EXL: We know the first two signings for Arrows Ostrava
Arrows Ostrava remained outside of the TOP 6 in the previous season. This year they signed a couple of foreigners to help them to reach TOP 6 again. We now know the two names published in the information system of Czech Baseball Association.
We do not need to introduce the first player, as he already played in Extraliga for Technika Brno in the previous season. Brandon Smith, brother of Tyler Smith who signed with Hroši, will move from Brno to Ostrava. Brandon Smith played on the mound but he also batted in Extraliga in 2023. While his BA was .313 and belonged to the better half of the league, he had ERA 7.00 in 9 IP. South African had BA .429 in Promotion League and was the best batter for Technika Brno. He also managed to push his ERA down to 2.88 in 25 IP.
The second foreigner is Slovenian Rudolf Mark. The fans had a chance to see him in Slovenian national team during the U23 European Championship qualification in 2022. There he played on the mound and the third base. He came in as a closer and earned a valuable Save in the game against Croatia. During 2021 and 2022 he played in Italian Serie B for IS Copy Junior Alpina. There he played mostly as a shortstop and had good numbers, with BA .303 in 48 games. In the previous year he played in Croatian league.
