Great Britain World Baseball Classic roster: Trayce Thompson, Lucius Fox headline 2023 WBC team
Britain has advanced to the World Baseball Classic for the first time in the nation’s history, and it has an exciting list that should be entertaining.
Team GB is at full speed. It has streakers like Lucius Fox, Anfernee Seymour, Darnell Sweeney, Chavez Young and D’Shawn Knowles, who were a threat on the basepaths during their professional baseball careers. Even the team’s catcher, Harry Ford, was a stealing threat with the Minors in his first full season.
The team also has a seasoned MLB veteran in the lineup in Trayce Thompson, who has shown some pop and could give Britain a medium power source, and a group of pitchers who have varying amounts of MLB and MiLB experience to back that up to make a well-rounded club.
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Here’s everything you need to know about the World Baseball Classic UK roster.
List of Great Britain World Baseball Classic 2023
Britain might not be full of star names, but there are several players MLB fans will be familiar with, including a former rookie-of-the-year finalist, a current top prospect and several former top prospects in the sport.
pitchers
| player | team | throws |
|---|---|---|
| Akel Morris | R | |
| Alex Webb | R | |
| Andre Schrubb | R | |
| Branden Noriega | Chicago Cubs | L |
| camera opp | New York Mets | L |
| Chavez Fernandez | Detroit Tigers | R |
| Daniel Cooper | R | |
| Donovan Benoit | Cincinnati Red | R |
| Graham Spacker | Tampa Bay Rays | R |
| Gunnar Gron | Arizona Diamondbacks | R |
| Ian Gibaut | Cincinnati Red | R |
| Jack Seppings | University of Brown | R |
| Jake Esch | R | |
| Joseph King | St. Louis Cardinals | R |
| Malik Binns | Philadelphia Phillies | R |
| Matteo Sollecito | Swarthmore College | R |
| McKenzie Mills | L | |
| Michael Petersen | Colorado Rockies | R |
| Michael Roth | L | |
| Richard Breton | R | |
| Ryan Long | Baltimore Orioles | R |
| Tahnaj Thomas | Pittsburgh Pirates | R |
| Tyler Viza | Minnesota twins | R |
| Vance Worley | R |
catcher
| player | team | punches/throws |
|---|---|---|
| HarryFord | Seafarers from Seattle | r/r |
| Ural Forbes | r/r |
infielder
| player | team | position | punches/throws |
|---|---|---|---|
| BJ Murray Jr. | Chicago Cubs | 1B/3B | S/R |
| Justin Wylie | Jackals from New Jersey | 2B/OF | r/r |
| Lucius Fuchs | Washington Nationals | ss | S/R |
| Nick Ward | Philadelphia Phillies | 1B/2B/SS | L/R |
outfield player
| player | team | position | punches/throws |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Crosby | RF | L/R | |
| Anfernee Seymour | CF/RF | S/R | |
| Chavez Young | Toronto Blue Jays | LF/CF/HF | S/R |
| D’Shawn Knowles | Angels from Los Angeles | LF/CF/HF | S/R |
| Darnell Sweeney | LF | S/R | |
| Matt Koperniak | St. Louis Cardinals | LF/HF | L/R |
| Trayce Thompson | Los Angeles Dodgers | LF/HF | r/r |
British players to watch at the World Baseball Classic
Team GB might not be packed with MLB starting talent, but there are some notable names on the list.
Trayce Thompson, who hit .256/.353/.507 with 13 homers and four steals with the Padres and Dodgers in 2022, is the biggest name on the team. He should add some power to the lineup after hitting 20+ home runs in four separate minor league seasons.
Harry Ford is one of baseball’s biggest prospects and ranks fourth on the MLB Pipeline’s top catchers prospects list. The Mariners’ first pick in the 2021 MLB Draft batted .274/.425/.439 with 11 homers and stole 23 bases in his first full season of 2022.
