World Baseball Classic 2013 Rosters: Key Players to Watch During First Round
The 2013 World Baseball Classic is set to get underway this weekend, as 16 teams from around the globe will begin the first round, a four-group round-robin format that will narrow the field down to eight teams.
The Dominican Republic, Japan (two-time defending champion), the United States and Venezuela are among the favorites to win this year.
But while the Japanese squad is loaded with talented players whose names remain unknown to American baseball fans, some of the other top contenders will be led by current major-league superstars.
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In anticipation of this year's global baseball event, let's highlight some key players to watch.
Robinson Cano, Dominican Republic, 2B
New York Yankees star Robinson Cano is arguably the best second baseman in baseball today. At age 30, Cano is in the prime of his career—and the numbers prove it.
Cano hit a career-high 33 home runs last season with the Bombers, and he has batted .300 or better in each of his past four seasons in the Big Apple.
But Cano's greatness isn't limited to the plate. He finished 2012 with a .992 fielding percentage, recording 435 assists, 285 putouts and 92 double plays, while picking up just six errors all year.
On a Dominican Republic team loaded with star talent, Cano stands out as one of the top offensive and defensive infielders in the game.
Ryan Braun, United States, OF
Another player who is entering his baseball prime is American star outfielder Ryan Braun, who has been a consistent offensive machine for the Milwaukee Brewers in recent seasons. He has driven in numerous runs and gone yard often for Milwaukee.
Braun led the National League with 41 home runs in 2012 and has blossomed into a dependable player in left field.
The United States will have a lot of firepower to work with, but few players on the planet are capable of generating as much offense as Braun, who boasts a career .568 slugging percentage.
Miguel Cabrera, Venezuela, 3B/1B
Last year's Triple Crown winner, Miguel Cabrera will be swapping his Detroit Tigers jersey for a Venezuelan one this March.
Cabrera's recent success on the diamond has been well-documented. He is the reigning American League MVP, and he is coming off a season in which he recorded career-bests in hits (205), home runs (44) and RBI (139). With the offensively-gifted Cabrera leading the way, Venezuela has to be considered one of the favorites to win this year's tournament.
Although he will hold his own defensively, you won't want to miss Cabrera at the plate, where he is sure to shine.
World Baseball Classic 2013 Rosters (via WorldBaseballClassic.com)
Australia
| PITCHERS |
| Adam Bright |
| Tim Kennelly |
| Steven Kent |
| Shane Lindsay |
| Chris Oxspring |
| Ryan Rowland-Smith |
| Andrew Russell |
| Dushan Ruzic |
| Warwick Saupold |
| Ryan Searle |
| Clayton Tanner |
| Brad Thomas |
| Matthew Williams |
| Brendan Wise |
| CATCHERS |
| Allan de San Miguel |
| Matt Kennelly |
| INFIELDERS |
| James Beresford |
| Josh Davies |
| Brad Harman |
