Miami Hurricanes Yohandy Morales Shines in Bronze Medal Game
Honkbalweek is an international baseball invitational for the world’s best amateur baseball players that takes place in the Netherlands every two years. Since 1961, nations across the globe have sent their young stars to represent their homeland in this invitational tournament. One of the players chosen to represent the USA, third baseman Yohandy Morales, also happens to call himself a Miami Hurricane.
This year’s edition of the summer tournament, in Haarlem, Netherlands, concluded this past July 15 with the Netherlands winning gold, Curaçao taking the silver, and the United States earning the bronze. The USA CNT were on the cusp of a gold-medal game berth but fell short in extra innings to Curaçao before reaching the bronze-medal game against Japan, where they came up with a 5-1 win.
Morales, a local Miami (Fla.) G. Holmes Braddock product by way of Cuba, was the driving force in the bronze medal victory. The Hurricane infielder went 3-for-3 as a hitter, with a double and two singles, while knocking in two runners and scoring two runs of his own.
Morales, a Freshman All-American in 2021, led Team USA in competition, batting a powerful .400 and slugging .600 to boot. The sophomore is widely regarded as one of the top prospects eligible for the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft and is continuing to improve his draft stock every time he takes the diamond.
Although the 2022 MLB Draft just concluded on July 19, baseball scouts are already looking ahead to 2023. MLB.com released their most recent 2023 MLB mock draft after Honkbalweek’s conclusion and had Morales going in the first round at No. 15 overall, citing his performance during the tournament.
There will be a lot of eyes on Morales as we lead up to the 2023 college season and following MLB Draft. So far, he’s thrived under the bright lights and doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon. With any luck, he may be able to help elevate the Hurricanes to new heights and a deep tournament run next spring.
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