As the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) approaches the final, decisive games of the pool round, there have been some memorable, borderline legendary pitching performances. The expected dominance of Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who seemed to almost toy with the opposition, was certainly evident in the early phases of the international tournament. Equally impressive, though not entirely unsurprising, was the outstanding performance of tenured MLB veterans such as Michael Lorenzen, who stymied the American superteam, enroute to a triumphant victory for Team Italy.
The resurgence of Luis Severino who, despite being projected as a questionable pick to join the Dominican rotation, was also notable. He was dominant against a Netherlands team that, top to bottom, had substantial current and former MLB representation. A’s fans have to be pumped after seeing “Sevy” average north of 98 mph with his four-seamer.
Those stories and stat lines are what fans came to see: elite baseball from around the globe going head-to-head for bragging rights as the world’s best. For some pitchers, the passion, drive, and love of the game appear to be what keep them going. It isn’t the multimillion-dollar contracts or access to every domain of daily coaching. Rather, an innate desire to compete, and the ability to rise to the occasion, were evident in three particular instances of WBC pool play.
These pitchers, in two instances anyway, will not be advancing to the quarterfinal rounds, but they have, in all likelihood, piqued the interest of international scouting departments across MLB. They proved, against formidable competition, that they can go head-to-head with the best without being intimidated. Here are three studs who could be temporarily leaving their day jobs this season.
