World Baseball Classic 2013 MEGA THREAD

[NAHSTE]

The Netherlands infield is a scouts wet dream.

Andrelton, Profar, Bogaerts, Schoop ...

With Andruw Jones also on board that is by far my favorite non-'Murican squad.

[Goober]

Heath Bell and Chris Perez. They couldn't find some college kids who wanted to play?

[MVPete]

This is actually a pretty damn good roster, you aren't going to have an All MLB team ever for these things.

[NAHSTE]

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/prospects-galore-on-the-wbc-rosters/

Good write up on some younger players to watch, the Netherlands infield is going to be so awesome to watch.

Rosters for the World Baseball Classic were announced this week and while the rosters of the favorites—the Unites States, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela—are full of names you know, and additional favorites Japan and Korea are littered with professional veterans from the leagues of their home nations, plenty of prospects will be in action during the event.

These prospects come in all shapes and sizes, and more importantly, stages of development. For some, this is the last time we'll see them before they ascend to the majors for good while others will find themselves overmatched and possibly in awe of their competition.

But it's still fun to watch. So we'll break it down by development.

Last stop before the majors

Jurickson Profar (TEX)— Netherlands
Phillippe Aumont (PHI)—Canada
Engel Beltre (TEX)—Spain

For some of these prospects, the WBC will bring the same opportunities that they'd be getting in major league camp. Aumont, for instance, is competing for a spot in the Phillies bullpen after a successful 14.2-inning audition toward the end of last season. He was used as a de facto eighth-inning guy in September and has as much talent as any player in the Phillies' young, unproven bullpen, but he'll have to prove his worth in the WBC, not in Phillies camp.

If he has success for team Canada, for whom he could serve as set-up man for John Axford, Aumont could impress Charlie Manuel from afar, but if he struggles and isn't in camp to earn his spot, he could be back in Triple-A to begin the year.

The Rangers are probably thrilled that Profar is playing in the WBC, even if they don't admit it. GM Jon Daniels has said that Profar won't make the Rangers' Opening Day roster unless there's a spot for him to get everyday at-bats, and his missing time in camp to play for The Netherlands could give them just the excuse they need to send him back to the minors. Of course, if the Netherlands, largely unproven but talented, makes a run led by any significant contribution from Profar, sending him down could be even harder to justify. The additional curveball to look out for with Profar is where he'll play in the WBC; the team's starting shortstop figures to be the Braves' Andrelton Simmons.

Let's see if they're ready

Andre Rienzo (CWS)—Brazil
Tyson Gillies (PHI)—Canada
Jameson Taillon (PIT)—Canada
Xander Bogaerts (BOS)—Netherlands
Eddie Rosario (MIN)—Puerto Rico

This group includes some players who are going to be a lot of fun to watch, and their exposure in the WBC could tell us more about how close they are to the majors. Taillon, for instance, who is from Texas but is of French Canadian descent, could speed up his timetable to the majors if he fares well against big league competition. He's not missing anything by not being in major league camp; there was no chance of him making the Pirates' roster this spring. But with a strong WBC showing, he could limit the time the Pirates want him to spend in Double-A, where he's expected to start the 2013 season.

The same goes for Bogaerts with the Red Sox. He wouldn't make the Red Sox roster even if he spent the entire spring in camp, but if he is able to launch one of his no-doubt homers off a significant major league pitcher, he will be hard to ignore for long.

Gillies, another Phillies prospect, rebounded from a disastrous 2011 season to have a strong 2012 in Double-A. He should get plenty of playing time in a weak Canadian outfield, and given the Phillies' impending lack of outfield production, a strong WBC could make a case for a shorter-than-planned stint in Triple-A this year.

In over their heads

Jonathan Schoop (BAL)— Netherlands
Jose Berrios (MIN)—Puerto Rico

A game between the Netherlands and Puerto Rico sure would be fun to watch. Those two countries won't be playing each other unless they both advance past pool play, so don't get your hopes up, but the prospects on these teams, not to mention the veteran presence, would be worth the ticket. Schoop and Barrios are two players worth watching, even though neither is truly ready to take on the competition level they'll be facing in the WBC.

Schoop spent the entire 2012 season in Double-A, but he struggled there offensively and is still spending time at a number of positions. That versatility will help the Netherlands in the WBC the same way it will eventually help the Orioles, but offensively, he's not quite ready to handle major league pitching. Still, seeing him against strong competition like he'll face in his first game against Korea will be entertaining.

Berrios is one of the youngest players in the WBC, but being on the Puerto Rican roster should be a great learning experience for the Twins' 2012 first-rounder. Berrios was selected 32nd overall this past year and was utterly dominant in the very low minors (short-season and rookie level) after signing. He's just 18 and has never faced anything close to the level of competition he'll see in a pool with Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, but he has a power arm that led to 14.4 strikeouts per nine last season and watching him challenge the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Cano with fastballs is what the WBC is all about.

