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Top United States Prospects - National League

Monday, May 6th, 2013

The last of the top ten prospect lists as we toured the world identifying young players in the minor leagues hoping for the opportunity to play in the major leagues.

1. Gerritt Cole RHP (Pittsburgh Pirates) - Cole was the first player drafted in 2011. He will join Jameson Taillon and Luis Heredia in what is anticipated to be one of the strongest rotations in baseball by 2015. His fastball stays in the mid-90s and was voted the best fastball in the Florida State League. He also has a slider and change that just needs minor refinement before becoming major league ready. He shot through AA and finished at AAA last year. He began the 2013 season in AAA weaving together a 2.45 ERA in six starts. The only concern so far is his less than stellar 17/21 walk to whiff ratio in 29 innings. Those are not the numbers you expect from a dominating pitcher. Expect a September callup to the 2013 season.

2. Shelby Miller RHP (St. Louis Cardinals) - Shelby is a big pitcher with a dominating fastball that glides across the plate in the mid-90s. He also has a nice curveball and a still work in progress change. Those pitches led to a disappointing 4.74 ERA in 27 AAA starts with an opposition average of .260. Those are not the numbers you expect from a pitcher with ace stuff. He was still given a September promotion despite his struggles and did much better against major leaguers with a 1.32 ERA in six appearances. He won the fifth starter job out of spring training, going 4-2 with a 1.96 ERA early in the 2013 season.

3. Jameson Taillon RHP (Pittsburgh Pirates) - He was the second player drafted in the 2010 draft after Bryce Harper. Bryce is playing in the major leagues while Taillon is getting AA hitters out. He was voted the best pitching prospect out of the Florida State League, beating out teammate Gerrit Cole. His fastball sits in the mid-90s but his curveball is perhaps his best pitch. The Pirates are waiting for him to refine his change before giving him an opportunity to pitch in the major leagues. In six starts his ERA is 3.03. He played for Canada in the 2013 WBC because his parents are from Canada, but he was born in Lakeland, Florida. Myworld still listed him as the second top prospect out of Canada.

4. Tyler Skaggs LHP (Arizona Diamondbacks) - Tyler was a first round pick of the Angels in 2009. They traded him to the Diamondbacks in the Dan Haren trade. As a lefty his fastball hits the radar in the low 90s, which is plenty fast, but his curveball is his big strikeout pitch. He also has a change. Tyler made his major league debut last year, getting six starts but putting together an unimpressive 5.83 ERA. Last year he also had a 2.91 ERA in nine AAA starts. This year has been a bit more of a struggle, a 6.89 ERA after six starts. He had a good opening outing pitching six innings of shutout ball. After that his ERA has been closer to nine.

5. Billy Hamilton OF (Cincinnati Reds) - Nobody in the history of baseball has stolen more than the 155 bases Billy stole last year. He was a second round 2009 pick and a shortstop until this year. The Reds already have a pretty good player in Zach Cosart to play short and many felt Billy lacked the major league arm to play the position. They have moved him to centerfield this year where they have an immediate need. Last year those 155 stolen bases were assisted by his .410 OBA. This year he only has 17 stolen bases, fashioning a batting average of .196 with an OBA of .265. This is more reminiscent of his numbers in 2011 than 2012.

6. Zack Wheeler RHP (New York Mets) - Zack was a first round pick of the Giants in 2009. The Giants needed a bat for the pennant race and traded Wheeler for Carlos Beltran. It was a short term fix to get them to a second straight World Series but it failed. Now Wheeler is a potential ace for the Mets and Beltran took his free agent bat to the Cardinals. Like all the other pitchers on this list Zack throws a mid-90s fastball with a slider and a change. He hopes to join Matt Harvey in the major league rotation sometime in 2013. He is 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA in AAA, giving up a little too many hits in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League.

