Orange City native Derek West will represent the Netherlands at World Baseball Classic

During his freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh, Derek West took a day or two to consider whether pursuing a baseball career was truly worthwhile.

In January 2016, roughly a month before the start of the college baseball season, the physically imposing right-hander suffered the dreaded torn ulnar collateral ligament injury in his pitching elbow. He required Tommy John surgery, and knew he would likely miss at least a full year of competition.

That same October, while recovering from the elbow surgery, West blew out his right knee — shredding both the anterior cruciate (ACL) and posterior cruciate (PCL) ligaments.

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"My first 24 months of college baseball, I spent 22 of them rehabbing," said West, an Orange City native who graduated from Trinity Christian Academy.

A phone call with his mother, Karin, provided the support needed. Years later, West can smile and realize he made the right decision as he embarks on his biggest moment to date as a professional.

West, now 26 and pitching within the Houston Astros organization, was selected Thursday night to represent the Netherlands for next month's World Baseball Classic. Having yet to compete at a level higher than Double-A, the 6-foot-5, 257-pounder will be teammates with a slew of major-league veterans, including closer Kenley Jansen, and infielders Xander Bogaerts, Andrelton Simmons and Didi Gregorius.

"It's a huge honor, just because of all the sacrifices my family has made," West said. "It's always hard when you move to a different country. My grandparents had to learn a new language. Everything they've done has led up to my life, so it's an honor to represent where they have come from."

An eligibility 'miracle'

West said he has visited the Netherlands three times in his life, most recently at the age of 16. During that trip, he earned an invitation to throw a bullpen session and was offered a contract to sign for a Dutch professional team in its highest division, the Honkbal Hoofdklasse.

He gained eligibility to repesent the Dutch federation, however, only last month. According to the WBC's official rules, players can gain eligibility through one of six bullet points — such as holding a valid passport of citizenship, or having permanent legal residency within a country.

West qualifies through family lineage under the fourth bullet point: "The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the Federation Team's country or territory, as evidenced by a passport or other documentation satisfactory to WBCI and the IBAF (International Baseball Federation)."

His maternal grandparents — Nick and Wilhelmina Tazelaar — moved to the United States from the Netherlands in 1960. Prior to obtaining American citizenship in 1965, the Tazelaars had their first daughter, Karin, who therefore had dual citizenship upon birth.

Asked about her grandson representing her homeland, Wilhelmina Tazelaar described it as a "miracle."

"It was just unbelievable," said Tazelaar, who lives in Vermilion, Ohio. "I couldn't get my head around it for a while."

As a child, West remembers family get-togethers revolving around traditional Dutch foods — more specifically, stacks of "thin pancakes" and deep-fried doughballs known as oliebollen, often stuffed with fruits or chocolate and topped with powdered sugar.

In regards to the language, West can count in Dutch, greet others and say a few other basic phrases and words.

"I understand it better than I can speak it," West said. "But the goal is to one day learn and become fluent in Dutch — when I can take the time to learn it, write it and practice the language."

'He's got the stuff'

Though West needed to wait until January to receive clearance to compete in the WBC, he took part in his first camp with the team during the first week of November.

Hensley Meulens, the Netherlands' national team's manager, invited West to attend the Kingdom Series in Curaçao as well as festivities for the constituent country's national baseball week. In addition to practices and an exhibition game played at Tio Daou Ballpark, West saw an opportunity to bond with the diverse group of players and coaches through biking, snorkeling and touring the island in a catamaran.

The Netherlands' team includes athletes born in Aruba, Curaçao and the United States, as well as the European homeland.

"He's a social guy, blended in really nicely with everyone," said Meulens, also the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies. "It was nice to see camaraderie. It was a good team-building.

"The main part is that he was electric on the field. He showed us that he's got the stuff."

West picked the brain of the Netherlands' pitching coach — Hall of Fame right-hander Bert Blyleven — and attributes some of his success in the Puerto Rican Winter League to those bits of advice. He struck out 21 batters and sported a 1.02 ERA across 14 relief appearances.

"He's very forward as far as wanting to learn. You kind of like that as a former pitcher," Blyleven said. "You see the ability that he has, the aggressiveness and the focus on the mound.

"He's a hard worker, a big kid. We talked about conditioning, leg strength. I'm a believer that your arm is nothing more than a whip, and your legs and torso have to be strong."

'I'm still on the map'

Meulens made it clear that no pitcher, not even All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, will have a defined role during group play for the Netherlands. The Dutch were drawn into Pool A, with games scheduled in Taichung, Taiwan, from March 8-12.

Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Italy and Panamá round out Pool A.

West will be in the mix for high-leverage relief roles, Meulens said. Few pitchers selected to the final roster possess the size, velocity (94-97 mph fastball) and pitch mix as West.

"It'll be an inning at a time. What I saw out of Derek, if we have a lead, I'm going to go to him," Blyleven said. "He throws strikes and doesn't dilly-dally on the mound.

"I want him attacking the strike zone and getting guys out in three or four pitches, staying aggressive and trusting his fastball and hard slider."

To prepare, West hopes to have a chance at pitching in a major-league spring training game with the Astros. He will arrive before the Feb. 16 deadline for pitchers and catchers to report at the team's facility in West Palm Beach.

Since being selected in the 14th round in 2019 and agreeing to a reported $75,000 signing bonus, West has logged a 5.38 ERA across 60 appearances (93⅔ innings) in the minors.

On average, he has struck out 10.4 batters and issued 6.1 walks per nine innings.

West breezed through High-A, fanning 16 batters in eight innings, last year before making the jump to Double-A. He closed strong for the Corpus Christi Hooks, allowing only three earned runs in his last 14⅓ innings with 17 Ks and six walks.

"The biggest goal is to show everyone that I'm still on the map," West said. "You have a lot of injuries like that, it humbles you real fast. I did what I had to do and took care of business in Puerto Rico. I plan on being here to stay in baseball, and climbing the ladder.

"The end goal is hoping to get a September call-up this season. The Astros have their plans for me, and they have stuck by my side. I'm very grateful for that. If I do what I'm supposed to do, and the opportunity arises, I know they'll give me an opportunity."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: World Baseball Classic: Trinity alum Derek West to pitch for the Netherlands