When the World Baseball Classic returns next month, we'll get to see players from all over the world put on a show for the sixth time.
But a lot has changed between the first Classic in 2006 and the 2026 Classic two decades later.
For one thing, we now have full Statcast tracking for all World Baseball Classic games. That data is now searchable on Baseball Savant for the 2023 Classic, and it will be available for the 2026 Classic, too, as well as live data during games.
That means we can see exactly how far international stars are crushing their home runs, and exactly how electric their stuff is on the mound.
A lot of the players playing in the 2026 World Baseball Classic also participated in the 2023 tournament, so we have data on them already, whether they play in MLB or in an international league. And there were plenty of standouts.
Based on their performance in 2023, here are the World Baseball Classic follow-ups we're most excited for in 2026 -- both hitters and pitchers.
HITTERS
1) Kyle Schwarber (USA)
Schwarber was one of the most dangerous bats in the World Baseball Classic in 2023, and he will be again in 2026. Schwarber slugged .643 and hit a pair of home runs during Team USA's run to the finals -- including one of the biggest bombs of the tournament, a 110.7 mph, 436-foot homer off Yu Darvish in the championship game against Japan. And somehow, he was actually unlucky. Schwarber's expected slugging percentage in the 2023 WBC, based on his quality of contact, was 1.007. That was the best in the tournament.
Highest xSLG in WBC '23
Hitters with 10+ plate appearances
- 1. Kyle Schwarber (USA): 1.007
- 2. Juan Soto (Dominican Republic): .973
- 3. Euiji Yang (Korea): .967
- 4. Trea Turner (USA): .951
- 5. Manny Machado (Dominican Republic): .895
2) Juan Soto (Dominican Republic)
Soto had a Soto-like tournament in 2023. He had a ridiculous .400 batting average, .500 on-base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage for the D.R. And he earned that slash line. Soto's expected batting average was .408, his expected on-base percentage was .507 and his expected slugging was .973. His 110.2 mph, 448-foot home run against Puerto Rico was tied for the longest of the tournament with one by Shohei Ohtani. He also walked as often as he struck out. Typical Soto.
Highest xBA in WBC '23
Hitters with 10+ plate appearances
- 1. Eugenio Suárez (Venezuela): .449
- 2. Chieh-Hsien Chen (Chinese Taipei): .411
- 3-T. Kyle Schwarber (USA): .409
- 3-T. Trea Turner (USA): .409
- 5. Juan Soto (Dominican Republic): .408
3) Shohei Ohtani (Japan)
Of course we want to see Shohei's follow-up. Now, he won't be a two-way player in this year's WBC, so there won't be any striking out Mike Trout to win the tournament. But Ohtani's bat is big enough by itself to be appointment viewing. Ohtani had the hardest-hit ball of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, a 118.7 mph double against Czechia in pool play. And he had one of the hardest and farthest home runs, a 113.2 mph, 448-foot moonshot against Australia at Tokyo Dome.
Longest HR, WBC '23
- 1-T. Shohei Ohtani (Japan): 448 feet vs. Australia
- 1-T. Juan Soto (Dominican Republic): 448 feet vs. Puerto Rico
- 3. Robbie Glendinning (Australia): 441 feet vs. China
- 4. Manny Machado (Dominican Republic): 437 feet vs. Israel
- 5. Kyle Schwarber (USA): 436 feet vs. Japan
4) Munetaka Murakami (Japan)
The World Baseball Classic will be Murakami's last showcase before he debuts for the White Sox. And he has some big swings to follow up on from 2023. Murakami started slow in that Classic, but he ended up with two huge hits in the tournament: a 111 mph walk-off double to beat Mexico in the semifinals, and a 115.1 mph, 432-foot home run off Team USA's Merrill Kelly in the finals. That was the hardest home run of the 2023 WBC. Murakami finished the tournament with a 97.9 mph average exit velocity, top five at the WBC. But we're especially excited to see Murakami's bat speed data for the first time at the 2026 WBC, since that wasn't tracked at the time of the 2023 tournament and we haven't seen him yet in MLB.