7. Travis d’Arnaud C (New York Mets) - Travis got off to an excellent start last year hitting .333 with 16 homeruns in his first 67 games. His season ended earlyas a result of torn ligaments in his left knee. The Blue Jays traded him to the Mets for CyYoung winner R.A. Dickey. It is the second Cy Young winner he has been traded for. The Phillies traded d’Arnaud to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay in 2009. He has good defensive tools that fall a tad short of his big bat. The key will be how his knee injury impacts his movement behind the plate. This year he fractured his left foot and will spend some time walking in a boot. He only played in 12 games at AAA before the injury, hitting .250 with one homerun. He needs to play to get the reps behind the plate.

8. Christian Yelich OF (Miami Marlins) - Christian was a first round pick in 2010. He has a .322 career minor league average in his three seasons. Last year he hit .330 with 12 homeruns. He has the swing of a batting champion and also plays a solid centerfield. His speed has allowed him to steal 53 bases at a 83 percent success rate. Christian experienced foot problems which forced him to start the 2013 season on the DL. He is playing now, hitting .281 in 13 games at AA.

9. Archie Bradley RHP (Arizona Diamondbacks) - Archie was the seventh player selected in the 2011 draft. He has a fastball in the mid 90s but his 84 walks in 136 innings shows what little command he has of it. He did limit the opposition to a .181 average. He has an above average curveball and a developing change. Archie showed improved control this year with a 10/43 walk to whiff ratio in just 28 innings pitched, resulting in an ERA of 1.26. This resulted in a promotion to AA where he only gave up one run in his first six innings of work.

10. Anthony Rendon 3B (Washington Nationals) - Anthony was considered the top draft choice in 2011. Injuries during the college year dropped him to the Nationals. Last year an ankle injury slowed the start of his 2012 season. When he did get healthy he rose to AA where he struggled with a .162 average. Over four levels he accumulated 133 at bats. He had a good spring this year and an injury to Ryan Zimmerman allowed him to make his major league debut, where he hit .240. Once Zimmerman got healthy Rendon was returned to Harrisburg in AA where he is hitting a much better .271. While third base is his natural position the Nationals will either have to move Zimmerman to first once Rendon is ready, or find another position for Rendon to play.

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2009 18 and Under United States Pan Am Team

Saturday, May 4th, 2013

They were roommates in 2009 playing in Venezuela for the 2009 United States Pan Am team. In 2010 they were two of the first three picks in the 2010 draft, sandwiched between another of their teammates. They became major leaguers in 2012, playing for teams about one hour from each other, both considered franchise players for their major league team. They are Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

Both starred for the 18 and under team playing in the Pan Am games in Venezuela that finished 8-0, beating a Cuban team with outfielder Jorge Soler twice. They were not the only stars on that tema. Jameson Taillon struck out 16 Cubans in the championship match, including Jorge Soler twice. Taillon didn’t give up a run in two starts, pitching 13 plus innings and striking out 28. He was the second player selected in the 2010 draft, just after Harper and in front of Machado.

Manny hit .367 with two homeruns and nine RBIs on that 2009 team. Bryce hit .294 with two homeruns and 12 RBIs. The big RBI bat on that team was Brian Ragira, who hit .241 with two homeruns and 14 RBIs. Brian chose to go to Stanford and is considered by Baseball America the 25th best college prospect in the 2013 draft. He was drafted by the Rangers in the 30th round in 2010 but chose to play for Stanford instead.

Other noteable players on the 2009 team include Kevin Gausman, drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Gausman had four relief appearances with a 1.93 ERA. Nick Castellanos was a Tiger supplemental pick first round pick in 2010 and is considered the Tigers top prospect. He hit .308 with one homerun and eight RBIs for the 2009 team.

Karsten Whitson was a first round pick of the Padres in 2010 but chose to go to Florida instead. He is considered the 18th top college propsect in the 2013 draft. He only got one start on the 2009 team, working five innings without giving up a run, walking four and striking out nine.

Nicholas Delmonico is the third Oriole from the 2009 team. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, hitting only .250 as a 17 year old. He was rated the Orioles fourth rated prospect in 2013 and hopes to join Gausman and Machado to lead the Orioles to a World Series championship.

