WBC: Jurickson Profar to Join Netherlands for Championship Round
By Eric Bynum
Top prospect Jurickson Profar will join the Netherlands for the Championship Round of the World Baseball Classic in San Francisco. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
After teetering back and forth about playing in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Jurickson Profar will finally take to the field for Team Netherlands.
Profar was offered a spot on the team in February but decided to decline the offer to focus on trying to make the Opening Day roster of the Texas Rangers. Committing to the Dutch team meant that he would miss up to three weeks of spring training with the big league club. In turn that could risk him landing a spot on the roster.
He will replace the injured Yurendell de Caster on the Dutch roster as they make a trip to San Francisco to appear in the semifinals of the WBC.
The switch-hitting infielder is 8-for-36 (.222) with seven walks and ten strikeouts in Cactus League play so far this spring. He is widely considered the top prospect in baseball but is looking to break into an infield that consists of Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler, and Adrian Beltre.
The Netherlands play their next game against the winner of Pool 2 on Monday March 18 at 9 pm EST.