myworldofbaseball

Last year in Thunder Bay Canada the United States 18 and under team won the gold medal, defeating Korea 8-0 for their fourth consecutive gold. Matthew Liberatore pitched six shutout innings in the game to get the win. Triston Casas drove in three runs with a double and homerun to trigger the offense. Brice Turang made the first team as a shortstop, Alek Thomas and Michael Siani made it as outfielders and Ethan Hankins was named the top starting pitcher. Major league teams were paying attention. Ten players on the United States 2017 18 and under World Cup team were drafted in the first round by major league teams. Only 16 high school players were taken in the first round, and that does not include Canadian Noah Taylor, who played for Canada’s 18 and under team and was drafted in the first round by the Indians giving them two world cup stars.

Below are the ten players taken in the first round of the major league draft:

6. Jarred Kelenic (OF) Mets - first high school player selected in draft
7. Ryan Weathers (LHP) Padres - didn’t allow a run in 9.2 innings. Won two games.
16. Matthew Liberatore (LHP) Rays - won championship game, 2-0 with 0.00 ERA in 12 innings
19. Nolan Gorman (3B) Cardinals
21. Brice Turang (SS) Brewers - Hit .364 and made all-tournament team as shortstop
23. Anthony Siegler (C) Yankees
26. Triston Casas (3B) Red Sox - drove in 13 runs and voted MVP of the tournament
27. Mason Denaburg (RHP) Nationals
30. J.T. Ginn (RHP) Dodgers
35. Ethan Hankins (RHP) Indians - Voted top pitcher with 27 whiffs in 12 innings

Alek Thomas, who made the all tournament team as an outfielder was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the second round (63rd pick) and Mike Siani who also made the all tournament team was drafted in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Reds (109th pick).

Ryan Rolison, who played on the 2015 18 and under team was drafted in the first round (22nd pick) by the Colorado Rockies as a lefthanded pitcher out of Ole Miss.

The Women’s Baseball World Cup will be held at Space Coast Stadium in Vierra, Florida from August 22 -31. The following teams have qualified to compete in this tournament. Japan is the class of the group (rankings in parenthesis).

Asia - Japan (1), Taiwan (6), South Korea (7), Hong Kong (10)

Americas - Canada (2), United States (3), Venezuela (5), Cuba (9), Dominican Republic (NR), Puerto Rico (NR)

Europe - Netherlands (8)

Oceania - Australia (4)

With their win in the World Baseball Classic the United States has ended the three year reign of Japan and taken over the number one spot in baseball, according to the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC). With the top 12 teams qualifying for the Premier 12 in 2019 myworld will list the top 13 teams as ranked by the WBSC. Mexico sitting at number five has never been ranked higher.

1. United States (5025 points)
2. Japan (4609 points)
3. South Korea (4158 points)
4. Cuba (3152 points)
5. Mexico (2613 points)
6. Taiwan (2520 points)
7. Canada (2142 points)
8. Australia (2095 points)
9. Netherlands (2002 points)
10. Puerto Rico (1796 points)
11. Venezuela (1765 points)
12. Dominican Republic (1227 points)
13. Nicaragua (1155 points)

You can see the complete list at wbsc.org/rankings/

The United States earned more points than any other country in 2017 but it was not enough to surpass Japan for the number one ranking. For the third year in a row Japan is the number one ranked country in baseball. They earned the second most points in baseball last year and now lead the United States by 244 points. The 2018 season will be difficult for the United States to surpass Japan since they are not participating in the Under 23 Baseball World Cup in Nicaragua in October, one of the two tournaments that hand out the most points for the 2018 season. In a couple weeks the rankings could shuffle as points from 2014 expire, but if the United States should surpass Japan because of subtracted points their reign will be short.

Below are the top 12 teams in baseball, plus number 13 waiting to crack into the top 12. The top 12 teams will qualify for the Premier 12, which is the third most prestigious baseball tournament after the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic.

