Jurickson Profar never imagined he would have the opportunity to showcase his true potential to the Texas Rangers and their fans. Now, he’s set to make his first All-Star appearance in the Rangers’ retractable roof stadium, which opened two years after he was traded away.

Profar was named a starting outfielder for the National League during the Padres’ series in Texas, marking a significant return to the team where he started his career. He will return to Globe Life Field for the All-Star Game on July 16.

It has been nearly 12 years since Profar made his debut with the Rangers at just 19 years old, hailed as one of baseball’s top prospects. Although he homered in his first major league at-bat in 2012, injuries hindered what looked to be a promising career.

Originally from Curacao, Profar was enjoying his best season in 2018 before being traded to the Oakland Athletics in a multi-team deal. A year later, he moved to San Diego in another trade, marking his second stint with the Padres. Currently batting .314, nearly 70 points above his career average, Profar has hit 11 home runs this season, approaching his career-best mark of 20 set in consecutive seasons with the Rangers and the Athletics in 2019.

“It’s going to be very, very special, especially (since) I never really got a chance to really play here,” Profar said. “I got injured, missed two years of baseball. And then when I came back, I didn’t play much.”

The trade came after he finally did have a season with at least 500 at-bats. He’d never had more than 286 before 2018. Still, there aren’t any hard feelings toward the franchise that signed Profar when he was 16.

“I have a really, really good relationship with a lot of people there, from coaching staff, clubhouse guys that always loved me,” said Profar, now a bearded 31-year-old playing on a $1 million, one-year deal.