Cody Buckel was a second round pick of the Texas Rangers and is considered their eighth rated prospect. Garin Cecchini was a fourth round pick in 2010 by the Boston Red Sox and is their seventh rated prospect. Sean Coyle is his Red Sox teammate and though he was drafted in the third round of the 2010 draft his prospect status has dropped while Cecchini’s has risen in the Red Sox system.

Robbie Ray was on that 2009 team and hopes to be a teammate again with Bryce Harper. He was drafted by the Nationals in the 12th round of the 2010 draft. He needs to improve on his 4-12, 6.56 2012 Potomac season.

Tony Wolters was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the third round of the 2010 draft but like Coyle his prospect status has stalled as he tries to rise up the Indians prospect ladder. He plays the middle infield made more crowded by Francisco Lindor, Dorssys Paulino and Ronny Rodriguez.

You can see the complete roster here: http://web.usabaseball.com/events/events.jsp?ymd=20100120&content_id=7944630&vkey=event_usab

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Top United States Prospects - American League

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

The United States still has the top prospects in the minors, though the Dominican Republic could give them a battle. Below is a list of the top prospects from the United States playing for American League clubs.

1. Dylan Bundy RHP (Baltimore Orioles) - Dylan is currently on the disabled list with elbow issues. He was the fourth player selected in the 2011 draft and reached the major leagues in his first season of play. His fastball hits the mid-90s though when he was playing with the Orioles in September it was consistently in the low 90s. He also has the best curveball in the system and a pretty good change. The elbow injury could delay his making an impact in the major leagues. Once he becomes healthy he will pitch for Bowie, but it should not take long before he reaches the major leagues. He was competing for a spot in the starting rotation during spring training until the elbow injury sidelined him. At 6′1″ his stature is short for a right hander, but his build is strong.

2. Wil Myers OF (Tampa Bay Rays) - He is considered one of the top prospects in baseball. The Royals drafted him in the third round in the 2009 draft. He was originally a catcher but moved to the outfield so the Royals could get his bat up to the major league team more quickly. The Royals traded him to the Rays during the offseason to get two much needed starting pitchers. Last year Myers slugged 37 homeruns, the second most in the minors. He should be playing right field for the Rays now, but they will wait until June to promote him to enhance his service time to the organization. It could cost them a playoff appearance.

3. Trevor Bauer RHP (Cleveland Indians) - Trevor was drafted just ahead of Dylan Bundy in the 2011 draft by the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks were not enamored with his independent personality and pitching mechanics and traded him to the Indians for shortstop Didi Gregorious. Trevor throws his fastball in the mid-90s and has an excellent curveball. His command seems to be better when he is pitching in the minor leagues. Once he pitches against a major league hitters he nibbles, walks a lot of batters which increases his pitch count. This year he has a 13/7 walk to shiff ratio in 10 innings with a 2.70 ERA. In the minors his walk to whiff ratio is 6/24 with a 2.50 ERA. Once he enhances his command problems Trevor should be the ace of the Indians rotation.

4. Taijuan Walker RHP (Seattle Mariners) - Walker was a first round supplemental in the 2010 draft. He skipped High A last year and paid the price in poor numbers (4.69 ERA). The Mariners thought it best for him to repeat AA and the numbers have improved (1.54 ERA). The only downside with those numbers is his 20 walks in 35 innings, but the opposition is only hitting him at a .150 clip. He throws in the mid-90s, hitting the high 90s when he reaches back. He still needs work to make his secondary stuff more consistent.

5. Nick Castellanos OF (Detroit Tigers) - Like Walker, Nick was a first round supplemental in 2010. He created a buzz last year when he hit .405 in 55 games in the Florida State League. Promoted to AA he cooled off, hitting only .264. Myworld watched him Monday at Norfolk after seeing him last year at AA. He seems to be filling out what last year seemed to be a skinny 6′4″ frame. Nick started out as a third baseman, but with Miguel Cabrera at third the Tigers moved him to the outfield. He will not win any gold gloves out there, but he should be adequate. He has an above average arm, which will allow him to play right field.

