the 2023 deadline, the Futures Game participant can carry his momentum forward in hopes of joining a future St. Louis rotation.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Signed in 2019 out of Zeist, Netherlands, Robberse is one of the most unique development cases in Toronto’s system. The right-hander appeared in just five GCL games as a 17-year-old back in ’19, but when the COVID shutdown hit in ’20, he was unable to return to the Netherlands and instead stayed at a hotel near the Blue Jays’ complex along with other prospects, including a large Venezuelan group. Robberse worked to keep weight on and train his arm with workouts provided by the club, but this threw a wrench into some valuable development time. Back on the mound in ’21, Robberse split time between Low-A and High-A, posting a 4.36 ERA over 88 2/3 innings with 90 strikeouts. 

Robberse had his fastball up to 93-95 mph at the end of ’21, but dropped a bit of weight and has been building that back up. His curveball sits just ahead of his slider and has the potential to be an above-average pitch while his developing changeup trails behind. The Blue Jays like Robberse’s feel for pitching and his athletic delivery, which comes naturally and is more self-taught than other prospects in these ranks. Coaches also compliment Robberse’s ability to take feedback and immediately implement it on the mound, which lends to their belief that his development will continue at this rate through the upper levels. He also used much of the down time during the shutdown to develop his mental game, diving into pitch sequencing and mound strategies. 

Now 20, Robberse still needs to add muscle to his frame and sustain that over the course of a full season, but he’s already exceeding expectations, especially when you consider the disruptions he’s been forced to deal with. Now one of the highest-upside arms in the system, Robberse does still have a wide range of outcomes from here, but he’s put himself in a very good place entering ’22.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Signed in late July 2019 as an international free agent out of Zeist, Netherlands, where he spent the entirety of his amateur career and competed for his country internationally, the young right-hander opened eyes quickly in his pro debut. Though he only got into five games in the rookie Gulf Coast League, Robberse offered a flash of what the Blue Jays hope they’ll see more of in the future, posting a 0.87 ERA over 10 1/3 innings, walking none and striking out nine.

Given that much of Robberse’s game is self-taught, the right-hander’s delivery is a natural movement that the Blue Jays believe comes with plenty of projection. Robberse’s fastball velocity has moved from the high-80s to the low-90s with room for more growth, and his curveball, a pitch he throws confidently, is well ahead of his developing changeup when it comes to secondaries. One could argue that his mid-80s slider has overtaken the curve as his best breaking pitch in 2021, and it’s helped take his profile to a new level.

When Robberse signed with the Blue Jays, he had an extremely wide range of potential outcomes, and that remains true. The potential is there for a breakout, though, especially as he develops his 6-foot-1, 160-pound frame. Robberse is one of the more intriguing long-term rotation projects in the organization.

2020 Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Signed in late July as an international free agent out of Zeist, Netherlands, where he spent the entirety of his amateur career and competed for his country internationally, the young right-hander opened eyes quickly in his pro debut. Though he only got into five games in the rookie Gulf Coast League, Robberse offered a flash of what the Blue Jays hope they’ll see more of in the future, posting a 0.87 ERA over 10 1/3 innings, walking none and striking out nine.

Robberse has a three-pitch mix, featuring a fastball, curveball and changeup. His curve is ahead of his changeup in the development stage, with a lot of confidence and feel for his breaking pitch, and he has advanced feel for all of his secondary stuff and a high baseball IQ that helps him on the mound. His velocity ticked up throughout the 2019 season, starting in the mid-to-to-high 80s and getting up into the low 90s, and team officials believe he will continue trending in the right direction.

While there are a huge range of outcomes possible for the young right-hander because of his relative lack of experience and flashes of greatness on the mound, he has an incredibly projectable frame and plenty of room for growth. The upside is there to dream on him as a big league rotation member.

Awards

INT Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
04/21/2024

Futures Game Selection

Year	Team
2023

NWL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
05/29/2022

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	10/01/2024	St. Louis Cardinals recalled RHP Sem Robberse from Memphis Redbirds.
	08/30/2024	Memphis Redbirds activated RHP Sem Robberse from the 7-day injured list.
	08/13/2024	Memphis Redbirds sent RHP Sem Robberse on a rehab assignment to Palm Beach Cardinals.
	08/13/2024	Memphis Redbirds sent RHP Sem Robberse on a rehab assignment to Palm Beach Cardinals.
	06/18/2024	Memphis Redbirds placed RHP Sem Robberse on the 7-day injured list.
	03/14/2024	St. Louis Cardinals optioned RHP Sem Robberse to Memphis Redbirds.
	03/07/2024	St. Louis Cardinals Prospects activated RHP Sem Robberse.
	11/14/2023	St. Louis Cardinals selected the contract of RHP Sem Robberse from Memphis Redbirds.
	07/30/2023	St. Louis Cardinals traded RHP Jordan Hicks to Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Adam Kloffenstein and RHP Sem Robberse.
	07/30/2023	RHP Sem Robberse assigned to Memphis Redbirds.
	07/14/2023	RHP Sem Robberse assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from FCL Blue Jays.
	07/07/2023	American League Futures activated RHP Sem Robberse.
	07/02/2023	RHP Sem Robberse assigned to FCL Blue Jays from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
	01/30/2023	Toronto Blue Jays invited non-roster RHP Sem Robberse to spring training.
	01/30/2023	RHP Sem Robberse roster status changed by Toronto Blue Jays.
	08/15/2022	RHP Sem Robberse assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians.
	08/09/2021	Vancouver Canadians activated RHP Sem Robberse.
	08/09/2021	RHP Sem Robberse and assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays.
	05/03/2021	RHP Sem Robberse assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from GCL Blue Jays.
	04/26/2021	Blue Jays Organization activated RHP Sem Robberse. ABS Test.
	07/27/2019	RHP Sem Robberse assigned to GCL Blue Jays.
	07/24/2019	Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent RHP Sem Robberse to a minor league contract.