Two of the top prospects in the Red Sox farm system will be suiting up for Team USA in an Olympic qualifying event next month.
According to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham, both infield prospect Triston Casas and outfield prospect Jarren Duran will be playing for top-ranked Team USA in the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier, which will run from May 31 through June 5 in southeast Florida.
Casas, 21, is regarded by Baseball America as the top prospect in Boston’s farm system. The 6-foot-5, 250 pound first baseman was selected by the Sox in the first round of the 2018 amateur draft and is currently partaking in minor-league spring training in Fort Myers.
Duran, 24, is regarded by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking tops among outfielders in the organization. The 6-foot-2, 202 pound speedy outfielder was selected by the Sox in the seventh round of that same draft and is currently at the team’s alternate training site in Worcester.
Team USA — one of eight teams in the tournament along with Canada, Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela — will be managed by longtime Angels skipper Mike Scioscia.
Darren Fenster, a minor-league outfield and base-running coordinator for the Red Sox who has been with the organization since 2012, will serve as Scioscia’s third base coach.
Per Abraham, the winner of the tournament will earn a trip to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, while the second- and the third-place teams will move on to another qualifying tournament in June.
The Red Sox have been plenty involved in Team USA’s efforts to qualify for the 2020 Summer Games to this point in time.
Bobby Dalbec, Tanner Houck, and Noah Song — as well as former prospect C.J. Chatham — all represented their country in the WBSC Premier12 tournament in November 2019.
Team USA wound up finishing fourth in that qualifying event, leading to their participation in the upcoming WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier.
(Picture of Jarren Duran: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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