6. Mike Olt 3B (Texas Rangers) - Mike does not get a lot of prospect buzz because he plays behind the top prospect in baseball Jurickson Profar. He was drafted out of Connecticut in the first round of 2010. George Springer is another top prospect drafted from Connecticut. With Adrian Beltre at third base for at least a couple more years Mike may have to move to first or the outfield if he wants to see the major leagues. This lessons his overall value. He has good power, hitting 28 homeruns last year, but vision problems have plagued him this year, sinking his average to .139 in 20 games.

7. Jonathan Singleton 1B (Houston Astros) - Singleton was a eighth round pick of the Phillies in 2009. He was part of the trade for Hunter Pence. He may have been able to win the first base job this spring if not for a 50-game drug of abuse suspension. Jonathan has light tower power, but his defense could make him the Astors DH of the future now that the Astros have moved to the American League. Expect at least a September promotion once he gets his swing back by getting some at bats in AAA.

8. Mike Zunino C (Seattle Mariners) - Myworld would have put Mike as a top three prospect for the European list, using the rules established by the WBC. His mother played for an Italian softball team, making Mike eligible to play for Italy in 2017. Mike was a first round 2012 pick of the Mariners. The Mariners currently have the defensively challenged Jesus Montero catching for the major league team. If Jesus shows too much of a struggle Mike will be promoted by mid-season. Mike is a much better defensive player, hitting .360 with 13 homeruns in 44 games, 15 of those games in AA. This year he is in AAA and while he has five homeruns he is only hitting .210 with 26 whiffs in just 20 games.

9. Danny Hultzen LHP (Seattle Mariners) - Danny was the second player selected in the 2011 draft, ahead of Bauer and Bundy. Hultzen pitched for the University of Virginia. For a lefthander his low 90s fastball is electric and can reach the mid -90s. His best pitch is his changeup, which makes the fastball seem to come to the plate with greater velocity. His slider is also a good pitch. Danny is pitching in AAA where his 2.78 ERA and .198 opposition average will lead to a 2013 callup to the Mariners staff before the 2013 season is over.

10. Bubba Starling OF (Kansas City Royals) - Lots of raw talent. Bubba was the fifth player selected in the 2011 draft, just after Dylan Bundy. He has lots of power in his bat, hitting 10 homeruns last year in 53 games. Bubba needs to improve his ability to make contact, striking out 70 times in 53 games. He has the speed to patrol centerfield. In his second year he is playing in a full season league, struggling with a .198 average. He has whiffed 34 times in 25 games.

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2017 WBC United States Dream Team

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

Myworld will take a look at a few of the countries that automatically qualify for the 2017 WBC to put together a possible roster to see what their team could look like. We will start with the United States baseball team because they have the most talent and myworld is more familiar with who most of the players could be.

Every tournament the United States is the team favored to win the WBC and each time they disappoint. It kind of reminds me of the basketball team and their series of disappointing losses in international tournaments before the formation of the Dream Team. Basketball officials echoed the same mantra as baseball officials, saying that if the best players participated the world would not stand a chance. The NBA was finally able to trot out Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan in the 1992 Olympics, calling themselves the “Dream Team”. They won the gold with very little difficulty. After that appearance the international popularity of basketball appeared to soar.

The United States has a number of rising stars percolating in the major leagues giving them the ability to put together their own dream team in 2017. Whether that team will resonate like the “Dream Team” did for the sport of basketball is up for debate. Baseball is a nine inning game, nine opportunities to show your superiority over the other team, so there should be no excuses for failure unless your superiority is not as great as you believe.

We will start out with the outfield, because this is where the United States team would be stacked.

