Ortwin Pieternella Jr.

Ortwin Hose Pieternella Vargas

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 184 lb.

• Born May 19, 1999 in Maracaibo, Zulia Venezuela

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ortwin Pieternella Jr. has played in the Dominican Republic and Italy.

While he was born in Venezuela, his father Ortwin Pieternella Sr. had played for the Netherlands Antilles national team and Ortwin Jr. would later suit up for Curaçao (which had broken away from the Antilles politically by that point and where they were residing for years). He was signed by Seattle Mariners scout Audo Vicente in April 2018. He hit only .133/.235/.133 in 17 plate appearances for the 2018 DSL Mariners but improved to .327/.430/.465 in 121 PA the next year, showing good speed for a catcher (7 SB, 1 CS). Despite that success, it was the end of his time in the M's chain.

He went to Europe to play in 2022. With Curaçao in the 2022 Haarlem Baseball Week, he was 2-for-7 with a walk, double and three RBI, all the RBI coming in an upset win over the champion Dutch national team. Playing for ASD San Marino in the 2022 European Champions Cup, he was excellent in a part-time role between catcher, right, DH and pitcher: 6 for 9, BB, 2 3B, 4 R, though he allowed two runs in 1 2/3 IP. He led the event in triples; Delano Selassa was the only other player with a three-bagger. While he did not play enough to qualify for the leaderboards, only Sicnarf Loopstok had a better slugging percentage. He helped San Marino win the 2022 Italian Series, driving in their only run in their Game 3 victory when he singled off Marc-André Habeck to score Jesús Ustariz. He hit .321/.395/.589 for the season and fielded .993. His 7 triples were second in the 2022 Serie A1. To cap a busy year, he was 2 for 8 with a walk, double, run and two RBI for Curaçao in the 2022 Caribbean Baseball Cup.

Struggling with San Marino in 2023, he was 5-for-34 with 3 doubles and 5 walks. He was 2 for 10 with a double and a run in the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, making one error in two chances in the outfield. He was 1 for 3 with a double, walk, hit-by-pitch and two runs in the 2023 Caribbean Baseball Cup. He rebounded with San Marino in 2024, batting .325/.402/.525. He hit .324/.349/.500 in 2025 then drove in 20 runs in 13 postseason games, including 5 RBI in Game 1 of the 2025 Italian Series and the two-run single that capped the Game 2 come-from-behind win against Gabriele Angioi. He was named Series MVP for his efforts.