MORE: World Baseball Classic 2023 schedule
The rest of the squad also offers plenty of speed beyond their fast catcher. Angels international D’Shawn Knowles was once a high-ranking prospect in the Los Angeles system but saw his stock plummet after a few struggles in 2021. The 22-year-old Bahamian outfielder had an improved 2022 between High-A and Class-A, combining to wipe 22 bases and post a .262/.347/.334 slash. He is also joined outfield by Darnell Sweeney, who stole 48 bases in the Dodgers’ system in 2013.
Another speedster on the list will be Lucius Fox, who has bounced around in his career after stints with the Giants, Rays, Royals and now the Nationals. In 2019, the last season in which he played 63+ games, he accumulated 39 stolen bases.
Vance Worley is one of the most recognizable names on the pitching team, having 667 MLB innings in his career from 2010 to 2017. He finished third in voting for 2011 NL Rookie of the Year when he had a 3.01 ERA in 131.2 innings. Ian Gibaut became a regular helper with the Reds in 2022, posting a 4.67 ERA in 33 games with the club. He had 48 strikeouts and 18 walks in 34.2 innings of work.
Who coaches Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic?
Drew Spencer will be the manager of Team GB. The coaching staff consists of Brad Marcelino (Bench Coach), Antoan Richardson (Bench Coach), Jonathon Cramman (Associate Hitting Coach), Zach Graefser (Pitching Coach), Albert Cartwright (First Base Coach), TS Reed (Third Base coaches). ) and Conor Brooks (bullpen trainer).
Spencer has been in the UK coaching ranks for some time, having been the team’s Under-23 head coach and leading the team to a fifth-place finish at the 2019 European Championships. In the 1990s, he played baseball at Dartmouth, where his career included earning first-team All-Ivy League honors in 1994 and 1996.
MORE: MLB team-by-team WBC breakdown
History of the Great Britain World Baseball Classic
Britain received its first invitation to the World Baseball Classic in 2013 after a solid performance at the 2009 World Cup propelled the team up the International Baseball Federation’s world rankings.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier didn’t go well. Great Britain had three games and had mixed results. They lost 11-1 to Canada in the preliminary rounds of the second qualifier before beating the Czech Republic 12-5 in the sub-round. However, Germany defeated Great Britain 16-1 in the sub-finals and advanced to the qualifying finals.
Great Britain had a much better performance in 2017. The team lost 5-2 to Israel in the preliminary rounds but dropped out of the bottom group, beating Pakistan 14-0 and Brazil 4-3. However, Israel prevailed against Great Britain again, beating them 9-1 in the qualifying final.
That year, Britain reached the World Baseball Classic for the first time when they advanced through the qualifying round, beating France 14-4, Germany 8-1 and Spain 10-0.
| Year | Result | endgame |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Not occurred | N / A |
| 2009 | Not occurred | N / A |
| 2013 | Didn’t qualify | 16:1 defeat against Germany |
| 2017 | Didn’t qualify | 9-1 defeat by Israel |
| 2023 | open | open |
Great Britain World Baseball Classic 2023 schedule
Great Britain plays in Pool C alongside Canada, Colombia, Mexico and the United States. It will play its first game against the USA on Saturday, March 11 at 22:00 ET or Sunday, March 12 at 3:00 GMT.
The final game of the World Baseball Classic Pool Stage in the UK will be on March 14 in the US and early morning of March 15 UK time. Team GB plays Mexico at 10pm ET and 2am GMT.
Here’s a look at Britain’s schedule at the World Baseball Classic.
| Date | Game | time (ET) | Channel (USA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 11 | Great Britain vs. USA | 22 O `clock | Fox |
| March 12th | Great Britain vs Canada | 3 pm | FS1 |
| March 13th | Colombia vs Great Britain | 3 pm | FS2 |
| the 14th of March | Great Britain vs. Mexico | 22 O `clock | FS1 |