Outfield - Bryce Harper says he wants to play in the next WBC. He tends to generate excitement just by showing up at the park. He could be a superstar by 2017, a presence like Larry Bird or Magic Johnson. Mike Trout is an equal excitement generator and would be the Magic Johnson to Harper’s Larry Bird. Giancarlo Stanton did not have a great 2013 WBC but he will be a veteran in 2017 and not yet 30. He may not create as much excitement as Michael Jordan created for basketball’s Dream Team, but his batting practice homeruns would get just as many “Ohs” as a Jordan dunk. Andrew McCutchen would also make a good pickup if one of those three could not play. You could carry all four and rotate one through the DH spot. No country would have the talent to match this outfield trio no matter which three of the four the United States decides to trot out there.

Catcher - You’ve not two good ones in Buster Posey and Matt Wieters. Both would be hitting 30 years of age and would be veterans of their craft by 2017. They could carry and guide a pitching staff to a championship. Mike Zunino is a young catcher who will have a couple major league years on his resume by the time 2017 arrived. He could be the premier catcher in baseball by the time the next WBC arrives.

First Base - Chris Davis would hit 31 years of age in 2017. He drove in 17 runs in the first five games of the major league season this week. By 2017 he could be one of the star firstbasemen in baseball if his power continues to develop. Paul Goldschmidt would be a year younger and could offer the same power. Like Mike Zunino the best may be Jonathan Singleton if he can overcome his drug issues to make an impact in the major leagues.

Second Base - Jason Kipnis will be another hitter reaching the middle of his prime at 30 years of age. If you want a younger player Kolten Wong appears to be an impact player, but my gut is they’ll find some parental heritage that will allow him to play for some obscure Asian team.

Shortstop - This seems to be a domain of Curacao or Puerto Rico. An injury prevented Troy Tulowitski from playing this year, but in 2017 he will be 33. Time to pass the baton to the younger players. Ian Desmond would be the best of the current younger veterans but even he would be 32. So perhaps Trevor Story, the Rockies future replacement for Troy at Colorado or Adam Russell, Oakland’s 2012 first round pick will have developed enough to get the call.

Third Base - At 35 David Wright would be a bit creaky to make this team. Chase Headley and Ryan Zimmerman at 33 would be better but still sliding past their prime. Will Middlebrooks had a three homerun game in the first week and he would only be turning 30 when the next WBC arrived. Other possibilities include Jedd Gyorko, Mike Olt or Nick Castellanos, but all of them are facing possible position changes.

Starting Pitcher - Another strength for the United States team. You put these four starters on the hill and they would not need a bullpen, but pitch counts being what they are you can populate the bullpen with some token closers. Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg would vy for the coveted ace title. The two of them could have half a dozen Cy Youngs on their resume by the time 2017 arrives. Cole Hamels would be another young arm turned veteran stud to follow Kershaw and Strasburg in the number three spot. At 32 David Price would be the veteran of this group. He already has a Cy Young on his resume. A WBC championship would be next on his list.

Bullpen - This could be very flexible including some starters to use as set-up or closers. Craig Kimbrel will get an encore. Even at 29 the concern would be the number of games he has worked by 2017. Historically, relief pitchers who have four or five 70 appearance seasons are due for a downfall. Young pitchers like Dylan Bundy, Matt Harvey and Gerritt Cole will have created quite the buzz by 2017. With no room in the rotation for them they can rotate in as the middle inning eaters. The United States manager would not have a shortage of choices. The real challenge is finding those players with the motivation to play.

Myworld will bet they make the final four with this roster, perhaps even play in the championship game. But a few of these players will beg off when their country calls because of either injury, endorsement deals or just a lack of interest. Most of the players could be making $20 million per year by 2017 and their teams would not want to risk injury by exposing them to a few exhibition games, even if their exposure would be good for the sport of baseball. If major league owners had their say there will be no opportunity to field a baseball equivalent of a Dream Team to erase the feelings of disappointment after the first three WBCs.

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Japan Opener in the United States

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 28fe

The Japanese are planning to have one of their openers in the United States between the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers, two teams United States fans are familiar with. The plan is for a two game series with one home game and one away for each team. They are looking at playing at Dodger stadium or the Angels park because of the large Japanese population in Los Angeles.

