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The Dodgers selected UNLV right-handed pitcher Dean Kremer with their 14th-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, but Kremer had already made draft history one year early.
Kremer was picked by the Padres in the 38th round in 2015 out of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, but what set him apart was that he was the first Israeli citizen to be drafted in Major League Baseball. Both of his parents are from Israel, and the right-hander has dual citizenship.
"I was born here in the United States, but I go back and practically live (in Israel) for two months out of the year in the summer, so it's definitely home.", Kremer told Todd Dewey of the Las Vegas Review Journal in February.
Kremer, from Stockton, played for Team USA in the Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2013, where he made an impression.
"In 2011, I learned that the Israeli national team was coached by Pat Doyle, who is also from Stockton. Pat told me to check it out and I went to a few practices. In the Summer of 2013, I played on the U.S. team at the Maccabiah Games in Israel," Kremer told Stuart Katz of Jewish Baseball News in 2014. "They saw me play there, and invited me to join Team Israel for the 2014 European Championships."
Kremer helped Israel advance from the European C Pool in 2014 to the B Pool in 2015, and was named most valuable pitcher in the tournament in both years.
He told the Review-Journal that he wants to play for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifier, which is Sept. 22-25 in Brooklyn.
Talk about a debut... @DJ_KREY6 gives up 1 hit in 5.2 innings of work. Also records 3 Ks an allows 1 walk. https://t.co/91kHnx9S05
— UNLV Baseball ⚾️ (@unlvbaseball) February 20, 2016
The 6'3 Kremer had a 4.92 ERA in 15 games as a junior in 2016 for UNLV, with 46 strikeouts and 21 walks in 92⅓ innings. He struck out 90 in 113 innings with San Joaquin Delta College in 2015.
Twitter: @dj_krey6