1. Japan (5658 points)
2. United States (5414 points)
3. Korea (4950 points)
4. Taiwan (3808 points)
5. Cuba (3677 points)
6. Mexico (3012 points)
7. Australia (2634 points)
8. Netherlands (2377 points)
9. Venezuela (2363 points)
10. Canada (2142 points)
11. Puerto Rico (1827 points)
12. Italy (1686 points)

13. Nicaragua (1636 points)

Nicaragua will host the Under 23 WBSC championship in 2018, playing the games at the newly constructed 15,000 seat Dennis Martinez stadium at a date yet to be determined. Despite all the points awarded for this event the No 2 United States and No 5 Cuba will not be playing in the tournament. The United States did not play in the qualifying round, while Cuba did not qualify. Below are the teams who have qualified for the games:

Africa (1) - to be determined
Americas (4) - No. 9 Venezuela, No. 6 Mexico, No. 11 Puerto Rico, No. 16 Dominican Republic
Asia (3) - No1. Japan, No.4 Taiwan and No. 3 South Korea
Europe (2) - No. 8 Netherlands, No. 14 Czech Republic
Oceania (1) - to be determined
Wildcard (1) - No 13 Nicaragua

The Under 15 Hosts will be Panama. The teams competing in that tournament are:

Africa (1) - to be determined
Americas (5) - No. 2 United States, No. 16 Dominican Republic, No. 5 Cuba, No. 15 Panama, No. 18 Brazil
Asia (2) - No. 1 Japan and No. 4 Taiwan
Europe (2) - No. 20 Germany and No. 8 Netherlands
Oceania (1) - to be determined

The United States has finished higher than Japan in most of the tournaments the two play in. The main reason Japan is rated higher is they have played in more tournament, two November World Cup age tournaments that the United States chose not to participate in. The voting system tends to favor quantity of tournaments played rather than quality.

Below are the top ten countries in baseball. You can see the complete list at WBSC.org.

1) Japan - 5598
2) United States - 5414
3) Korea - 4908
4) Taiwan - 3747
5) Cuba - 3637
6) Mexico - 2957
7) Australia - 2634
8) Netherlands - 2374
9) Venezuela - 2286
10) Canada - 2142

Below is the Under 18 World Cup all tournament team. Myworld will include other players who were deserving of consideration based on their statistical performance.

Catcher - Dae-Hyun Cho (Korea) - .278, 1 HR, 11 runs scored, 8 RBIs with a .935 OPS

First Base - Leonardo Seminati (Italy) - .423, 2 HR, 7 RBI with 1.185 OPS

Second Base - Cesar Prieto (Cuba) - .581 ave with a 1.251 OPS

Third Base - Noah Naylor (Canada) - .313 average with .856 OPS

Shortstop - Brice Turang (United States) - .364, 7 runs scored with a .932 OPS

Outfield - Jin-Won Ye (Korea) - .355, 1 HR, 10 runs scored, 6 RBIs with a .992 OPS
Outfield - Alek Thomas (United States) - .361, 8 RBIs and six runs scored with 5 stolen bases
Outfield - Michael Siani (United States) - .333, 12 runs scored and 6 RBIs with 7 stolen bases and a .896 OPS

Starting Pitcher - Ethan Hankins (United States) - 1-0, 0.75 ERA, 27 K’s in 12 innings

Relief Pitcher - Fuminaru Taura (Japan) - 1-1, 1.32 ERA with 29 K’s in 13.2 innings

Others to Consider

United States

Triston Casas - .250, 3 homeruns and 13 RBIs with .993 OPS. Voted MVP of the tournament
Matthew Liberatore - 2-0, 0.00 ERA in 12 innings
Ryan Weathers - 2-0, 0.00 ERA in 9.2 innings
Brandon Dieter - 1-0, 0.00 ERA in 10 innings

Korea

Jun-Hwan Jang - .381, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs with 7 runs scored and a 1.234 OPS. 8 walks
Baek-Ho Kang - .375, 1 HR, 8 RBIs, 6 runs scored, 4 2Bs with a 1.100 OPS. Also 4 K’s in 2 innings. The Shohei Otani of Korea.
In-Hyok Yi - .300, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 6 runs scored with a .967 OPS
Been Gwak - 1-1, 2.51 with 18 K’s in 14.1 innings
Min Kim - 1-0, 0.77 in 11.2 innings

Japan

Kaito Kozono - .378 average
Hisanori Yasuda - .324 average, 4 2Bs with a .918 OPS
Ginji Miura - 2-0, 0.00 ERA with 19 K’s in 12 innings
Kento Kawabata - 0-2, 2.51 ERA with 25 K’s in 14.1 innings

Canada

Jason Willow - .333, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 7 runs scored with a .928 OPS
Archer Brookman - .219, 2HR, 11 RBIs, 9 runs scored with a .866 OPS

Australia

Jack O’Loughlin - 2-0, 0.69 ERA with 15 K’s in 13 IP

Cuba

Roidal Martinez - .429 ave with a 1.026 OPS
Victor Mesa - .320 ave.