Commissioners Bud Selig and Ryozo Kato also discussed having a true World Series match between the winner of the major league World Series playing the winner of the Japan Series. Sadaharu Oh joined in the discussion. Selig mentioned the possiblity of Hank Aaron and Oh throwing out the first pitch in the series.

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Fat, Naive and Happy

Saturday, March 16th, 2013

Those are three words that can be used to describe major league owners when it comes to expanding the game internationally. They don’t want to do it if it involves a possible injury to one of their players. You can hardly blame them when you consider the investment they have in their best players.

They remind me of the United States auto executives in the 1960s basking in the knowledge that their cars are the best in the world. Little did they realize a country was churning out automobiles with the flexibility of a yoga instructor. The United States auto industry did not adapt, almost became extinct and had to be bailed out by the United States government to survive. The United States government will not bail out major league baseball if they fall behind in the international game.

Based on the results of the World Baseball Classic, the best baseball may still be played in America, but it is not being played by Americans. The United States failed to advance to the finals for the third straight time since this event has been held. Meanwhile, a conglomerate of players calling themselves Team Samurai have won this event two years in a row and find themselves in the semi finals for a third time.

Joe Torre commented that anything can happen in a short series. One thing that seems consistent is Japan always appears in the semi-finals. No matter the randomness of the wins and losses in a short series Japan advances, the United States does not. Perhaps the United States can learn some things from Japan when it comes to preparing for the WBC.

Many argue the United States played this WBC without their best players. If they understood the rosters of some of the other teams they would learn that many of the current final four participants played without their best. Japan was missing their ace starter Yu Darvish and their starting shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima. The Dominican Republic was missing Jose Bautista, Adrian Beltre and Johnny Cueto. The Netherlands was missing Jurickson Profar. Those are just the names coming off the top of my head. Despite those absences they advanced.

So as they look to the international market to brand their product, especially in China, major league baseball may find themselves in competetion with Team Samurai. After all, fans are drawn to winners. Team Samurai has been in two finals, with a third still possible. The United States has been in none. If I’m a Chinese fan knowing nothing about baseball except what I watch from the WBC I buy a Team Samurai jersey. The United States are a vanilla team not worthy of my precious resources.

Smart business owners will tell you money is not stagnant. It goes where the resources are. If the United States continues to play poorly in the WBC those baseball purchases will be invested in the country that will be rated number one in baseball after this tournament is complete. That country will be Japan.

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Puerto Rico Bounces United States from WBC

Saturday, March 16th, 2013

The United States has failed to reach the final four in the World Baseball Classic in two of the three tournaments. The one time they reached the final four they were bounced by Japan in the semi-final 9-4. During that season Puerto Rico had beaten the United States 11-1 only to be eliminated by the United States in the losers bracket 6-5. This year the roles were reversed with Puerto Rico losing the winner’s bracket game 7-1, but winning the most important losers bracket game 4-3.

Nelson Figueroa has been a big game pitcher all his career. He may not be able to do it in the major leagues, but ask Taiwan who Nelson Figueroa is and they will talk of his three wins in the Taiwan series to give the Uni-President Lions the championship in 2007. He was voted MVP that year. He’s also pitched for many Caribbean Winter League teams in the Series del Caribe. He has perhaps won his biggest game today, tossing six innings of two hit shutout ball over a powerful United States lineup that couldn’t make solid contact off his 85 mile per hour fastball, leading them to a 4-3 upset victory.

Puerto Rico scored early in the opening frame, collecting three singles to score one run, Mike Aviles stroking the RBI single to give Puerto Rico an early 1-0 lead. Ryan Vogelsong settled down after that, giving up only one more hit through the fifth inning.

Vinnie Pestano relieved Vogelsong in the sixth with one on and two out. He couldn’t get any of the four hitters he faced out, giving up a single to Mike Aviles, walking Armando Rios to load the bases and finally walking Carlos Rivera to make it 2-0. Andy Gonzalez finished his story, roping a 2-run double to give Puerto Rico a 4-0 lead. Jeremy Affeldt replaced Pestano to get the last hitter out, but it was one batter too late.

