3 Chicago Cubs Players to Watch in the World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) begins on March 7th and 20 countries will compete for the chance to call themselves the best in the world. Although the WBC takes place in March, the players take this tournament very seriously. The opportunity to wear their country's name across their chest is not a privilege they take lightly. The Chicago Cubs will have a total of 16 players in the tournament representing 10 countries. For all those wondering about the eligibility rules for players to play for their respective country, you can find those here.

I recently wrote an article about who on the Cubs is competing in the WBC. While most of the players mentioned will be playing, there are a few who will be absent. Nick Madrigal and Esteban Quiroz will not be playing in the WBC for Mexico as was originally thought. Nick Andracki of Marquee Sports Network gives a complete list of all Cubs' players in the WBC here. Official rosters of the WBC can be found on the World Baseball Classic Twitter page.

The Cubs will have some intriguing players in the WBC, and not all are a part of the major league squad. This tournament gives some of the prospects a chance to show off their skillset on a bigger stage and start to make a name for themselves. Here are 3 Cubs players to watch in the World Baseball Classic.

Roenis Elias

Roenis Elias will be suiting up for Cuba in the WBC. He was signed by the Cubs this off-season and is someone that could prove to be very valuable in the bullpen this year. He has pitched 395 2/3 innings in his major league career. He began as a starter for the Mariners but was moved to the bullpen in recent years. In those innings, he has a 3.96 ERA and a respectable 1.32 WHIP. Despite his usage out of the bullpen in recent years, he started in the Dominican Republic winter league and dominated. He had a sub-1 ERA and WHIP in 39 innings pitched. In those innings, he struck out 38 and gave up just 20 hits.

The Cubs will be without a few relievers to start the season, and they were already lacking a left-handed bullpen arm. If Elias can be anywhere near the form he was in during the winter league, he is going to be a weapon in the backend of the Cubs' bullpen. Playing in the WBC gives Elias a chance to face more major league hitting and prove the winter league was not a fluke.

It will be interesting to see if Cuba uses Elias as a starter or reliever, but if he is seen in Chicago this year, it will be as a bullpen piece. After throwing 39 innings in the winter league, it can be assumed that Cuba and the Cubs do not want to give him a heavier workload. With all that said, Elias is not on the 40-man roster but he did get invited to spring training. If he wants an opening day roster spot, he has to continue his dominance from the winter league into spring training and the WBC.

This list would not be complete without the Cubs' most hyped prospect of this off-season. Matt Mervis will be representing Israel in the WBC. Mervis is the Cubs' number 21 ranked prospect. Mervis is more recently being referred to as Mash Mervis because of his performance in 2022. In 512 minor league at-bats, between three levels, Mervis hit .309 with 36 home runs and 119 RBI while slugging over .600. It is easy to see why fans are raving about him and would like to see him in the majors sooner rather than later. However, he still has a lot to prove, and with only two seasons of professional ball under his belt, he might not be ready for the MLB yet.

Playing in the WBC will put Mervis against big-league pitching, just as it will Owen Caissie. Unlike Caissie, Mervis is in the hardest pool of the whole tournament. Israel will have to play the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and a Nicaragua team with a lot of momentum. These teams are stacked with really good pitchers, so Mervis will have his work cut out for him. Facing pitchers like Sandy Alcantara, Edwin Diaz, and Pablo Lopez could be really good for him. Many people want Mervis on the opening-day roster, and if he can come out of this pool as one of the top hitters in the tournament it will only make their argument stronger.

The Cubs signed Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer during the off-season making it even more unlikely that Mervis starts the season on the opening-day roster. However, with a good spring training and a solid showing at the WBC Mervis could make a case for himself to be the first call-up of the season. This is especially true if Hosmer or Mancini get hurt. Israel begins their WBC journey on March 12th and Matt Mervis should be their starting first baseman.