| Justin Huber |
| Luke Hughes |
| Mike Walker |
| Stefan Welch |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Corey Adamson |
| Mitch Dening |
| David Kandilas |
| Joshua Roberts |
| Chris Snelling |
Brazil
| PITCHERS |
| Gabriel Asakura |
| Rafael Fernandes |
| Murilo Gouvea |
| Hugo Kanabushi |
| Kesley Kondo |
| Daniel Missaki |
| Rafael Moreno |
| Oscar Nakaoshi |
| Ernesto Noris |
| Andre Rienzo |
| Thyago Vieira |
| Carlos Yoshimura |
| CATCHERS |
| Diego Franca |
| Bruno Hirata |
| INFIELDERS |
| Felipe Burin |
| Alan Fanhoni |
| Iago Januario |
| Daniel Matsumoto |
| Pedro Okuda |
| Leonardo Reginatto |
| Lucas Rojo |
| Marcio Tanaka |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Tiago Magalhaes |
| Mike Magario |
| JC Muniz |
| Paulo Orlando |
| Jean Tome |
| DESIGNATED HITTERS |
| Reinaldo Sato |
Canada
| PITCHERS |
| Andrew Albers |
| Phillippe Aumont |
| John Axford |
| Jesse Crain |
| Mark Hardy |
| Jim Henderson |
| Shawn Hill |
| Jay Johnson |
| Chris Leroux |
| Trystan Magnuson |
| Scott Mathieson |
| Dustin Molleken |
| Jameson Taillon |
| CATCHERS |
| Chris Robinson |
| John Suomi |
| INFIELDERS |
| Taylor Green |
| Cale Iorg |
| Brett Lawrie |
| Jonathan Malo |
| Justin Morneau |
| Pete Orr |
| Jimmy Van Ostrand |
| Joey Votto |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Tyson Gillies |
| Adam Loewen |
| Michael Saunders |
| Rene Tosoni |
| DESIGNATED HITTERS |
| Tim Smith |
China
| PITCHERS |
| Tao Bu |
| Kun Chen |
| Shuai Li |
| Wenming Li |
| Xin Li |
| Yu Liu |
| Jiangang Lu |
| Xia Luo |
| Qingyuan Meng |
| Song Ran |
| Haifan Yang |
| Yanyong Yang |
| Dawei Zhu |
| CATCHERS |
| Wei Dong |
| Weiqiang Meng |
| Wei Wang |
| INFIELDERS |
| Xu An |
| Ray Chang |
| Fujia Chu |
| Delong Jia |
| Yubing Jia |
| Lei Li |
| Shu Okamura |
| Yufeng Zhang |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Xiao Cui |
| Jingfeng Lai |
| Zhenhong Lu |
Chinese Taipei
| PITCHERS |
| Hung-Wen Chen |
| Chin-Chih Huang |
| Hung-Chih Kuo |
| Yi-Hao Lin |
| Yu-Ching Lin |
| Ching-Lung Lo |
| Wei-Lun Pan |
| Jen-Ho Tseng |
| Chien-Ming Wang |
| Ching-Ming Wang |
| I-Cheng Wang |
| Yao-Lin Wang |
| Yao-Hsun Yang |
| CATCHERS |
| Ta-Hung Cheng |
| Chih-Kang Kao |
| Hung-Yu Lin |
| INFIELDERS |
| Chiang-Ho Chen |
| Yung-Chi Chen |
| Yen-Wen Kuo |
| Chih-Sheng Lin |
| Han Lin |
| Yi-Chuan Lin |
| Cheng-Min Peng |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Cheng-Wei Chang |
| Chien-Ming Chang |
| Szu-Chi Chou |
| Che-Hsuan Lin |
| Dai-Kang Yang |
Cuba
| PITCHERS |
| Freddy Alvarez |
| Danny Betancourt |
| Diosdany Castillo |
| Odrisamer Despaigne |
| Vladimir Garcia |
| Norberto Gonzalez |
| Yander Guevara |
| Raciel Iglesias |
| Ismel Jimenez |
| Darien Nunez |
| Yadier Pedroso |
| Wilber Perez |
| Alexander Rodriguez |
| CATCHERS |
| Frank Morejon |
| Yosbany Peraza |
| Eriel Sanchez |
| INFIELDERS |
| Jose Abreu |
| Erisbel Arruebarruena |
| Jose Fernandez |
| Raul Gonzalez |
| Yulieski Gourriel |
| Andy Ibanez |
| Luis Rivera |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Alexei Bell |
| Frederich Cepeda |
| Alfredo Despaigne |