The United States mounted a come back. Giancarlo Stanton drove in the first run with an RBI single in the seventh, following a Joe Mauer triple. Adam Jones though struck out with runners on first and second to end the inning.

The United States mounted another rally in the eighth, Ryan Braun smashing a double to drive in one run. The United States loaded the bases with one out and Giancarlo Stanton could only pop out to short. Ben Zobrist kept the inning alive by drawing a walk to pull the United States to within one. J.C. Romero came in to face the lefty Eric Hosmer and got him to ground out to second to end another threat.

The United States went out meekly in the ninth, Romero striking out Adam Jones and Shane Victorino. Jimmy Rollins ended the game by lofting a routine fly to center. The celebration began. Puerto Rico had advanced to the final four, slaying the Giant to get there.

Puerto Rico will play the Dominican Republic to determine the first round match up. Myworld doesn’t believe the WBC needs the United States in the tournament to draw well. Tomorrow will tell the tale. A win by the Dominican Republic will give them a rematch against the Netherlands, to avenge their double defeat in 2009 to knock them from the tournament.

Japan’s appearance in the final four may get them the number one international baseball rating. The United States loss may drop them to number three. They had a chance to advance to the number one ranking with Cuba’s early elimination from the tournament, but they could not take advantage of it. Just like the basketball players a number of years ago, the million dollar players just can’t get it done against the journeyman junkyard dogs, who seem to play the game with more heart and determination. The United States will now have to wait until 2017 to show they are the best.

Only 19,000 attended the game. It will be interesting to see who attends the game tomorrow to determine the number one seed and the crowd for the semi-finals in San Francisco. In 2013 the finals between Korea and Japan was a sell out. Only Japan is a repeat team to the final four from 2009. The Dominican Republic made the final four in 2006, but lost to Cuba in the semifinals. Japan has won the tournament each time it has been played. Perhaps the United States needs to watch Japan to see how they prepare for this tournament.

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Dominicans Make it to Final Four

Friday, March 15th, 2013

The Dominican Republic beat the United States 3-1, rallying in the ninth off the once invincible Craig Kimbrel for two runs. Kimbrel has looked very vulnerable this spring. Nelson Cruz started the inning with a double and Eric Aybar brought him in with an RBI single to break a 1-1 tie. Jose Reyes singled to drive in Aybar with an insurance run.

It was a much better game for R.A. Dickey than his first game against Mexico. He went five innings and only gave up a solo homerun to Hanley Ramirez in the second. He gave up five hits and struck out four.

His counterpart Sam Deduno gave up three hits in the opening frame and walked in the United States first run. After he struck out Adam Jones he settled down for the next three innings giving up two hits and a walk.

Fernando Rodney was able to retire the side in order in the ninth to pick up the save. The United States must now beat Puerto Rico again to play the seeded game against the Dominican Republic. If the Dominican Republic comes out of this as the number one seed, their first match will be against the Netherlands. It was the Netherlands who knocked them out of this tournament in 2009, beating them twice.

David Wright did not play in this game because of sore ribs. Willie Bloomquist played in his place. That is a big dropoff in offense the way David Wright has been hitting. Willie went 0 for 2. The Dominican Republic bullpen limited the United States offense to just one hit in the last five innings.

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United States Dominates Puerto Rico

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

For the first time in this 2013 WBC the United States dominated its opponent taking the lead at the start and mixing in their superior offense with shutdown pitching to beat Puerto Rico 7-1. Gio Gonzalez shut down the Puerto Ricans for the first five innings, giving up just three hits and walking none. David Wright drove in five, getting two clutch bases loaded hits to drive in five and put the game away for the United States.

The Puerto Ricans started Mario Santiago whose only real professional pitching experience has been with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). He was drafted by the Royals in 2005 and released by them in 2011 to pursue his professional career in the KBO. He has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2013 baseball season.

