US baseball’s prospects struggle to reach Olympics

Brandon Dickson, the U.S. closer who blew a ninth-inning lead, threw his last major league pitch in 2012. Caleb Thielbar, who gave up the game-winning hit in the 10th, threw his last big league pitch in 2015.

The entire 28-man American roster at the Olympic qualifying tournament that ended Sunday combined for a career 2.1 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference — less than a quarter of Cody Bellinger's 9.0 WAR for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year alone.

Little wonder the U.S. failed to earn an Olympic berth at the Premier12 competition, where champion Japan and runner-up South Korea brought many top players.

Mexico qualified for the first time, rallying twice for a 3-2 victory over the U.S. in the bronze-medal game that determined an Americas berth. The U.S. will have two more chances to join host Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Italy in the six-nation Olympic field: an Americas tournament in the spring and, if it flops again, a final tournament that includes multiple regions.

"We cannot make major league players available for the actual tournament in August," Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "In fairness to the other qualifiers and to protect the integrity of the competition, it seemed best to try and qualify with the level of players that will be available in August."

Just six U.S. players at the Premier12 had major league experience, none of them All-Stars: 39-year-old catcher Erik Kratz along with five pitchers: Dickson, Thielbar, Clayton Richard, Brian Flynn and Brooks Pounders.

While many players on the roster were high draft picks, just three first-rounders were among the 13 position players: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell, Philadelphia third baseman Alec Bohm and Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn. And the only...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/US-baseball-s-prospects-struggle-to-reach-14848317.php