| Guillermo Heredia |
| Yasmany Tomas |
Dominican Republic
| PITCHERS |
| Santiago Casilla |
| Angel Castro |
| Juan Cedeno |
| Samuel Deduno |
| Octavio Dotel |
| Kelvin Herrera |
| Fernando Rodney |
| Wandy Rodriguez |
| Atahualpa Severino |
| Alfredo Simon |
| Pedro Strop |
| Jose Valverde |
| Jose Veras |
| Edinson Volquez |
| CATCHERS |
| Francisco Pena |
| Carlos Santana |
| INFIELDERS |
| Erick Aybar |
| Robinson Cano |
| Edwin Encarnacion |
| Leury Garcia |
| Hanley Ramirez |
| Jose Reyes |
| Miguel Tejada |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Nelson Cruz |
| Alejandro De Aza |
| Melky Mesa |
| Ricardo Nanita |
| Moises Sierra |
Italy
| PITCHERS |
| Justin Cicatello |
| Chris Cooper |
| Tim Crabbe |
| Tiago Da Silva |
| Jason Grilli |
| Alex Maestri |
| John Mariotti |
| Luca Panerati |
| Nick Pugliese |
| Dan Serafini |
| Brian Sweeney |
| Matt Torra |
| Pat Venditte |
| CATCHERS |
| Drew Butera |
| Tyler LaTorre |
| INFIELDERS |
| Jeff Bianchi |
| Chris Colabello |
| Mike Costanzo |
| Anthony Granato |
| Juan Infante |
| Alex Liddi |
| Nick Punto |
| Anthony Rizzo |
| Alessandro Vaglio |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Lorenzo Avagnina |
| Mario Chiarini |
| Chris Denorfia |
| Stefano Desimoni |
Japan
| PITCHERS |
| Takeru Imamura |
| Kenta Maeda |
| Kazuhisa Makita |
| Masahiko Morifuku |
| Atsushi Nomi |
| Kenji Otonari |
| Hirokazu Sawamura |
| Tadashi Settsu |
| Toshiya Sugiuchi |
| Masahiro Tanaka |
| Tetsuya Utsumi |
| Hideaki Wakui |
| Tetsuya Yamaguchi |
| CATCHERS |
| Shinnosuke Abe |
| Ryoji Aikawa |
| Ginjiro Sumitani |
| INFIELDERS |
| Yuichi Honda |
| Hirokazu Ibata |
| Nobuhiro Matsuda |
| Kazuo Matsui |
| Hayato Sakamoto |
| Takashi Toritani |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Hisayoshi Chono |
| Atsunori Inaba |
| Yoshio Itoi |
| Katsuya Kakunaka |
| Sho Nakata |
| Seiichi Uchikawa |
Netherlands
| PITCHERS |
| Johnny Balentina |
| David Bergman |
| Leon Boyd |
| Robbie Cordemans |
| Kevin Heijstek |
| Jonatan Isenia |
| Diegomar Markwell |
| Shairon Martis |
| Mark Pawelek |
| Tom Stuifbergen |
| Berry Van Driel |
| Loek Van Mil |
| Orlando Yntema |
| CATCHERS |
| Sebastiaan Nooij |
| Dashenko Ricardo |
| INFIELDERS |
| Xander Bogaerts |
| Yurendell de Caster |
| Quintin De Cuba |
| Jonathan Schoop |
| Andrelton Simmons |
| Curt Smith |
| Hainley Statia |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Wladimir Balentien |
| Roger Bernadina |
| Michael Duursma |
| Andruw Jones |
| Randolph Oduber |
| Kalian Sams |
South Korea
| PITCHERS |
| Woochan Cha |
| Won Jun Chang |
| Taehyon Chong |
| Wonsam Jang |
| Kyung Eun Noh |
| Seunghwan Oh |
| Heesoo Park |
| Jae Weong Seo |
| Seunglak Son |
| Seung Song |
| Wonsang Yoo |
| Hisang Yoon |
| Sukmin Yoon |
| CATCHERS |
| Kabyong Jin |
| Minho Kang |
| INFIELDERS |
| Jeong Choi |
| Keunwoo Jeong |
| Jungho Kang |
| Sangsu Kim |
| Taekyun Kim |
| Dae Ho Lee |
| Seung Yuop Lee |
| Sihyun Son |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Junwoo Jeon |
| Hyunsoo Kim |
| Jin Young Lee |
| Yongkyu Lee |
| Ahseop Son |
Mexico
| PITCHERS |
