Former LSU Tiger, Alex Bregman, Part Of Stacked Team USA For World Baseball Classic
Team USA has not placed in the top three of the World Baseball Classic since its three tournaments since 2006. USA's highest finish was fourth in 2006, with stars of the like of Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones and Roger Clemens, but still couldn't hold off South Korea and Mexico to finish just outside of a bronze medal. The World Baseball Classic has not been a huge event in the U-S of A but this year should be different because of the great roster setup.
Wednesday, the Team USA organization released the full roster for the World Baseball Classic. Listed below is the Roster that is ranked second in the Power Rankings for the WBC.
Manager: Jim Leyland
C Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
1B Paul Goldschmidt - Arizona Diamondbacks
2B Ian Kinsler - Detroit Tigers
3B Nolan Arenado - Colorado Rockies
SS Brandon Crawford - San Francisco Giants
LF Christian Yelich - Miami Marlins
CF Adam Jones - Baltimore Orioles
RF Giancarlo Stanton - Miami Marlins
On the USA bench will be Alex Bregman (Houston Astros), Jonathan Lucroy (Texas Rangers), Eric Hosmer ( Kansas City Royals), Matt Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals), and Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh Pirates).
In the past, the main issue for Team USA in the WBC has been the starting pitching with a total 4-8 starting pitching record with a 5.38 ERA. This year, the starting rotation will be the following:
Cris Archer - Tampa Bay Rays
Danny Duffy - Kansas City Royals
Tanner Roark - Washington Nationals
Marcus Stroman - Toronto Blue Jays
The rest of the Team USA roster is here. You can catch the World Baseball starting on Monday, March 6 through March 22 on MLB TV.