World Baseball Classic: Round 1, Pool D Recap

In a decidedly cyclical World Baseball Classic scheduling decision, on the same day that Round 2 ended in Tokyo for Pool 1, it started for Pool 2 in Miami. That means the advancing Japan and Netherlands teams will have nothing to do for a week but adjust to the 16-hour time difference between the Tokyo Dome and AT&T Park in San Francisco where the Final Round will commence this Sunday. Also, in a dramatic turn of events, the two teams that will not be advancing from Round 1's Pool D are the same two teams that were involved in the benches-clearing brawl in their last matchup: Mexico and Canada. But only the latter team's path to the WBC led through Qualifier 2 in Regensburg, Germany.

Despite a robust baseball tradition, including 21 Canadian-born players in the majors last year, Team Canada went winless in the 2009 tournament, forcing them into the qualifier situation. Since this Qualifier 2 took place during the regular season, meaning that only one of those 21 major leaguers were available: game 1 starter Shawn Hill. Even so, the Canucks steamrolled the competition, going undefeated and twice beating runner-up Germany, who had the qualifier's only other 2012 major leaguer, reliever Will Ohman. I was not surprised that Canada dominated in this qualifier, but I was surprised at the number of players on the other three rosters who are currently signed to major league organizations. Germany had left fielder / first baseman Donald Lutz, who spent all of last year on Cincinnati's 40-man roster while splitting time between their high-A and AA affiliates, center fielder Max Kepler, who showed why he was Minnesota's #10 ranked prospect by playing exceptionally well at the Rookie level, and Philadelphia single-A outfielder Aaron Altherr. Great Britain had a couple of standout pitchers in Dodgers #5 prospect Chris Reed and Jake Esch, who averaged 40 points per game in Miami's low minor league system. They also had Albert Cartwright, Philadelphia's high-A second baseman, and a pair of Baltimore outfielders Steven Bumbry (A+) and Antoan Richardson (AA). The only player of note on the Czech Republic's roster was career minor leaguer Mike Cervenak. Interestingly enough, of the seven players on the roster who played in professional organizations pre-2012, four of them were with the Twins system, which tells me they must have a strong scouting presence in Eastern Europe.

Team Canada's roster got a big boost when they moved to Phoenix, AZ for Round 2. In fact, the only starters that held over from the qualifiers were Phillies center field prospect Tyson Gillies, pitcher-turned-outfielder Adam Loewen, and Orioles AAA catcher Chris Robinson. Twins outfielder Rene Tosoni, Braves AA left fielder Tim Smith, journeyman IF/OF Jimmy Van Ostrand, and infielder Jonathan Malo of Quebec's independent league team remained on the roster, but moved to the bench. Six of those 21 major leaguers from 2012 joined the team on the offensive side for Round 1, although Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie didn't play in an official game due to injury. Three of them, including their two best hitters, were holdovers from last WBC team: 1B/DH combo Joey Votto and Justin Morneau, and second baseman Pete Orr. The newcomers were Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders and Brewers infielder Taylor Green, Lawrie's last-minute replacement in the lineup. A couple of notable players from 2009 were missing from this year's roster: catcher Russell Martin and outfielders Jason Bay and Matt Stairs.

The pitching staff was led by Pirates #2 prospect (and overall #15 prospect, as ranked by MLB) Jameson Taillon, who should be ready to help the Pirates in the next couple of years. Shawn Hill was joined by Chris Leroux as the only other 2012 major leaguer to start a WBC game for the Canucks. The bullpen was anchored by Brewers closer John Axford and his teammate Jim Henderson, as well as Philippe Aumont, who in the years since his appearance in the 2009 WBC has seen his stock fall from starting prospect to struggling reliever. Minnesota AA starter Andrew Albers started a game in the qualifier, but was moved to the bullpen for Round 1. This team might have had a chance if other notable Canadian starters such as Ryan Dempster, Erik Bedard, Jeff Francis, or Scott Diamond had decided to show up, but I understand that cementing your role with a major league club takes precedence over celebrating national pride.

Team Mexico's fortunes rested pretty much solely on the shoulders of two titans: Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo and Dodgers cleanup hitter Adrian Gonzalez, the latter of whom was one of only four holdovers from the 2009 squad. The other three were veteran outfielder Karim Garcia, who has spent the eight years since he last played in the majors jumping between Japan, Korea, and Mexico, starter starter Rodrigo Lopez, who spent last year starting for the Cubs' AAA affiliate and is currently trying to make it with the Phillies as a non-roster invitee, and former starter Oliver Perez, who is trying to reinvent himself as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen. Sergio Romo and Alfredo Aceves served as the closers for their respective clubs last year, but whereas Romo helped the Giants win a championship, the Red Sox can't even trade Aceves on account of his being possessed by the devil and all. Gallardo's projected number 2 in Milwaukee's rotation also started a game for this squad, while a handful of relievers also saw major league action: Luis Mendoza primarily started for Kansas City and Fernando Salas and Cesar Ramos pitched in relief for St. Louis and Tampa Bay respectively. Third baseman Luis Cruz kicked the tar out of AAA pitchers and is scheduled to open the season as the Dodgers starter. On the prospect front, backup catcher Sebastian Valle ranked at #3 in the Phillies system.

The other two members of Pool D, USA and Italy, advanced to the second round and played their first Pool 2 games yesterday. I'll have more on them after a more in-depth look at the runners up in Round 2's other pool.