Texas Rangers: Jurickson Profar Hits Homer in World Baseball Classic Debut

Texas Ranger’s utility man, Jurickson Profar was the first of the teams eight players to make their World Baseball Classic debut early Tuesday morning. Slotted to play center field in the tournament, Profar adds more talent to a surprisingly stacked Netherlands squad.

Profar clobbered a two run home run in his first at-bat of the tournament. Batting from the left side, the switch-hitter pulled a belt high fastball 350+ feet to right field. He hit all five of his home runs in 2016 from the left side of the plate.

Profar also singled in the 5th inning, later stealing his first base of the tournament. The Netherlands blanked Korea 5-0 for their first win of the tournament.

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Profar and the Dutch squad will be back in action Wednesday with a bright and early 3:30 AM start time.

Adrian Beltre will make his debut with the Dominican Republic Thursday against the Canadian squad. Jonathan Lucroy and Sam Dyson will make their USA debuts Friday against Columbia. Martin Perez, Rougned Odor, and Robinson Chirinos will also be debuting Friday as Venezuela takes on Puerto Rico.