Hardest HR, WBC '23
- 1. Munetaka Murakami (Japan): 115.1 mph vs. USA
- 2. Shohei Ohtani (Japan): 113.2 mph vs. Australia
- 3. Randy Arozarena (Mexico): 112.5 mph vs. Colombia
- 4. Paul Goldschmidt (USA): 112.0 mph vs Cuba
- 5. Manny Machado (Dominican Republic): 110.8 mph vs. Israel
5) Owen Caissie (Canada)
Caissie played in the 2023 Classic at just 20 years old, before he had even made it to Double-A in the Cubs system. He only played a few games, but those were already promising. Caissie knocked a 108.3 mph, 427-foot home run against Great Britain, and he ranked second for the whole tournament with a 98.4 mph average exit velocity, combining that power with a low swing-and-miss rate of just 17%. Now Caissie, who was just traded to the Marlins, is MLB's No. 42 overall prospect and ready to go for Team Canada again next month.
6) Jung Hoo Lee (Korea)
Lee's WBC run in 2023 was a showcase for Major League teams who'd be looking to sign the KBO star that next winter. And he looked really good. Lee showed off his excellent contact hitting, but he also showed that he was no slap hitter. Lee had a swing-and-miss rate of just 8% and just one strikeout in 16 plate appearances, but he also had a 92.1 mph average exit velocity and 54% hard-hit rate. Now with two MLB seasons with the Giants under his belt, Lee will be back in WBC '26.
7) Randy Arozarena (Mexico)
Arozarena might've been the most fun player to watch at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He delivered big hits and highlight-reel catches for Mexico, and he did it in style. As for the numbers, no one hit the ball harder in the tournament than Arozarena. So we can't wait for the encore.
Highest avg. exit velocity, WBC '23
Hitters with 10+ batted balls
- 1. Randy Arozarena (Mexico): 98.9 mph
- 2. Owen Caissie (Canada): 98.4 mph
- 3. Munetaka Murakami (Japan): 97.9 mph
- 4. Kyle Schwarber (USA): 97.1 mph
- 5. Kyle Tucker (USA): 95.9 mph
PITCHERS
1) Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Japan)
Yamamoto, Ohtani and Roki Sasaki gave Japan a ridiculous pitching staff for the 2023 WBC. Yamamoto is the only who's pitching for Samurai Japan again in 2026, and he's doing it on the heels of a legendary postseason performance. The Dodgers star was awesome back in 2023, too, when he was still the Orix Buffaloes ace in NPB. In the World Baseball Classic, Yamamoto recorded a 44% strikeout rate and 34% swing-and-miss rate. His splitter was one of the best pitches of the tournament -- a common theme for the Samurai Japan pitching staff. Yamamoto racked up eight strikeouts and induced a 50% whiff rate.
Most K's on single pitch type, WBC '23
- 1-T. Yoshinobo Yamamoto's splitter (Japan): 8
- 1-T. Roki Sasaki's splitter (Japan): 8
- 1-T. Shosi Togo's splitter (Japan): 8
- 4. Patrick Sandoval's slider (Mexico): 7
- 5. Shohei Ohtani's sweeper (Japan): 6
2) Hiroto Takahashi (Japan)
Takahashi was only 20 years old when he pitched out of Japan's bullpen in the 2023 WBC. He's now a star pitcher for NPB's Chunichi Dragons and one of the top international prospects for a future jump to MLB. Even three years ago, you could see the talent from the young right-hander. Takahashi's fastball averaged 97 mph in the World Baseball Classic and generated a strong 29% swing-and-miss rate. His splitter was even nastier, sitting at 89 mph with a 67% whiff rate and four strikeouts.
