Kaj Timmermans

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 170 lb.

• School Iowa Western Community College

• Born November 8, 1995

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kaj Timmermans has pitched in the Hoofdklasse and for the Dutch national team.

Timmermans pitched two shutout innings for the Netherlands in the 2011 European Junior Championship. He allowed two runs in seven innings against Japan in the 2011 World Youth Championship. In 2012, he attended the MLB European Academy. He made his Hoofdklasse game, allowing one run in 5 1/3 IP for HCAW in the 2012 Hoofdklasse. He allowed 7 runs in 5 1/3 IP in the 2012 World Junior Championship, losing to Venezuela.

In 2013, he was 2-6 with a 6.25 ERA for HCAW. The 17-year-old tied Jurjen van Zijl for 7th in the league in losses. He was 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA in the 2013 European Junior Championship, tying for the win lead, finishing 4th in ERA and 5th in opponent average (.189).

The right-hander was 2-0 with a 5.26 ERA for the Iowa Western team that won the 2014 NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series. In the 2014 U-21 Baseball World Cup, he had a 8.10 ERA. Spending most of the summer in the US for college, he barely pitched for HCAW in the 2014 Hoofdklasse (0-1, 7.00).

He was 1-4 with a 3.86 ERA for HCAW in 2015 and 1-4, 3.56 in 2016. He was 7th in the league in IP (83 1/3), 10th in strikeouts (51) and tied for 1st in starts (14). The next summer, he had a 5-5, 2.30 record and walked only 22 in 82 IP. He was 4th in ERA (between Lars Huijer and Jim Ploeger), led in IP (1 1/3 ahead of Diegomar Markwell), 8th in K (46), tied for 7th in wins, tied for 1st in starts (14) and tied for 5th in losses.

In the 2017 U-23 European Championship, he was excellent for the champion Netherlands at 2-0, 0.69. He was 6th in ERA, tied for 8th in IP (13), tied for the win lead and tied for 2nd in K (15). He was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA for the Netherlands in the 2017 World Port Tournament.

He was 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup, losing to Colombia and beating South Africa. In the 2018 Hoofdklasse, he went 7-6 with a 2.73 ERA and only 19 walks in 95 2/3 innings. He led in innings again (2 1/3 ahead of Huijer), tied for 4th in wins and tied for 1st in starts (14).

At the 2019 World Port Tournament, he allowed one unearned run over three innings. He had a no-hitter for eight innings against DSS during the 2019 Hoofdklasse before Ibrahim Redan broke it up. For the season, he was 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA. He led in innings once again (95 1/3, 2 1/3 ahead of Huijer), tied for 10th in wins and tied for 1st in starts once more at 14.

Moving to the more prominent Neptunus club for the 2020 Hoofdklasse, his playing time dropped as he was no longer the staff ace. He was 5-0 with a 3.41 ERA. tying Juan Carlos Sulbaran for 2nd in wins (one behind Orlando Yntema in a COVID-19-shortened season. He got to play in his first Holland Series, trying to stop the bleeding in the 11th inning of a Game 2 loss to the Amsterdam Pirates. Relieving Kevin Kelly with a 5-3 deficit and two on, he walked Kenny Berkenbosch. Sebastiaan van der Horst hit into a force at home but Max Clarijs singled in a run before Berry van Driel relieved. Neptunus was down 2 games to 0 when the Series was canceled due to COVID-19 safety measures in the Netherlands; neither team was declared the champion.

Kaj had a 5.06 ERA for Neptunus in two appearances in the 2021 European Champions Cup. He was 6-4 with a 4.26 ERA in the 2021 Hoofdklasse, his highest ERA in seven years. He was 5th in the league in wins. He then appeared for the Netherlands in the 2021 European Championship, his first major tournament for the country's senior national team. He had a rough debut, going 3 2/3 innings against Sweden and allowing eight hits and five runs (four earned) while fanning three; fellow newcomer Jayden Gonesh took over with a 9-5 lead and got the credit for the win. It was the most runs the Netherlands had allowed in a European Championship game since Geoffrey Kohl and Tom Nanne had given up as many against Sweden in 1993. In a high-octane tournament, though, they matched the figure then surpassed it, but still won Gold. While he had the highest ERA for the Dutch (Mike Bolsenbroek was next at 6.00), dozens of hurlers in the event were higher. He next was in the 2021 Holland Series.