USA Baseball Reveals Lineup for 1st WBC Exhibition Featuring Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, More

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa provided a preview of how his offense could look for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

The United States plays the San Francisco Giants in an exhibition Tuesday to prepare for the tournament. DeRosa had Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. leading off, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper and New York Yankees' Aaron Judge.

Recruiting talent for the WBC wasn't always easy for the Team USA coach. Especially with the first few installments, the event simply didn't carry a lot of prestige, so some of the top American stars didn't feel compelled to take part.

As evidenced by Tuesday's lineup, that's no longer a concern.

Team USA is stacked from top to bottom.

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang is the No. 9 hitter, and he's coming off a 2025 season in which he batted .288 with 18 home runs. Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong are among the options DeRosa can bring off the bench as well.

The pitching staff, meanwhile, includes the two best starters on the planet with Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.

"I feel Paul Skenes changed the game," DeRosa told ESPN's Jorge Castillo. "Once Paul announced that he was going to do it, some of the best pitchers in the game were telling me they wanted to be around him. And he was pretty adamant with me when he agreed that, like, 'Hey, I want us to attack the best pitchers in the sport. I want to get better in this process when I'm with you guys for three weeks. I want to learn from different guys as well.' That's how it started. Paul was the first domino to fall."

After pool play, the WBC knockout stage is a single-elimination format. It only takes one strong pitching performance to hold Team USA's star-studded lineup in check and leave the U.S. vulnerable to an upset.

In terms of pure talent, though, nobody can match the arsenal DeRosa possesses.