Justin Crawford might be all the rage this spring as the Philadelphia Phillies’ center fielder of the future, but another young outfielder is making quite a case to be in the team’s plans sooner rather than later. 2024 first-round pick Dante Nori put himself on the map with an insanely hot start to the World Baseball Classic for Team Italy, looking like a future star.
A Canadian-born Michigan high school product, Nori chose to represent Italy on the world’s stage to honor his grandparents. Most observers expected the 21-year-old to be relegated to pinch-running and defensive specialist duties behind big leaguers Jakob Marsee, Dominic Canzone and Jac Caglianone, but Team Italy manager Francisco Cervelli plugged him into the starting lineup in left field for the team’s first contest.