Sunday, March 10, 2013

WBC Roster Roundup

Braun leads a versatile U.S. team against international competition
Here's a quick look at who's representing the United States in this year's World Baseball Classic:

Catchers
Joe Mauer--2009 AL MVP, five All-Star selections, four Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves
J.P. Arencibia--41 home runs and .212 ISO since becoming Toronto's everyday catcher in 2011
Jonathan Lucroy--Batted .320/.368/.513 last year

Infielders
1B Eric Hosmer--Showed promise as a rookie in 2011, when he batted .293 with 19 homers and 11 steals at the age of 21
2B Brandon Phillips--Three Gold Golves, two All-Star selections, has averaged 20 homer and 21 steals per year starting in 2006
SS Jimmy Rollins--2007 NL MVP, four Gold Gloves, three All-Star selections, 2008 World Series champion
3B David Wright--Six All-Star selections, two Gold Gloves, best third baseman in National League
2B Ben Zobrist--2009 All-Star has been worth 26.5 bWAR over the past four years
U Willie Bloomquist--Veteran utility-man has played every position, minus pitcher and catcher, at the big league level

Outfielders
LF Ryan Braun--2011 NL MVP, 2007 NL Rookie of the Year, five All-Star selections and Silver Sluggers
CF Adam Jones--Two All-Star selections and Gold Gloves, a homeless man's Matt Kemp
RF Giancarlo Stanton--Led majors with .608 slugging percentage last season
RF/CF Shane Victorino--Three Gold Gloves, two All-Star selections

Starting Rotation
Ross Detwiler--Went 10-8 with a 3.40 ERA as Washington's number five starter last year
R.A. Dickey--2012 NL Cy Young recipient
Gio Gonzalez--Two All-Star selections, finished third in last year's Cy Young voting behind Dickey and Clayton Kershaw after leading the majors with 21 wins
Derek Holland--Led the American League with four shutouts in 2011
Ryan Vogelsong--2011 All-Star has won 27 games with 3.05 ERA over the past two seasons

Bullpen
Jeremy Affeldt--Won two World Series with San Francisco Giants
Heath Bell--Three straight All-Star appearances and 132 saves from 2009 through 2011
Mitchell Boggs--Solid setup man for St. Louis Cardinals posted 2.21 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 2012
Steve Cishek--Replaced Bell as the Marlins' closer last year, owns 2.57 career ERA
Tim Collins--23 year-old Royals reliever took a big step forward last year, posted 12.0 K/9 rate
Luke Gregerson--Has improved his ERA in each of the past three seasons
David Hernandez--J.J. Putz's setup man maintained 2.50 ERA and 12.9 K/9 rate last year
Craig Kimbrel--2011 NL Rookie of the Year, two All-Star selections, best closer in baseball
Glen Perkins--Stepped up as Minnesota's closer after Matt Capps got hurt
Vinnie Pestano--Dominant Indians setup man is one of the AL's best relievers

Coaches
Joe Torre--Manager, guided New York Yankees to four World Series titles in five years
Gerald Perry--Batting Coach, All-Star player serving as hitting coach for Tigers' Double-A team
Greg Maddux--Pitching Coach, won four straight Cy Young awards, possibly the best pitcher ever
Dale Murphy--First Base Coach, two-time NL MVP and borderline Hall of Fame candidate
Willie Randolph--Third Base Coach, six-time All-Star has 18 years of coaching/managerial experience
Larry Bowa--Bench Coach, five-time All-Star has served 23 seasons as a coach or manager
Marcel Lachemann--Coach, former A's reliever has 17 seasons of managerial/coaching experience under his belt

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