Taiwan

Han-Yu Tseng - .393 with .964 OPS
Tien-Hsin Kuo - .364 with .860 OPS

Netherlands

Dylan Koster - .364 with .845 OPS
Donny Breek - 1-1, 1.08 ERA, 18 K’s 16.2 innings, 151 opponent average

Italy

Michele Vassalotti - 1-0, 1.64 ERA with 15 K’s in 11 innings
Chih-Jung Liu - 1-1, 1.98 with 13 K’s in 13.2 IP
Yi-Sheng Chu - 1.29 ERA with 12 K’s in 7 IP

Nicaragua

Wandley Lagos - .424 ave, 4 stlen bases with a .899 OPS
Jeyner Flores - .393 ave, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs with 1.219 OPS

Mexico

Saul Martinez - .423 with a 1.041 OPS
Jose Gaona - .400 with a 1.070 OPS
Jorge Valdez - 1-0, 1.17 ERA with 10 K’s in 7.2 innings

South Africa

None

The United States, especially their pitching staff was dominant in their fourth straight 18 and under World Cup championship.

United States 8 Korea 0

The United States tossed their second straight shutout against Korea to win their fourth consecutive 18 and under World Cup championship. Matthew Liberatore did not dazzle with strikeouts, but still pitched six innings of four hit shutout ball, striking out just one. Three different relievers completed the shutout with one inning of relief each.

Triston Casas again provided the big bat for the United States team with a double, homerun and three RBIs. It was his third double and third homerun of the tournament. Triston has 13 RBIs in the nine games he has played in the tournament.

Japan 8 Canada 1

Japan rolled over the hosts to win the bronze medal in the tournament. Ginjii Miura pitched seven innings of three hit shutout ball, striking out 12. For the tournament he did not give up a run in his two starts, working 12 innings and striking out 12. Japan stole five bases and coaxed six walks in the rout. Kyota Fujiwara was the offensive catalyst for Japan with two hits, two runs scored, an RBI and stolen base.

Japan finished in second place in the two previous tournaments, so playing for the bronze had to be a disappointment. Canada finished second in 2012. South Korea last won this tournament in 2008. Canada last won the tournament in 1991.

Korea got into the finals of the 18 and under World Cup championship relegating Japan to a bronze medal match. Korea will get a rematch with the United States, who they lost to earlier 2-0 in super round play. Japan will play Canada for the bronze medal match.

United States 9 Australia 0

The loss eliminated Australia from any medal competition but making the top six was an accomplishment. The United States had already clinched a gold medal appearance and had nothing to play for. Brandon Dieter pitched eight innings of three hit shut out ball for the United States to get the win. A five run third inning put this game away early. Five players in the United States lineup contributed two hits each with Nolan Gorman leading that bunch with two RBIs. Alek Thomas also drove in two runs with his one hit.

Korea 6 Japan 4

Korea knocked Japan down to the bronze medal game with their second win over the samurai team. Korea lit up Japanese ace Fumimaru Taura for five runs in the first two innings. Errors plagued both teams with three each, the sloppy play allowing three unearned runs to score for each team. Taura made a throwing error on a bunt in the first inning that ignited a three run rally for Korea.

Japan bounces back for three in the top of the second, aided by a Korean error. Taura, who came into the game striking out 27 hitters in just 12 innings gives up a single and two walks to load the bases in the second inning. After a strikeout he walks in a run and his day is done.

The bullpens do a good job after the early explosions. Kento Kawabata limits the Korean offense to just one run in his 6.2 innings of work. After giving up three in the second Min Kim survives until the sixth, when a single, two walks and a sacrifice fly ends the day for Kim. Jun-Young Ha bails Kim out of the sixth and strikes out seven of the nine hitters he faces. Young-Lun Kim pitches the final inning to earn the save.

