SECAUCUS, New Jersey (U.S.) — Seven players who represented their National Teams at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup were selected in the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft on 9 June, highlighted by Mickey Moniak, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Moniak was a member of the 2015 U.S. National Team that won the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup last September in Osaka, Japan. Moniak hit .286 and scored the winning run against Japan in the world championship final, won by USA Baseball, 2-1. Moniak also helped the U.S. win the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup (Pan-Am championship) qualifier in 2013.
In total, six players from the 2015 U.S. U-18 World Cup team were selected in the first round, including Ian Anderson (No. 3), Braxton Garrett (No. 7), Will Benson (No. 14), Forrest Whitley (No. 17) and Blake Rutherford (No. 18).
Cal Quantrill, who played on Canada’s 2012 and 2013 U-18 World Cup teams, was the No. 8 pick. Josh Naylor, who played for Canada’s U-18 World Cup team a record three times (Seoul 2012, Taichung 2013 and Osaka 2015) was drafted 12th overall in the the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft.
The Phillies selected three members of the 2015 U.S. U-18 world championship team with their first three 2016 picks, adding Kevin Gowdy and Cole Stobbe in the second and third rounds.
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) clubs have also turned to the Samurai Japan U-18 National Team for first round draft picks. Recent first round selections include Shohei Ohtani, Shintaro Fujinami, Yuki Matsui, Tomoya Mori, Taiga Hirasawa and Louis Okoye.
The WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, along with its continental qualifiers, have featured players who have gone on to become some of the biggest names in the sport, including Canada’s Brett Lawrie, Japan’s Yu Darvish, South Korea’s Shin-soo Choo, Cuba’s Yasiel Puig and Aroldis Chapman, and USA’s Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen, among countless others. The most recent generation of rising stars include Cuba’s Yoan Moncada, Jorge Soler, USA’s Francisco Lindor and Canada’s Dalton Pompey.
WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2017 will be staged in Thunder Bay, Canada.
