Grading Each Rangers World Baseball Classic Performance

Team USA is finally World Baseball Classic Champions! With the tournament now in the rear view mirror, let’s grade the Texas Rangers performance.

Sorry, not sorry, for feeling a little extra patriotic today. After years of disappointment and early round exits, Team USA finally won a World Baseball Classic. Americans were beginning to feel like the British. How do we keep losing in a sport we invented?

Nonetheless, America beat team Puerto Rico 8-0 in the championship game which is now known as “the annexation of Puerto Rico”. A Texas Ranger was going to become a champion regardless of the outcome. Sam Dyson and Jonathan Lucroy played for team USA while Alex Claudio pitched for Puerto Rico.

In fact, there was a high chance of a Ranger becoming a champion going into the tournament. The team sent eight players in total, third highest in the Major Leagues.

With the tournament now behind us, let’s recap Rangers players performances including the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Martin Perez

Don’t worry, you’re not alone in thinking “wow I had no idea Martin Perez pitched in the WBC.” In fact, I’m sure Perez wishes he could forget it. The left-hander struggled in two starts for Team Venezuela as they were eliminated in the second round of the tournament, going 0-3 in pool play.

Perez posted a 7.50 ERA in his two starts of the tournament, giving up 10 hits, two walks and striking out six. Perez received the loss Venezuela’s second round game against Puerto Rico which would officially eliminate them from championship contention.

With Perez’s career being a roller coaster so far, fans wished to see a better performance from him in the tournament. Tasked with being the teams third starter heading into the season, he could be the breaking point of the rotation given the question marks at the back-end of it.

Perez should see a couple of Spring Training starts before Opening Day rolls around. He’ll need to put his rough performance in the tournament behind him and focus on the upcoming season.

Adrian Beltre

Oh captain, my captain, how it hurts to grade you so low. Adrian Beltre decided last second that he would play for the Dominican Republic despite battling a calf injury.

“I would like represent my country. This will be my last WBC, and I’m proud to be called Dominican. Hopefully we win.” Beltre said in an interview shortly before he left to join the Dominican team.

Beltre was not on the 2013 Dominican squad that eventually won the tournament. With superstar, Manny Machado at third base, the Dominican Republic used Beltre as the full-time DH. While is veteran leadership and lovable personality was valuable to the clubhouse, his bat, not so much.

Among players with at least 15 at-bats Beltre ranked last in average, OBP, slugging, and OPS. His one hit in four games was a long cry from his 2006 performance which netted him All-WBC Team honors.

Rangers fans don’t need to worry. Beltre is a notorious slow starter and will surly be back to his All-Star form in no time. The future Hall of Famer starts 2017 only 58 hits shy of 3,000.

Robinson Chirinos

Robinson Chirinos was one of three Texas Rangers’ on the Venezuelan team. Going into the tournament as the backup to All-Star Salvador Perez, Chirinos was given the starting role after Perez suffered a knee injury in the second game, ending his tournament.

At the plate, Chirinos had a forgettable tournament. Posting a .214/.214/.313 slash no home runs, two RBI, and five strikeouts in 14 at-bats.

As Rangers fans already know, his value comes in his ability behind the plate. While his power wasn’t on display in the tournament, his defense and game management skills were on display.

After signing an extension through 2018 with options for 2019, Chirinos will continue to play the back up role to Lucroy in 2017. With Lucroy expected to hit the market at the end of 2017, it’s possible that Chirinos is back in the starting catching role going into the 2018 season.

Jonathan Lucroy

Jonathan Lucroy was one of two Rangers on the championship winning American squad. Splitting his playing time with former MVP Buster Posey, Lucroy wasn’t quite able to put it together at the plate.

Lucroy hit .267 with a .561 OPS in his four starts. With no home runs and only one RBI, Lucroy’s performance was dwarfed by Buster Posey’s masterful tournament. Posey hit two home runs in 15 at-bats and a .979 OPS which was the third highest on Team USA.

Lucroy’s biggest contribution was his defense and game management which shouldn’t be surprising considering Lucroy has been one of the more underrated defenders in baseball. His 14.1 defensive rating was second best among catchers a season ago.

His game management in the championship game helped Marcus Stroman take a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Team Puerto Rico was shut out one of the best lineups in the tournament and Lucroy had a lot to do with that.

Alex Claudio

The only player on the runner-up Puerto Rico team, Claudio did a fantastic job out of the bullpen. He was used mainly as a lefty-specialist and helped set up closer Ediwin Diaz with save opportunities.

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He pitched 3.1 innings in four appearances giving up zero runs, four hits and struck out two.

Alex Claudio was a pleasant surprise in 2016. He gave the Rangers an ever-valuable lefty specialist out of the bullpen who could also be stretched out and pitch multiple innings if needed.

Heading into 2017, Claudio will be heavily relied on especially with the absence of Jake Diekman.

Sam Dyson

It’s hard to pitch better than Sam Dyson did in this tournament. The red-bearded closer used his nasty 95+ MPH sinker to help anchor one of the best bullpens in the entire tournament.

Dyson appeared in five games, which was tied for the most on Team USA. In six innings pitched, Dyson did not allow a single base runner and struck out four batters.

Dyson put his nasty stuff on display for the world to see during this tournament. Heading into the 2017 season as the closer, Dyson will be tasked with anchoring one of the most overlooked bullpens in all of baseball.

Jurickson Profar

Could this finally be the year for Jurickson Profar? He’s projected to start everyday in the outfield for Texas and that might be exactly what he needs.

Starting in center field for Team Netherlands, Profar’s performance helped lead them on a cinderella run coming within one win of playing Team USA in the championship game.

Profar had one of the best performances in the entire tournament. Among players with at least 15 at-bats Profar finished fifth in average, seventh in OBP, seventh in slugging and seventh in OPS. Profar also had the second most hits with 13 and led the tournament in doubles with five.

Next: Joey Gallo Makes A Big Change This Spring

Profars perfomance was encouraging for Rangers fan. If Profar can receive consistent playing time, he could add immense value to the lineup.