3) Taisei Ota (Japan)
We'll shout out one more Japanese pitcher here: Taisei, the closer. In the 2023 Classic, the Yomiuri Giants' star reliever looked nasty, with a sinker-splitter combo that he throws out of a very low sidearm release. Taisei's 15-degree arm angle was one of the lowest of any pitcher in the World Baseball Classic, and from that, he delivered a sinker that averaged 96 mph with 17 inches of horizontal movement and a splitter that averaged 86 mph with an extremely low spin rate of 876 rpm, which produced the sharp downward break that generated a 56% whiff rate.
Lowest avg. arm angle, WBC '23
Pitchers with 25+ pitches thrown
- 1. Aaron Loup (USA): 5 degrees
- 2. Alexis Díaz (Puerto Rico): 12 degrees
- 3. Taisei Ota (Japan): 15 degrees
- 4. César Valdez (Dominican Republic): 16 degrees
- 5-T. Camilo Doval (Dominican Republic): 20 degrees
- 5-T. Edwin Díaz (Puerto Rico): 20 degrees
- 5-T. Junior Tellez (Nicaragua): 20 degrees
4) Guillo Zuñiga (Colombia)
Zuñiga has only been a journeyman reliever in the Minors and Majors, but he was one of the most overpowering pitchers of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The 6-foot-5 right-hander averaged 99 mph on his fastball and hit triple digits several times, including a 102 mph strikeout of Alex Verdugo against Mexico which was tied for the fastest K of the tournament. Zuñiga struck out over half the batters he faced and got whiffs on half the swings against him.
Fastest K's, WBC '23
- 1-T. Guillo Zuñiga (Colombia): 102.0 mph vs. Alex Verdugo
- 1-T. Shohei Ohtani (Japan): 102.0 mph vs. Vinnie Pasquantino
- 3. Roki Sasaki (Japan): 101.8 mph vs. Randy Arozarena
- 4. Camilo Doval (Dominican Republic): 101.7 mph vs. Kiké Hernández
- 5. Roki Sasaki (Japan): 101.3 mph vs. William Escala
5) Edwin Díaz (Puerto Rico)
Díaz's 2023 World Baseball Classic infamously ended with a freak injury while celebrating a win, but that's not stopping him from pitching for Puerto Rico again this time around. He'll be one of the most electric pitchers in the tournament once again. Last time, Díaz averaged 99 mph and topped out at 100 on his fastball … but it was his slider that no one could touch. Díaz's slider averaged 91 mph and induced a 71% whiff rate, and he used it to strike out Ketel Marte, Teoscar Hernández and Jean Segura. The now-Dodgers closer will have that same elite fastball-slider combo with him for the 2026 WBC.
Highest avg. velocity on breaking/offspeed pitch, WBC '23
Min. 10 thrown
- 1. Sandy Alcantara's changeup (Dominican Republic): 92.6 mph
- 2. Sandy Alcantara's slider (Dominican Republic): 91.8 mph
- 3. Edwin Díaz's slider (Puerto Rico): 91.2 mph
- 4. Roki Sasaki's splitter (Japan): 90.9 mph
- 5. Shohei Ohtani's splitter (Japan): 90.7 mph
6) Ondrej Satoria (Czechia)
One memorable moment of the 2023 Classic was when Satoria -- a 5-foot-9 electrician -- struck out Shohei Ohtani. And he did it on three pitches … a 79 mph fastball for a called strike, a 71 mph changeup for a swinging strike and finally a 72 mph changeup for the K. Satoria's Bugs Bunny changeup was actually extremely effective against the eventual WBC champion Japan team -- after all, pro hitters don't see junkballers like that every day. Satoria got 11 whiffs on 21 swings against his changeup, and three K's. He'll be back for the Czechs again in 2026 with his 78 mph "heater" and 71 mph change, and Satoria might even get to face Ohtani again, since Czechia and Japan are in the same pool.