TERA KORA, Curaçao — Much of the ground in Curaçao is hard and sandy, full of pebbles and small rocks that are strewn everywhere, including the coarse-dirt infields of this small island nation’s many baseball fields.

If a ball strikes one — as it invariably does — it can fly off unpredictably. When Jurickson Profar, a shortstop in the Texas Rangers’ system who has been ranked among baseball’s top prospects, was a small boy playing at the picturesque Marchena Little League field, one such ball struck him in the mouth and knocked out a front tooth.

Profar was rushed to the hospital by his father, Chasmond Profar, but was back on the field within days, only to find the tooth amid the dirt.

“Nobody saw it until then,” the elder Profar said, pointing to the spot on the field.

The soil here is not particularly arable, but those little rocks have helped produce some of the most talented middle infielders in baseball, softening their hands and honing their reflexes to react to the most unexpected of bounces.