The United States scored first in the opening frame after a two out walk to Ryan Braun and an RBI double from Joe Mauer. They added another run in the third on back to back singles from Brandon Phillips and Braun with a walk to Mauer to load the bases. David Wright grounded one to shortstop, Puerto Rico failed to turn two and the United States was up 2-0. It was the first of three at bats David Wright would get with the bases loaded.

David Wright got two more opportunities in the fifth and eighth. In the fifth he drove in a run with a clutch bases loaded single to make it 3-0. With the bases loaded in the eighth he drove a ball deep to the right centerfield gap, bouncing away from a sprawling Angel Pagan to drive in three more runs. In between Adam Jones had an RBI single in the seventh.

Puerto Rico could score their only run in the eighth on a ground out. Eddie Rosario had doubled to put runners on second and third with no out. Irving Falu struck out and Armando Rios popped out to end the threat. Prior to that the closest Puerto Rico got to score was when they got Carlos Beltran to third with two out in the fourth.

Craig Kimbrel got Mike Aviles to ground into a double play to end the game. The United States plays the Dominican Republic on Thursday while Puerto Rico does battle with Italy on Wednesday. The announced attendance listed over 32,000, a little more than the Tampa stadium could accomodate.

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My World’s Prediction for Second Round Miami

Monday, March 11th, 2013

Myworld did pretty good in Asia, predicting three of the four to advance to the second round, missing out on Korea and correctly choosing the two teams to advance to San Francisco. We didn’t have a lot of confidence in Cuba after reading about them arguing over the use of a ball in an exhibition game and not playing. They also argued for the use of the Tokyo Dome for practice and failed to show up once they won the argument. That shows a lack of committment.

Despite what Victor Mesa thinks, the Netherlands has been consistently beating Cuba the last few years, so if the Netherlands is not a good team that is a poor reflection on the talent in Cuba. The Cubans have a mystique about them and an entourage that follows them around creating a false perception of their abilities. They are not the dominant team they once were as they try to live on their past accomplishments. Those accomplishments are getting farther down in history.

We haven’t done so well on the Western side with our predictions. We predicted only two of the four teams to advance. I don’t think anyone would have predicted Italy advancing past the first round so we don’t feel too bad about that one. We also predicted Puerto Rico to advance when the preliminary rosters were announced but chose Dominican Republic instead when we saw the final roster. We still would have missed that one when Venezuela did not advance.

The second round should see the United States and Dominican Republic advance. Puerto Rico just doesn’t have the pitching to hold the United States offense down. We also like Gio Gonzalez against anyone Puerto Rico throws. Statistically Giancarlo Alvarado has been their best pitcher but Nelson Figueroa is a major leaguer and will get the start against the United States. Neither compares to Gio Gonzalez who is returning to the Miami wearing the United States. He should be fired up. Puerto Rico can only hope Gio is too fired up, impacting the command of his pitches. They can also hope for history to repeat itself. The last time these two teams played in Miami Puerto Rico shocked the United States 11-1. A lot of Puerto Ricans can travel to Miami so like the game against Mexico they will have a lot of support in the stands.

Italy has to hope their timely hits continue. Their best hitter is Anthony Rizzo but Anthony Granato has done the best statistically, hitting .625. They have gotten some good starts from Alex Maestri and Luca Panerati but keeping the Dominican bats under double figures and playing nine innings will be an accomplishment.

The big match will be the United States versus Dominican Republic in the finals. They will probably play twice, once in the winners bracket and the final to determine seeding. The United States should come out of this with the number one seed because of their superior pitching. For the tournament though the Dominicans have shown the best pitching with an ERA a run less than the United States.

Myworld’s predicted order of finish 1) United States, 2) Dominican Republic, 3) Puerto Rico and 4)Italy

The WBC has been very pleased with the first round attendance at the games. The challenge is getting fans to show up when the home team is not playing. There were 463,017 fans to watch the first round. The previous record in 2009 was 453,374. The real predictor of success is how much revenue was brought in as a result of the attendance. A lot of people will show up if free tickets are given to them.

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