Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland, 22, announced his retirement from baseball on Wednesday, reports The Providence Journal. 

In an e-mail sent to media outlets, Westmoreland called his announcement a "difficult decision." 

"Although it is a very difficult decision for me, it has become clear that the neurological damage caused by the most recent cavernous malformation and surgery leaves me with physical challenges that make it impossible to play the game at such a high level," wrote the Portsmouth native. 

Selected by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2008 first-year player draft out of Portsmouth High School, Westmoreland missed his second straight season in 2011 due to brain surgery. He underwent another surgery this past July. 

Westmoreland, a 2008 graduate of Portsmouth High School, was diagnosed with a cavernous malformation in his brain in March 2010 and missed the entire 2010 season.

He tells the story of his recovery after treatment and surgery here. 

In 2009, he was the Red Sox's No. 7 prospect, the No. 4 position player and the best athlete in the Red Sox farm system, according to Baseball America. In 2007, he was named "Rhode Island High School Baseball Player of the Year" and the state's "Schoolboy Athlete of the Year."