Franklin van Gurp

Franklin Percy van Gurp

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 225 lb.
• School Florida International University, Chipola College
• High School CENAPEC

• Born October 26, 1995 in Philipsburg Sint Maarten

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Franklin van Gurp has pitched in the minors and for the Dutch national team.

A native of Sint Maarten, van Gurp attended high school in the Dominican Republic and college in the US. He was 0-1 with two saves and a 2.91 ERA for Florida International in 2017, fanning 32 in 21 2/3 IP but walking 17. The San Francisco Giants took him in the 25th round of the 2017 amateur draft. The scout was Jose Alou.

He was superb that summer for the AZL Giants, going 5-1 with two saves, a 0.92 ERA, 41 K, 17 H and 7 BB in 29 1/3 IP. Only Zach Lewis won more games in the Arizona League that year. In '18, he was with the Augusta GreenJackets (4-0, 4 Sv, 1.77 in 18 G), San Jose Giants (1-0, 6.95 in 14 G) and Richmond Flying Squirrels (4 R in 3 IP), whiffing 84 in 65 2/3 innings and pushing his record as a pro to 10-1.

Van Gurp pitched in 2019 for Richmond (0-1, 5 R, 9 K in 5 IP) and the GreenJackets (2-0, 4 Sv, 3.77 in 16 G) then was dealt to the San Diego Padres for Alex Dickerson. He played for the Lake Elsinore Storm (1-3, 6.38 in 14 G) and Fort Wayne TinCaps (0-1, Sv, 2.87 in 9 G) after the trade.

He then was with the Dutch team for the 2019 Premier 12. He closed out their 14-4 mercy rule loss to the Dominican national team, relieving Orsen Josephina in the 7th. He retired Elehuris Montero and Charlie Valerio but Jeison Guzmán homered for the final run before Alejandro Mejia flew out. He also pitched against Mexico, the 9th pitcher of a 10-2 loss. He relieved Diegomar Markwell in the 7th with one on and one out. He hit José Vargas and fanned Matt Clark. Armando Araiza hit into a two-run error then van Gurp struck out Phillip Evans. Jim Ploeger succeeded him.

He remained in the Padres system until March 26, 2021, when he was released. Van Gurp signed with the Mariners on June 30, 2021. He would post a 5.70 ERA over 16 outings for the ACL Mariners and Everett AquaSox before becoming a free agent after the season. He pitched once for the Dutch in the 2020 Final Olympic Qualifier (held in 2021 after delays from the COVID-19 pandemic). He relieved Shairon Martis in the 9th with a 3-3 tie against the powerful Dominican national team. He had a rough day. Ramón Torres singled, Roldani Baldwin walked and Gustavo Núñez had a bunt single; an error on the play let the winning run score as van Gurp lost to Jairo Asencio.

For 2022, van Gurp signed with the L&D Amsterdam Pirates of the Dutch Major League, pitching to a 1.42 ERA over 9 contests; he was 3-0 and allowed four hits in 12 2/3 IP, fanning 17. He also appeared for them in the 2022 European Champions Cup, losing to the Heidenheim Heideköpfe when he blew a 2-1 lead in the 9th and also failing to seal the deal against Parma in the title game. He had a 5.79 ERA in three outings. He tied Marc-André Habeck, Misja Harcksen, Dovydas Neverauskas and Rene Mazzocchi for the event lead in appearances and led in losses. In the 2022 Haarlem Baseball Week, he pitched once for the Netherlands, closing out their 5-1 win over Cuba. Relieving Mike Groen, he struck out Frederich Cepeda, got Guillermo Avilés on a fly and whiffed Denis Laza. On August 5, he signed with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League before being released on August 16. Van Gurp would sign with the York Revolution on August 26. He finished with a 1.17 ERA over 13 Atlantic League games. Following the season, van Gurp pitched for the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Winter League (3 R, 4 BB in 2 1/3 IP) and for Curaçao in the Caribbean Series. The WildCats KJ74 were the first Curaçao-based team in a Caribbean Series. He saved Témesh Lourens's win over the Federales de Chiriquí and worked 1 1/3 shutout innings for the 2023 Caribbean Series.

Van Gurp again represented the Netherlands in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, working 2 2/3 shutout innings over three games to tie Kevin Kelly for the team lead in appearances. He then returned to the Atlantic League for the Long Island Ducks in 2023, posting a 1.85 ERA across 25 outings (9 H, 20 BB, 36 K in 24 1/3 IP; 1-0). He struck out 7 in 3 2/3 IP in three games in the 2023 European Championship but allowed two runs in the 6th against Spain after relieving Tom de Blok in the semifinals, as Spain rallied to win against the Dutch bullpen. The Netherlands settled for Bronze, their worst finish to that point. Following the season, he played in the Dominican Winter League again, this time for the Toros del Este. He was also selected by the Karachi Monarchs of Baseball United in advance of the league's inaugural season.

Further Reading

• Matt Monagan: "Netherlands pitcher hails from a tropical paradise: Franklin Van Gurp grew up playing on 'The Friendliest Island'", mlb.com, March 4, 2023. [1]