2023 WBC Star player Vol.14: Rafael Devers, “Best Contact Hitter”-for the Dominican Republic-

Today's player is the Boston Red Sox 3rd baseman Rafael Devers, who will represent the Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Rafael Devers signed Boston when he was a 16-year-old free agent who ranked sixth among the top fifty international prospects.

Devers made his major league debut in 2017 and crashed a home run in Game 3 of the American League Division Series to become the youngest Boston player with a postseason homer in franchise history. Also, he became the sixth player to hit a homer in a postseason game before turning 21 since 1903.

Two-time All-Star won the World Series title with the Red Sox in 2018 as a third baseman.

In 2019, Devers appeared in 156 contests where he batted .311 with 32 long balls and 115 RBIs.

In 2021 after 2020, the shortened season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the left-handed hitter marked .279 with 38 homers and 113 RBIs to propel Boston to the playoffs and won his first Silver Slugger Award.

The 26-year-old Dominican finished the 2022 season with a high performance, with a batting average of .295, 27 home runs, and 88 RBIs across 141 games, becoming a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, a Silver Slugger Award, and the All-MLB team.


KAISPO Baseball analyst commented about him, "Devers is one of the best contact hitters who can slap from a single to a big fly to all fields. He would be a nerve-wracking affair to pitchers facing him."

(MLB No.260 KAISPO No.1441)