Chris Archer Can Claim National Fame with Dominant 2017 World Baseball Classic

For whatever reason, Chris Archer isn't a Star, capital "S."

Sure, the Tampa Bay Rays right-hander made the American League All-Star team in 2015 and enjoyed a top-five AL Cy Young Award finish.

Hardcore baseball aficionados know him well; many casual fans could pick him out of a lineup.

Somehow, though, Archer hasn't ascended to the impossible-to-define, know-it-when-I-see-it upper echelon of MLB aces.

Starting with the World Baseball Classic, that could change.

Yes, the WBC is technically a glorified exhibition, but it commands eyeballs. In 2013, the tournament drew nearly 900,000 spectators and set TV ratings records from Japan to the Dominican Republic.

Especially internationally, the 16-nation Classic is kind of a big deal.

"I still remember watching Derek Jeter and Roger Clemens take the field for Team USA," said Archer, who was a high schooler in North Carolina when the WBC debuted in 2006, per MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi. "I was in awe. I realized there was no higher level of international competition for our sport. This is the equivalent of the World Cup of soccer."

Now, Archer can etch his name next to some of the game's greats and gain a well-deserved fame boost.

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Here's the part where you glance at the 9-19 record and 4.02 ERA Archer posted last season and wonder what on earth I'm blathering about. Those are back-of-the-rotation numbers, at best.

Ah, but let's scratch a little deeper, shall we?

Archer featured bat-missing stuff, fanning 233 in 201.1 innings. His 3.41 xFIP—which is essentially a version of ERA with defense removed from the equation—suggests a hefty dollop of bad luck. Most encouragingly, he posted a 3.25 ERA after the All-Star break.

Between 2014 and 2016, Archer's 11.5 WAR ranks 15th-best among big league pitchers, sandwiched between Stephen Strasburg (11.8) and Cole Hamels (11.4), per FanGraphs.

By virtually any measure, he's a stud. Oh, and he turned 28 in September, meaning he's in the midst of his prime.

He's far from the only luminary on the USA's WBC roster. The position-player list includes San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, among others. 

On the pitching side, reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals dropped out because of a finger issue, but top-shelf arms including Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman and Cleveland Indians lefty super-reliever Andrew Miller are locked in. 

The Washington Nationals' Tanner Roark, Oakland Athletics' Sonny Gray and Kansas City Royals' Danny Duffy may also get starts, as CBSSports.com's Mike Axisa noted.

Archer, however, could be instrumental in guiding the United States to its first WBC victory, especially with Scherzer out. Among the list of possible starters, he's the guy I'd hand the ball to.

Japan won the tourney in 2006 and 2009, while the Dominican Republic hoisted the trophy in 2013. Team USA's best showing came in '09, when it finished fourth.

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In addition to a live arm and devastating stuff, Archer is a potential face of the game.

"From our perspective, Chris Archer may be the sort of ideal major league player—he's articulate, he's inquisitive, he's community-minded and he loves the game," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in April, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "You just can't ask for a better package than that."

Still, he's spent his entire big league tenure in the dreary, small-market confines of Tropicana Field. He's logged just 1.2 postseason innings and never made a playoff start. 

Imagine his profile if he pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers or wore New York Yankees pinstripes.

Here's Archer's chance to step into the spotlight—even with the WBC's strict and necessary pitch-count limits—and inspire some unvarnished national pride at a moment when our country is (ahem) a touch divided.

Here's his chance to be a Star, capital "S."

Call it a hunch, call it optimism, but I say he seizes it.

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.