SB CUBS PLAY IN WBC

Nine Current Chicago Cubs Organization Players And 14 Others Represented In Wbc

By: Brendan King

As the World Baseball Classic encapsulated the sports world for the first time since 2017 in March, 23 former South Bend Cubs suited up for their respective countries of heritage in baseball’s global experience.

Nine players who currently compete in the Chicago Cubs organization were in action in the WBC, while 14 former South Bend Cubs who took their talents to other organizations were also on the field.

• Infielder Liam Spence, Australia

• Outfielder Owen Caissie, Canada

• Infielder Jared Young, Canada

• Right-handed pitcher Danis Correa, Colombia

• Infielder Fabian Pertuz, Colombia

• Infielder B.J. Murray, Great Britain

• Infielder Matt Mervis, Israel

• Right-handed pitcher Javier Assad, Mexico

• Outfielder Nelson Velazquez, Puerto Rico

The lone Cub to appear for Team Australia during this WBC, Spence’s time in South Bend was short, playing just 16 games. A former fifth-round pick by the Cubs out of the University of Tennessee in 2021, Spence has already appeared at every level in Chicago’s minor league system besides Double-A Tennessee. Spence helped Australia advance to the knockout stage of the Tournament with wins over South Korea, China, and the Czech Republic. patience and collected approach at the plate. Murray had the best foresight and eye on the team in working the zone, while drawing 36 walks in 56 games. A switch-hitter at the plate, Murray also showed power on both sides while hitting in the middle of Lance Rymel’s order every day. Murray picked up a massive base hit for Great Britain in Pool C against Mexico, tying the game for GBR in the 6th inning with an RBI single.

Caissie making Team Canada’s roster is just another stepping stone on what has been a remarkable start to the career of the prized piece that the Cubs acquired from the San Diego Padres. Caissie was a key part of South Bend’s 2022 championship run and had the game winning RBI’s in Game 3 of the Midwest League Championship Series in Lake County with a massive home run to right. During the Classic, Caissie showed his limitless potential for Canada as he crushed a home run to deadcenter against Great Britain at Chase Field.

Young, the 2018 Chicago Cubs Minor League Player of the Year, has put his fingerprint on the Cubs organization in huge fashion since he played in South Bend that same year. The Old Dominion product joined the list of Cubs draft picks who were selected late and blossomed into something special. The native of Vancouver, B.C. made his MLB debut in 2022 and picked up his first big league hit at Wrigley Field. Young finished his WBC experience with a home run and two RBI, and also played against the Chicago Cubs in a Spring Training exhibition at Sloan Park in Mesa along with his teammate Owen Caissie.

... continued from previous page. At just 23-years-old, Correa has developed into a key bullpen option for the Cubs as a non-roster invitee at Big League Camp in 2022. With South Bend in 2021, Correa finished the campaign at Four Winds Field pitching in eight games and posting a 2.45 ERA with 16 strikeouts. Last season, he capped off the year making it all the way to Triple-A Iowa. Correa was represented on the Colombia roster but did not appear in an official WBC game.

Pertuz hit the first home run of the 2022 season on Opening Day at Four Winds Field, and that began what was the best season to date for the 22-year-old. Pertuz began the year playing either second base or third base every day, but was called upon as the everyday shortstop following Ed Howard’s injury. Pertuz led South Bend to the playoffs, and ultimately, a Midwest League title. Before returning to Chicago Cubs Spring Training after the WBC, Pertuz made his experience memorable by playing next to big leaguer Gio Urshela in the infield; he was even in the starting lineup against the United States in the knockout round.

Murray was one of the most consistent performers down the stretch for the Cubs in 2022. Murray was called up to South Bend during the middle of the summer, and when he arrived he immediately showed his

As part of South Bend’s opening day roster in 2022, Matt Mervis’ legendary campaign that goes down in the history books all began at Four Winds Field. While hitting a smoking .350 with the South Bend Cubs, Mervis had multiple special moments in pinstripes which included a walk-off home run against the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Mervis was ultimately named the 2022 Chicago Cubs Minor League Player of the Year and looks to be the next big thing at Wrigley Field when his MLB debut comes. His 2022 minor league campaign will be remembered for years to come, as his 119 total RBI were the most by a minor leaguer since Pete Alonso came up in the Mets system. Mervis appeared in every game that Israel played in the WBC and picked up a base hit.

Back in 2018 the opening day starter for South Bend was a young, talented man from Mexico named Javier Assad. With his career just beginning, Assad showed a keen approach on the mound mixing speeds and fooling hitters with a vanishing changeup and a mid-90s fastball. Assad started 21 games with South Bend that season and posted a very respectable 4.40 ERA with 89 strikeouts. Since that point, Assad has gotten the call-up to Wrigley Field, making his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 23, 2022, tossing four shutout innings. Assad became one of the most reliable right-handers for Mexico in the WBC. In 5.2 innings, he did not surrender a single run and only walked one batter, while striking out six.

Finally, we go back to the 2019 team and a young outfielder named Nelson Velazquez. It was the second season that Velazquez had played in a South Bend uniform, after getting to Four Winds Field in 2018 as a 19-year-old. In 2019, Velazquez came back stronger, faster, and more powerful. He was a huge part of the title run when the Cubs defeated the Clinton LumberKings for the organization’s first championship as a Cub affiliate. Velazquez has also gone on to represent South Bend alumni in the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs, making his MLB debut on May 30, 2022. In an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox, Velazquez crushed a home run for Puerto Rico deep over the right field wall to get his WBC experience started with a bang.

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Romero (2017 South Bend Cubs, Free Agent).

Dominican Republic: Eloy Jimenez (2016 South Bend Cubs, Chicago White Sox).

Israel: Alex Katz (2021 South Bend Cubs, Free Agent).

Italy: Matteo Bocchi (2021 South Bend Cubs, Free Agent), Alberto Mineo (2016 and 2017 South Bend Cubs, Free Agent), and Jeff Passantino (2018 and 2019 South Bend Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates).

Japan: Yu Darvish (2018 South Bend Cubs Rehab, San Diego Padres).

Mexico: Isaac Paredes (2016 and 2017 South Bend Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays).

Puerto Rico: Vimael Machin (2015, 2016, and 2017 South Bend Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies), Nicholas Padilla (2021 and 2022 South Bend Cubs, Chicago White Sox), and Duane Underwood Jr. (2016 South Bend Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates).

USA: Kendall Graveman (2019 South Bend Cubs and Midwest League Champion, Chicago White Sox).

Venezuela: Gleyber Torres (2015 South Bend Cubs, New York Yankees).

As mentioned, 13 other former South Bend Cubs players who went on to play for other organizations played in the World Baseball Classic.

Colombia: Yapson Gomez (2017 and 2018 South Bend Cubs, Free Agent) and Jhon

The WBC Championship Game brought the baseball world together. Of course, what stood out was the final at-bat duel between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. Ohtani won the battle, and Japan celebrated with their first WBC Title since 2009.

Japan will get their gold medals and all the players from the Chicago Cubs, South Bend Cubs, and every country involved can smile knowing they helped show the world that baseball can ignite the planet.