Projecting Team USA’s World Baseball Classic Lineup, Pitching Rotation

With the 30-man roster revealed, here’s how Team USA’s batting order and pitching rotation could shake out when the Americans take the field.

Yankees outfielder and three-time MVP Aaron Judge will lead Team USA into the World Baseball Classic. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The rosters for all 20 teams playing in the World Baseball Classic were revealed Thursday ahead of the start of the tournament on March 5. Now it’s time to speculate on how managers will navigate those rosters to set starting lineups and pitching staffs. While a difficult task for all, it’s an especially challenging endeavor—in a good way—for Team USA skipper Mark DeRosa, who’s entering his second WBC as the team’s manager after a silver-medal finish in 2023.

DeRosa has an even more star-studded team at his disposal this time around, with a lineup headlined by reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge and slugging catcher Cal Raleigh, and a pitching rotation that features both reigning Cy Young Award winners in Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes.

Projected Team USA World Baseball Classic Batting Order

Order	Position	Player	Bats
1	LF	Roman Anthony	L
2	RF	Aaron Judge	R
3	1B	Bryce Harper	L
4	C	Cal Raleigh	S
5	SS	Bobby Witt Jr.	R
6	DH	Kyle Schwarber	L
7	3B	Alex Bregman	R
8	CF	Pete Crow-Armstrong	L
9	2B	Brice Turang	L

Anthony, who replaced the injured Corbin Carroll, spent 31 of 71 games in the leadoff slot for the Red Sox during his impressive rookie season. In those games, he posted a .336/.439/.564 slash line. Judge, who owns a .457 OBP and .695 slugging percentage in back-to-back American League MVP seasons, is the ideal No. 2 hitter for this—and any—lineup. Another former MVP slots in behind Judge in Harper, who has spent much of his Hall of Fame-worthy career batting third. Raleigh, fresh off a record-setting ‘25 campaign that saw him belt 60 home runs, is an opposing pitcher’s worst nightmare behind Harper and Judge.

It speaks volumes to the talent in this lineup that a potential MVP candidate in Witt Jr. could find himself batting fifth. Going with Schwarber’s elite power and patience behind Witt is a nice way to set the tone for the bottom half of the batting order. Bregman might not be the hitter he once was, but he can still handle the bat (128 OPS+ in ‘25) and his above-average defense at third is a must-have in the lineup. Speaking of defense, Crow-Armstrong was MLB’s best defensive center fielder last year, leading the majors in outs above average while taking home his first Gold Glove. Oh, and he also belted 31 homers while swiping 35 bases. The pesky Turang, who ranked 10th in MLB in pitches per plate appearance and posted a 10% walk rate in ‘25, is like a second leadoff hitter for Team USA.

DeRosa has plenty of permutations to play around with, with Dodgers star Will Smith able to spell Raleigh at catcher, Twins slugger Byron Buxton another option in center field, Gunnar Henderson a high-level talent at shortstop and Ernie Clement a dependable option at second or third base.

Projected Team USA Starting Pitching Rotation

Role	Player	Throws
SP1	Tarik Skubal	L
SP2	Paul Skenes	R
SP3	Logan Webb	R
SP4	Joe Ryan	R
SP5	Nolan McLean	R

DeRosa’s most difficult decision might just be who takes the ball first for Team USA between back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and ‘25 National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes. There is no wrong decision. Webb, MLB’s leader in quality starts and innings pitched since 2022, is a rock-solid number three starter. Ryan posted a career-best 3.42 ERA and baseball’s fourth-largest difference between strikeout and walk rates en route to his first All-Star team in ‘25. McLean is the favorite for NL Rookie of the Year after the Mets phenom pitched to a 2.06 ERA in his first eight career starts. Veterans Matthew Boyd, Michael Wacha and Clayton Kershaw—pitching in his final taste of professional baseball—could also be in the mix to start.

While this is listed as a traditional five-man rotation, it’s more likely that DeRosa utilizes the vast pitching depth in Team USA’s arsenal to ensure that no single pitcher handles too heavy a workload. But in terms of true starting pitching options, these five project to be his best options.

Team USA begins World Baseball Classic group play on March 6 against Brazil at 8 p.m. ET.

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