Wendell Floranus

Wendell Marlon Floranus

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 160 lb.

• Born April 16, 1995 in Willemstad Curaçao

BR register page

Biographical Information

Wendell Floranus has pitched in the Dominican Republic, USA, Canada, Venezuela and the Netherlands. He has been with the Dutch national team.

He was signed by Baltimore Orioles scouts David Stockstill and Ernst Meyer in 2011. He was 6-6 with a save and a 4.69 ERA for the DSL Orioles the next year, leading the team in both wins and losses. In '13, he improved to 3-3, 1.51 for the DSL Orioles 1, walking only 18 in 77 2/3 IP. He was 8th in the Dominican Summer League in ERA, between Dedgar Jiménez and Francisco Jiménez.

Floranus split 2014 between the DSL Orioles 1 (1-1, 1.69 in 4 G) and the GCL Orioles (2-0, 3.45 in 12 G). He pitched one game for the Netherlands when they won the 2014 European Championship. In a game against Spain (both teams entering at 3-0), he relieved Tom Stuifbergen in the 5th with a 10-7 lead. He shut out down Spain, retiring Paco Figueroa and fanning former major leaguer Fernando Martínez. Jesús Golindano singled and Floranus walked Jesús Ustariz and Blake Ochoa but got Leo Hernandez to pop up to end the inning. He went 1-2-3 in the 7th against Franklin Tavarez, Daniel Martinez and Oscar Angulo. In the 7th, he hit PH Daniel Sánchez but fanned PH Richard Montiel. Aritz Garcia pinch-hit and flew out then Ustariz hit into an inning-ending force. As the Netherlands had now made it 19-7, the game ended due to the mercy rule and Floranus was credited with a three-inning save, clearly the top pitcher of the day.

He was 1-2 with a 1.75 ERA in 17 games for the 2015 GCL Orioles, with a 0.97 WHIP; despite his fine numbers, it was the end of his time in the affiliated minors. He was still the youngest player for the Netherlands at the 2015 Premier 12, a year younger than Gianfranco Wawoe and 18 years younger than teammate Andruw Jones, 21 years younger than Rob Cordemans (who pitched in the Olympics when Floranus was one year old). He struggled in a 11-7 win over Puerto Rico, giving up 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning between Jim Ploeger and Bayron Cornelisse. He tied Juan Morillo for the event's second-highest ERA; only Yoelkis Cruz was higher.

Wendell moved to the Vallejo Admirals in 2016 and was 0-3 with 3 saves and a 4.32 ERA. He fanned 58 in 50 innings but walked 40. His 25 appearances were second-highest on the staff. He was with the Puerto Rico Islanders in the 2017 Empire League. In '18, he was 2-3 with a 3.13 ERA for Les Capitales de Québec. He was 0-1 with a 11.25 ERA for the Netherlands in the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup, losing to Mexico.

In the winter of 2019-2020, he pitched briefly for the Tiburones de La Guaira (0-1, 5.59 in 3 G). He then signed with Quick Amersfoort in the 2020 Hoofdklasse. He was their top hurler at 0-2, 1.52 with 3 saves, striking out 39 in 23 2/3 IP. In the COVID-19-shortened season, he was 5th in ERA (between Lars Huijer and Robin Clara), 5th in opponent average (.186, between Huijer and Jelle Bing), 3rd in K (after Chris Pfau and Orlando Yntema), tied for 8th in games pitched (10) and tied Kevin Kelly and John Michael Halley for 3rd in saves.