Bartolo Colon of the Dominican Republic is one of the better-known international players who will be playing at Baseball United’s Dubai Showcase this weekend. (Photo: Leif Skodnick/World Baseball Network)
By Conor Liguori
World Baseball Network
Baseball United, a new league bringing baseball to the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, will host the Dubai Showcase, featuring a pair of All-Star Games on November 24-25 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The rosters of the All-Star teams will feature players who were recently selected in the draft as well as prospects from around the world.
The Dubai Wolves, Abu Dhabi Falcons, Karachi Monarchs, and Mumbai Cobras are the first four organizations in Baseball United, an upcoming professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia. The league’s first draft was held on October 23 via a live stream on Baseball United’s website.
Baseball United will not have a regular season this year, but the Dubai Showcase will preview what fans can expect come next season.
The Dubai Showcase will be streamed live on BaseballUnited.com free of charge in collaboration with StreamAMG, and will also be broadcast or streamed in 127 countries around the worldm with both showcase games beginning at 10 a.m. EST.
Of all the drafted players in the Baseball United draft, 69 percent have played in Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, or at the Triple-A level in minor league baseball. Besides the United States, players in Baseball United will represent 28 additional countries between the Dubai Showcase and the league’s first season.
There are 36 players on Baseball United rosters whose hometown resides in the United States. Notable players from the United States include Shed Long and Brandon Laird of the Mumbai Cobras and David Huff of the Karachi Monarchs. All three players have playing experience in Major League Baseball.
Right-handed starting pitcher Karan Patel was the first overall pick in this year’s draft and was born in Houston, Texas. Patel reached as high as Double-A Birmingham in the Chicago White Sox organization in 2022 and was the first Indian-American selected in the MLB Draft. Patel will play for the West All-Stars in the Dubai Showcase and was selected by the Mumbai Cobras.
Infielder Christiaan Beyers of the Dubai Wolves has had an exciting journey to Baseball United. He has played for Saudi Arabia in the 2008 Little League World Series, the Paderborn Untouchables in Germany’s Baseball-Bundesliga, South Africa in the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, and most recently in a Dubai men’s league. Although Beyers has never played in Major League Baseball, his journey to Baseball United is unique. The Wolves drafted him in the eighth round.
Aside from Patel and Beyers, there are players from multiple countries that fans in the United States do not typically link baseball to, including but not limited to Cameroon, Finland, and Kuwait.
Below are the additional countries, excluding the United States, with players appearing at the 2023-24 Dubai Showcase and for their respective organizations.
Australia
Todd Van Steensel, RHP – Dubai Wolves
Brazil
Andre Rienzo, RHP – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Tiago Da Silva, RHP – Mumbai Cobras
Curacao
Andrelton Simmons, SS – Mumbai Cobras
Juremi Profar, INF – Karachi Monarchs
Jair Jurrjens, RHP – Dubai Wolves
Aldrich De Jongh, OF – Dubai Wolves
Canada
Jacob Robson, OF – Mumbai Cobras
Connor Panas, 1B – Dubai Wolves
L.P. Pelletier, OF – Dubai Wolves
Colombia
Carlos Martinez, C – Karachi Monarchs
Cuba
Rusney Castillo, OF – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Cameroon
Ernest Ohandza, RHP – Dubai Wolves
Dominican Republic
Bartolo Colon, RHP – Karachi Monarchs
Jefry Marte, 1B/3B – Karachi Monarchs
Denis Phipps, OF – Karachi Monarchs
Wilin Rosario, C – Dubai Wolves
Robinson Cano, 2B – Dubai Wolves
Gabriel Guerrero, OF – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Alejandro de Aza, OF – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Finland
Konsta Kurikka, RHP – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Germany
Vincent Ahrens, C – Dubai Wolves
Italy
Alex Liddi, 1B – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Federico Celli, OF – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Alberto Mineo, C – Abu Dhabi Falcons
India
Saurabh Gaikwad, RHP – West All-Stars
Akshay More, RHP – West All-Stars
Akshay Mogal, INF – West All-Stars
Japan
Shungo Fukunaga, RHP – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Shingo Hirata, RHP – Karachi Monarchs
Kuwait
Sam Abbott, 1B – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Lithuania
Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP – Dubai Wolves
Mexico
Carlos Garzon, C – Mumbai Cobras
Netherlands
Didi Gregorius, SS – Dubai Wolves
Panama
Severino Gonzalez, RHP – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Enrique Burgos, RHP – Mumbai Cobras
Pakistan
Yunis Halim, RHP – West All-Stars
Syed Muhammad, INF – East All-Stars
Wahid, INF – East All-Stars
Puerto Rico
Steven Moya, OF – Karachi Monarchs
Sri Lanka
Hashan Senewirathna, INF – East All-Stars
Sweden
Leo Backstrom, C – Abu Dhabi Falcons
South Africa
Christiaan Beyers, IF – Dubai Wolves
Sint Maarten
Franklin Van Gurp, RHP – Karachi Monarchs
Uganda
Dennis Kasumba, C/OF – East All-Stars
U.S. Virgin Islands
Akeel Morris, RHP – Mumbai Cobras
United Kingdom
Raul Shah, OF – Mumbai Cobras
Venezuela
Pablo Sandoval, 1B/3B – Abu Dhabi Falcons
Hernan Perez, 3B – Dubai Wolves
Hector Sanchez, C – Karachi Monarchs