While the Los Angeles Angels have already heard commitments from their top-end Major League Baseball stars, three of their Minor League prospects also announced they intend to play in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The WBC is slated to begin just before the MLB season kicks off, and the Angels will be well represented. Mike Trout is the captain of Team USA, which prompted other stars to join the team, and Shohei Ohtani will use his two-way talents for Team Japan.
Luis Rengifo will also participate in the event, but he is still waiting to hear which team he will play on.
According to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, the Angels also have multiple prospects from their Single and Double-A clubs committed to playing in the WBC, including D’Shawn Knowles, Aaron Whitefield and Julio Goff:
Several Minor Leaguers are also committed to play in the event, such as D’Shawn Knowles (Great Britain), Aaron Whitefield (Australia) and Julio Goff (Panama).
Knowles spent time at the Cal League in Single-A and at High-A, with the Tri-City Dust Devils. Across 458 at-bats, he carried a .681 on-base plus slugging in his age-21 season.
Whitefield is an older prospect at 26, and with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas, he held a .775 OPS, including nine home runs and 38 runs batted in.
Goff, 22, has struggled early on in his professional career, and in 111 innings during 2022 with the Inland Empire 66ers he posted a 5.51 ERA in 25 games. He allowed opponents to reach base at a .275 clip, but the experience to be around some of the world’s best talent could be extremely beneficial for the young pitcher.
Angels to play in the World Baseball Classic
In addition to Trout & Ohtani, David Fletcher and Max Stassi will play for Team Italy, while relievers Jaime Barria and Zack Weiss will represent Team Panama and Team Israel. Patrick Sandoval previously announced his intention to pitch for Team Mexico during the 2023 WBC, a huge step for the young left-hander who is making large strides in his career.
Bench coach Benji Gil will also manage Team Mexico.
Angels manager Phil Nevin expressed his support for all members of his staff who are taking part in the WBC.
“What I’ve told those guys, what I’ve told some other interview, had some other interviews here, couldn’t be more happy for those guys,” Nevin said. “One of the highlights of my career was in college getting to play in the Olympics in Barcelona, wearing U.S.A. across my chest.”
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