Two reigning Cy Young arms plus a middle-of-the-order featuring Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper makes Team USA the tournament’s betting favorite—and gives manager Mark DeRosa the luxury of planning October-style matchups in March.
What Changed After 2023?
Japan’s walk-off in Miami two years ago exposed two cracks: a bullpen that leaked late and a lineup that stranded 24 runners over the final three games. DeRosa and USA Baseball used the loss as a recruiting weapon, persuading Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes to accept quicker spring ramp-ups while promising everyday at-bats for Bryce Harper at first base. The result: only four position players—Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Paul Goldschmidt and Will Smith—return, giving DeRosa a blank slate to chase platoon advantages every inning.
The Projected Opening-Day Nine
Expect a relentless 1-2 punch atop the order. Witt Jr. and Schwarber combined for 79 steals and 88 homers last MLB season; both say they’ll treat every WBC game like a playoff sprint. The heart of the card is straight out of a video-game cover: Aaron Judge hitting third, Harper fourth, switch-hitting Cal Raleigh fifth. That trio produced a .974 OPS vs. right-handed pitching in 2025, solving a vulnerability that doomed USA in the 2023 semis against Japan’s Shota Imanaga.
- 1. SS Bobby Witt Jr. (R) – 211 wRC+ vs. lefties since 2024
- 2. DH Kyle Schwarber (L) – 50 HR in 2025, leads WBC field
- 3. RF Aaron Judge (R) – Most intentional walks in baseball last year
- 4. 1B Bryce Harper (L) – First career reps at 1B this spring
- 5. C Cal Raleigh (S) – 41 HR, 109 RBI for Seattle
- 6. LF Roman Anthony (L) – Replaces Corbin Carroll; top-10 prospect
- 7. 3B Alex Bregman (R) – Career .849 postseason OPS
- 8. CF Pete Crow-Armstrong (L) – Platinum-glove range in cavernous parks
- 9. 2B Brice Turang (R) – 98th-percentile sprint speed
Bench bullets—Byron Buxton for lefty mash, Goldschmidt vs. ground-ball righties, Ernie Clement as the utility glove—mean DeRosa can flip five lineup spots by the sixth inning without sacrificing defense.
Rotation: A Two-Headed Monster, Then Depth
Skubal will make a single showcase start in pool play, hitting 99 mph in a Feb. 27 live BP. Skenes is slated for two outings, each capped near 75 pitches, giving USA the only rotation with back-to-back Cy Young winners since the 2017 Dodgers. Behind them, Logan Webb’s 62% ground-ball rate pairs with a short-porch infield defense that finished tops in the majors in defensive runs saved. If the Super Round arrives with a must-win, Clayton Kershaw has told staff he is open to a 45-piggyback appearance, erasing prior concerns about his WBC availability.
- Tarik Skubal – Left; 0.86 WHIP in 2025
- Paul Skenes – Right; 3.2 fWAR in 169 IP
- Logan Webb – Right; 224 IP, 2.9 BB%
- Ryan Yarbrough – Left; slots in after Joe Ryan’s back tightness
- Michael Wacha / Matthew Boyd – Right-left tandem for length
Rookie fireballer Nolan McLean (101 mph heatsheets) will open in the pen but is stretched for 60 pitches, mirroring how USA weaponized Nate Pearson in 2023. Clay Holmes and Devin Williams give the back end swing-and-miss stuff the 2023 squad lacked against Japan.
Bracket Reality Check
Japan enters without Shohei Ohtani (elbow rehab) but still wields Roki Sasaki’s ghost-fork. Dominican Republic can roll out Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto in the same inning. Venezuela’s staff ERA was the lowest in the last qualifying window. USA’s route: win Pool C (Scottsdale), earn the No. 1 seed, avoid Japan until a potential final in Miami on March 17—exactly four years after the heartbreak of 2023.
X-Factors
- Bryce Harper’s First Base Experiment: Ten spring starts there already; metrics say he’s saved two runs vs. a traditional first baseman’s route.
- Pitch Count Chess: Tied 3-3 after seven? DeRosa can yank a starter at 62 pitches knowing the bullpen has eight arms who logged sub-3.00 ERAs last season.
- Emerging Star Anthony: MLB Pipeline’s No. 9 overall prospect will see high-pressure lefties early; USA believes his opposite-field power neutralizes late-inning specialists.
Bottom Line
This is the deepest, most October-ready roster USA has ever shipped to the WBC. Every lineup slot carries 30-homer thump; every reliever owns a wipeout secondary pitch. If Skubal and Skenes hit their pitch limits and the turf-chewing defense converts grounders into double plays, the trophy that slipped away on Kazuma Okamoto’s walk-off is the only acceptable souvenir on the flight home.
Keep your refresh button close—onlytrustedinfo.com will update velocities, usage charts and October-style bullpen matchups the moment they drop throughout the tournament.
