Red Sox outfield prospect Natanael Yuten has been named a 2023 Florida Complex League All-Star, Minor League Baseball announced on Thursday.
Recognized alongside the likes of Yankees outfield prospects Willy Montero and John Cruz, Yuten enjoyed a productive summer in Fort Myers. The left-handed hitting 18-year-old batted a stout .336/.396/.483 with nine doubles, two triples, three home runs, 32 RBIs, 28 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 11 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 38 games (164 plate appearances) for the FCL Red Sox.
In addition to winning the FCL batting title, Yuten ranked 16th among qualified hitters in on-base percentage, eighth in slugging percentage, 11th in OPS (.880), 18th in isolated power (.148), 20th in speed score (7.0), and 11th in wRC+ (131), per FanGraphs.
Defensively, Yuten saw playing time at all three outfield positions in his time with Boston’s rookie-level affiliate. The lanky 6-foot-2, 143-pounder logged 52 innings in left, 52 1/3 innings in center, and 172 2/3 innings in right while committing a total of six errors and recording one outfield assist.
About one week before the FCL season drew to a close in late August, Yuten received a promotion to Low-A Salem alongside top catching prospect Johanfran Garcia and several others. He made his full-season debut on Aug. 15 but was never really able to get it going offensively and instead struggled to a .197/.240/.239 slash line in 18 Carolina League games. In that stretch, he made six starts in center field and nine starts in right field.
Despite limping to the finish line, it was still a strong year overall for Yuten, as he is now regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 42 prospect in Boston’s farm system after not being ranked previously. The Dominican native originally signed with the Red Sox for $400,000 as an international free agent coming out of La Romana last January.
Assuming he remains in the organization through the winter, Yuten — who actually turns 19 next week — is projected to return to Salem for the start of the 2024 minor-league season in April.
(Picture of Natanael Yuten: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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