On this day in Los Angeles Dodgers history, the franchise became the first to ever sign two international prospects from the country of Uganda.
The Dodgers made MLB history by signing pitcher Ben Serunkuma and catcher Umar Male on January 28, 2022, as part of the 2021-2022 international signing period. It was the latest sign of Los Angeles continuing their organizational trend of pushing for continued success when searching for the next best group of prospects.
Reporting to the Dodgers’ Dominican Complex in Santo Domingo, Serunkama and Male got their first experience of affiliated baseball this past year in the developmental league.
Serunkuma, a 5’10” 21-year-old right-hander, pitched in 12 games in relief appearances for a total of 21.1 innings. Collecting a 2-1 record with a 2.11 ERA, he struck out 19 to go along with a 0.98 WHIP.
Male, also 21 years old, played in 18 games and garnered a .200 batting average, going 9-for-45 at the plate. Capturing a .666 on-base plus slugging percentage, Male hit two home runs and had five RBI.
Although it might be a while until much is heard stateside from either Serunkuma or Male, their signings are another shining example of how diligent and focused the Dodgers organization is on enhancing their abilities to possess home-grown talent.
2023 Dodgers international signings
Picking up where they left off, the Dodgers yet again put together a strong showing to begin the 2022-23 international signing period.
Beyond signing Joendry Vargas, a top shortstop out of the Dominican Republic who is currently ranked as third on MLB.com’s top-50 international prospect list, they added 13 additional international free agents.
The Dodgers also signed Arnaldo Lantigua (outfielder; Dominican Republic), Erick Batista (pitcher; Dominican Republic), Luis Carias (pitcher; Venezuela), Harold Gonzalez (shortstop; Venezuela), Javier Herrera (shortstop; Venezuela), Anderson Jerez (pitcher; Dominican Republic), Elias Medina (shortstop; Dominican Republic), Samuel Sanchez (pitcher; Venezuela), Jesus Tillero (pitcher; Venezuela), Eduardo Quintero (catcher; Venezuela) and Robinson Ventura (pitcher; Venezuela).
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