| Alfredo Aceves |
| Marco Estrada |
| Yovani Gallardo |
| David Hernandez |
| Rodrigo Lopez |
| Luis Mendoza |
| Oliver Perez |
| Horacio Ramirez |
| Cesar Ramos |
| Dennys Reyes |
| Francisco Rodriguez |
| Sergio Romo |
| Fernando Salas |
| Oscar Villarreal |
| CATCHERS |
| Jose Felix |
| Ali Solis |
| Sebastian Valle |
| INFIELDERS |
| Jorge Cantu |
| Luis Cruz |
| Adrian Gonzalez |
| Edgar Gonzalez |
| Walter Ibarra |
| Efren Navarro |
| Ramiro Pena |
| Gil Velazquez |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Eduardo Arredondo |
| Karim Garcia |
| Luis A. Garcia |
Puerto Rico
| PITCHERS |
| Giancarlo Alvarado |
| Jose Berrios |
| Hiram Burgos |
| Fernando Cabrera |
| Xavier Cedeno |
| Jose De La Torre |
| Nelson Figueroa |
| Efrain Nieves |
| Orlando Roman |
| J.C. Romero |
| Andres Santiago |
| Mario Santiago |
| Giovanni Soto |
| Javier Vazquez |
| CATCHERS |
| Martin Maldonado |
| Jose Molina |
| Yadier Molina |
| INFIELDERS |
| Mike Aviles |
| Irving Falu |
| Luis Figueroa |
| Andy Gonzalez |
| Carlos Rivera |
| Pedro Valdes |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Carlos Beltran |
| Jesus Feliciano |
| Angel Pagan |
| Alex Rios |
| Eddie Rosario |
| Andres Torres |
Spain
| PITCHERS |
| Richard Castillo |
| Rhiner Cruz |
| Eric Gonzalez |
| Ivan Granados |
| Ricardo Hernandez |
| Chris Manno |
| Eddie Morlan |
| Leslie Nacar |
| Yoanner Negrin |
| Antonio Noguera |
| Sergio Perez |
| Richard Salazar |
| Nick Schumacher |
| CATCHERS |
| Salomon Manriquez |
| Adrian Nieto |
| Blake Ochoa |
| INFIELDERS |
| Barbaro Canizares |
| Paco Figueroa |
| Jesus Golindano |
| Jesus Merchan |
| Nestor Perez |
| Yunesky Sanchez |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Rafael Alvarez |
| Engel Beltre |
| Jose Cruz |
| Daniel Figueroa |
| Yasser Gomez |
| Gabe Suarez |
United States
| PITCHERS |
| Jeremy Affeldt |
| Heath Bell |
| Mitchell Boggs |
| Steve Cishek |
| Tim Collins |
| Ross Detwiler |
| R.A. Dickey |
| Gio Gonzalez |
| Luke Gregerson |
| Derek Holland |
| Craig Kimbrel |
| Chris Perez |
| Glen Perkins |
| Vinnie Pestano |
| Ryan Vogelsong |
| CATCHERS |
| J.P. Arencibia |
| Jonathan Lucroy |
| Joe Mauer |
| INFIELDERS |
| Willie Bloomquist |
| Brandon Phillips |
| Jimmy Rollins |
| Mark Teixeira |
| David Wright |
| Ben Zobrist |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Ryan Braun |
| Adam Jones |
| Giancarlo Stanton |
| Shane Victorino |
Venezuela
| PITCHERS |
| Henderson Alvarez |
| Ronald Belisario |
| Jhoulys Chacin |
| Enrique Gonzalez |
| Deolis Guerra |
| Cesar Jimenez |
| Wil Ledezma |
| Jose Mijares |
| Ramon A. Ramirez |
| Juan Rincon |
| Francisco Rodriguez |
| Anibal Sanchez |
| Alex Torres |
| Carlos Zambrano |
| CATCHERS |
| Ramon Hernandez |
| Miguel Montero |
| Salvador Perez |
| INFIELDERS |
| Elvis Andrus |
| Asdrubal Cabrera |
| Miguel Cabrera |
| Omar Infante |
| Mario Lisson |
| Pablo Sandoval |
| Marco Scutaro |
| OUTFIELDERS |
| Carlos Gonzalez |
| Gerardo Parra |
| Martin Prado |
| Alex Romero |
Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.
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