Jun-Hwan Jang led the offense for Korea starting the game off with a single off Taura, igniting the three run first. He finished the game with two runs scored on two walks and a single in four at bats. Baek-Ho Kang drove in two runs for Korea. Shuto Sakurai collected three of the five Japanese hits.

Canada 4 Cuba 2

Cuba did not have anything to play for in this game, finishing the super round winless. Considering previous Cuban teams this was a major disappointment. Canada rallied for three runs in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie. Victor Cerny drove in two runs with a double. Jason Willow also had an RBI double in the inning.

Michael Stovman works eight innings for Canada to get the win. Jack Decooman works the ninth to earn the save. Victor Mesa, the rising Cuban star went 4 for 4 in the first game of the tournament, but then could only string together four hits in the final seven games. He did not draw a walk in the tournament.

It was a matchup between the only two teams who had yet to take a loss in the tournament. The United States knocked Korea off of that mountain and are now king of the hill. In two upsets Australia surprised Cuba and Canada knocked off Japan to send the crowd into a tizzy over who will face the United States in the championship. Korea does battle with Japan today and a win will clinch a rematch with the United States.

United States 2 Korea 0

As it has been throughout this tournament the United States pitchers carried the team. The Korean pitcher Be-En Gwak was not too bad either. Ethan Hankins was a mystery to Korea for his six innings of work. He gave up two hits and struck out 14 of the 22 hitters he faced. All those K’s impacted his pitch count and he was relieved by Ryan Weathers for 2.2 innings. Weathers gets into a little trouble in the 9th giving up a two out single and a walk to put two runners on. John Ginn gets the last out on a strikeout to preserve the shutout and give the United States pitchers 19 whiffs on the day.

Gwak did not have the high strikeout totals of Hankins but he had the United States hitters perplexed through the first seven innings. The score was 0-0 after seven when the United States struck first. It was Gwak himself who gifted the run when he made an error to put a runner on first. Jarred Kelenic singled Michael Siani to third and Anthony McNair was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. A wild pitch scores the first run.

The United States scores an insurance run in the ninth on a double by Nolan Gorman that drives Gwak from the game. A single by Brice Turang gives the United States a 2-0 lead, enough for the vaunted pitching staff to protect.

Australia 3 Cuba 0

Both teams banged out 12 hits. Cuba failed to get the clutch hit when they needed it, stranding 13 runners. Australia stranded 11 runners but they were able to get two big hits in the three run fourth that turned the ballgame. Jack O’Loughlin went seven innings, scattering nine hits, but not allowing a runner to cross the plate.

An RBI triple by Joshua Bedggood and a two run triple by Alex Hall in the fourth inning drive in all the runs Australia needs to escape with a victory. Cuba gets four hits in five at bats from Cesar Prieto, but they are all wasted.

Canada 6 Japan 4

Perhaps Japan was looking ahead to their game against Korea. Canada put them in the present, winning the game despite making 5 errors. Japan made two errors but it cost them the game in the 7th. Canada had just committed two big errors in the sixth to allow Japan to take a 4-3 lead. A one out error allowed Canada to put a runner on second. Archer Brookman drives him in with a single to tie the game at 4-4. A strikeout should have ended the inning but the ball gets past the catcher to put runners on first and third. A wild pitch gives Canada a 5-4 lead and a single by Victor Cerny extends the lead to 6-4.

Dondrae Bremner drove in two runs for Canada but also committed two errors at short. Harley Gollert pitches the last three innings of shutout ball to close out the victory for Canada. Japan gets a solo shot from Kotaro Kiyomiya, his second of the tournament.

For Japan to get into the finals they must beat Korea and hope the winless Cuban team downs Canada. If Canada wins it will throw second place into a three way tie if Japan beats Korea. If Korea wins they will play the United States in the championship. Australia needs to beat the United States to have any hope of getting into the bronze medal game with either Japan, Korea or Canada and hope for a couple upsets, i.e Cuba beating Canada and Japan beating Korea to put second place into a four way tie. Cuba has nothing left to play for.