What a tense and exciting game between Japan and Puerto Rico last night, huh? Let's hope that tonight's other semifinal matchup between the Dominican Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands is equally as exciting. But given the personal history between these two teams, how could it not be? In 2009, back when both rounds of the tournament were modified double elimination, the Dutch team beat the heavily favored Dominicans not once, but twice, single-handedly ending their WBC run. Tonight, the undefeated Dominican team will be out for revenge against a surprising team from the Netherlands that has had some trouble with injuries, but has also made some key additions prior to the semifinal round. Here's a look at the top players on each roster.
Let's start with the Dominican Republic, since they have a far more impressive crop of major league talent than their competitors: 20 players on the Dominican roster reached the majors in 2012 compared to just five for the Netherlands, and that includes the two last-minute additions for the semifinals. Leading the pack in terms of both lineup positioning and personality is shortstop Jose Reyes, who also led off for the 2009 version of this team. Unfortunately he and former Mets teammate David Wright did not get to display their talents for trash-talking during his match against Team USA, as Wright was held out of the final two games with sore ribs. The top Dominican player in terms of talent is the #5 overall ranked player according to MLB.com, Yankees second baseman
Robinson Cano. His career has taken a huge turn for the positive since he played this position for the Dominicans in 2009, as he's made a jump in the batting order from seventh to third and has become the face of baseball his country. Hanley Ramirez, the former No. 3 hitter displaced by Cano in the Dominican lineup, was also displaced from his former position in the Marlins infield last year by the very person with whom he alternated in the 2009 WBC: Jose Reyes. They have since both been traded away by Miami and are both projected to start the 2013 season at shortstop. The other two returning offensive players from 2009 are Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, who made a not-quite-Cano-like jump in the batting order from eighth to sixth, and third baseman Miguel Tejada, who made a couple starts in this tournament despite not having played at the major league level in 2012.
The D.R.'s heaviest hitter in terms of fantasy points - Edwin Encarnacion slugged 2,408 points for the Blue Jays last year, narrowly eclipsing Cano's 2,396 - did not play in 2009 since they pulled the legendary David Ortiz into the field for the tournament. Carlos Santana (not the guitar player) is the third-ranked catcher in the game this year behind Buster Posey and Yadier Molina, indicating that people are expecting big things from the oft-injured power hitter entering his age 27 season. Shortstop Erick Aybar occupies the roster spot taken up by his brother Willy in 2009. And White Sox center fielder Alejandro De Aza is the only other major league starting outfielder on the roster, leaving left field to a pair of Blue Jays farmhands, Ricardo Nanita and Moises Sierra. With so much established major league talent, you wouldn't expect to find many prospects on this roster, but outfielder Eury Perez (Washington's #7) and infielder Leury Garcia (Texas's #19) are on the bench if needed.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, prospects are the name of the game for a Dutch roster that is short on established star power. That's not to say that there aren't any major leaguers in the lineup: leadoff hitting shortstop Andrelton Simmons is likely to fill those same roles for the Braves this year, Roger Bernadina was (and will be again) the fourth outfielder for the Nationals, and Andruw Jones was a reserve outfielder for the Yankees last year (his 2013 status is still uncertain). But the two prospects that really make this team are the (really) last players I'll mention from that ESPN.com article that profiled the best non-major league players in the tournament: #20 overall prospect (and #1 on the Red Sox) Xander Bogaerts and Baltimore's #4 prospect
Jonathan Schoop (pronounced like "scope"). In the two rounds prior, these two started at third base and second base for the Dutch, respectively, but for the semifinals, Schoop will shift to third and Bogaerts will shift to the bench to make room for baseball's consensus #1 prospect Jurickson Profar, the reason the Rangers are listening on trade offers for Venezuelan starting shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Of the non-MLB non-prospect players on this team, former major outfielder and cleanup hitter Wladimir Balentien had the best season statistically - he clubbed 30 home runs for the Yakult Swallows of the NPB. Third baseman/outfielder Yurendell de Caster, one of the four holdovers from 2009's offense (none of them were mentioned above), was not far behind, hitting .326 with Winnipeg of the independent American Association. No one else played above AA with the following three players reaching that milestone: holdover first baseman Curt Smith played in Miami's organization, outfielder Kalian Sams was with Seattle, and infielder Hainley Statia was with Milwaukee. Starting catcher Dashenko Ricardo played with San Francisco's low-A affiliate, meaning this offense didn't have to rely on any starters who played exclusively for the Dutch major league - not the case for the pitching staff, as we'll explore below.
But first, on the Dominican pitching side, only one player returned from 2009: Padres starter Edinson Volquez, who started the opening games of both previous rounds and is slated to start tonight's semifinal matchup. This team is modeled after the United States rather than Japan, with only other two other starters on the roster: veteran Pirates lefty Wandy Rodriguez and surprisingly effective 2012 rookie Samuel Deduno, who has used the WBC so far to make a very convincing case for a spot in a weak Twins rotation. The overall point leader on this team is neither Cano nor Encarnacion, but 36-year-old Rays closer
Fernando Rodney (2,478 points from 48 saves and a 0.60 ERA), who has pitched in every one of his team's game in this tournament. Backing him up is a group of fireballers headlined by Giants stand-in closer Santiago Casilla, famous team-hopping journeyman Octavio Dotel, projected Astros closer Jose Veras, the Royals' breakout setup man Kelvin Herrera, Pedro Strop of the Orioles, and Alfredo Simon of the Reds.
Prior to the semifinals, which saw the addition of Dodgers closer and 2009 holdover Kenley Jansen to the roster, the Dutch pitching staff didn't have a single major league pitcher representing. Of the five pitchers who started a game for the Netherlands, only 2009 holdover Tom Stuifbergen of the Twins' high-A affiliate had any American professional experience in 2012. Three of the other starters, including tonight's starter
Diegomar Markwell, last played in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, which is, no joke, the Dutch translation of Major League Baseball. Had I known the Dutch word for baseball, I would have been actively rooting for the Netherlands much earlier in the tournament. Other players who spent time for major league affiliates last year are minor league journeyman Shairon Martis (who got a taste of The Show with the Nationals in 2008-09) and reliever Loek van Mil (who split 2012 between Cleveland and the Angels, and is currently trying to catch on with Cincinnati on a minor league deal).
Who will advance to meet upstart Puerto Rico in the final game tomorrow? Let's find out!
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