Jeff Moore is the creator of MLBProspectWatch.com, your one-stop site for all the information you need about minor league prospects. He can be reached via e-mail at mlbprospectwatch AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter at @MLBPW

[Leftwich]

Ross Detwiler will pitch for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

The Nationals now have two pitchers on the team, as Gio Gonzalez accepted an invite earlier this month. It's not clear whether Detwiler will be used as a starter or reliever with Team USA, but Amanda Comak of the Washington Times hears that the Nationals will likely try to get him two starts this spring before he leaves for the WBC.

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/385465/ross-detwiler-to-pitch-for-team-usa-in-wbc

Quality player

[EmpireWF]

Tournament play kicks off Friday at 11:30pm et in Taiwan with a game between the underdog Aussie squad and Chinese Taipei.

Projected Starters (according to the WBC site)

TPE: LHP Hong-Chuh Kuo (31 years old) - MLB free agent, was a reliever for the Dodgers, hasn't pitched since 2011.

Notable TPE Players: Chien-Ming Wang (looking to earn himself a MLB contract), Szu-Chi Chou (Taiwan's MVP in their domestic league last year) and Chih-Sheng Lin (their HR king with 24)

AUS: LHP Adam Bright (28 years old) - Never made it to MLB, was a minor league reliever in Colorado's system until 2009. He played in the Aussie baseball league in 2010

Notable AUS Players: Ryan Rowland-Smith, Peter Moylan, Chris Snelling, Justin Humber

[Villain]

Kuo is starting? Awesome! Peter Moylan just threw a clean 2K inning in Doyers camp today. I doubt he makes MLB roster but that's gotta be a good sign for team Oz.

[EmpireWF]

fuckers, WBC updated their scoreboard...Chien-Ming Wang starts for Taipei and TBA is listed for Australia.

[NAHSTE]

Kuo is starting? Awesome! Peter Moylan just threw a clean 2K inning in Doyers camp today. I doubt he makes MLB roster but that's gotta be a good sign for team Oz.

That saddens me. He's not very good anymore but Moylo is one of the best clubhouse guys in the game, pulling for him.

[EmpireWF]

I wonder how many Linsanity mentions will be dropped during the game with at least 5 Lin's on team Taipei.

[EmpireWF]

Wang shut down Australia over 6 innings. Kuo protected a 4-1 lead in the 8th leading Taipei to an expected W.

Taipei's power hitting SS Lin went 1-3 with an RBI, and a BB.

1B Cheng-Min Peng led their offense going 2-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

No Aussie hitter got on base more than once. Their 1 run came off a Stefan Welch solo shot. He's in the Pirates system (Altoona).

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The Netherlands shut out Korea 5-0.

Braves SS Simmons went 3-5 leading off and scored twice.

Nats OF Bernadina led the team with 2 RBI

ANDRUW JONES went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Korea's defense was terrible with 4 errors

Former MLBer Jae Wong Seo pitched a successful 0.2 innings

For NETH, Diegomar Markwell, Orlando Yntema, Leon Boyd and Mark Pawlek combined for the shutout.

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Two-time Defending Champion JAPAN scored 3 clutch runs in the 8th to beat Brazil, 5-3.

Brazil's Oscar Nakaoshi is credited with the blown save

It was a cardiac affair, as injured Japan captain Shinnosuke Abe stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a tie game and sent a bullet up the middle that allowed the go-ahead run to score and helped the two-time defending champions stave off upset-minded Brazil, 5-3, in a dramatic opener at Fukuoka's Yafuoku Dome.

http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/...nt_id=42131068

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Cuba plays Brazil tonight

[NAHSTE]

Huge win for Nederland. They are for real if the pitching holds up. The lineup around Andruw is solid. Balentin hit 30 bombs in Japan last year, so he's accustomed to hitting these breaking ball heavy repertoires.

That infield is so fun to watch. Bogaerts made a great diving stop to start a double play, and Schoop turned it lightning quick. Didn't think he had a chance.

[SuperKevin]

Does Brazil have any solid MLB prospects?

[NAHSTE]

Does Brazil have any solid MLB prospects?

Andre Rienzo is the 7th ranked prospect in the White Sox system according to Baseball America, he posted a 13.5 K/9 in AAA last year at age 23. Could be a reliever for them pretty soon.


Leonardo Reginatto, the guy who had the big game vs. Japan, is almost 23 and can't seem to get out of high-A with the Rays system.

I think we are about 5-8 years away from seeing a wave of Brazilian baseball players though, no reason it can't become the next Venezuela.

[SuperKevin]

I love looking at the world rankings and seeing countries like Afghanistan on there.