2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup star Braxton Garrett gets win in MLB debut with Marlins

2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup star Braxton Garrett gets win in MLB debut with Marlins
17/09/2020
The lefty helped the US National Team win the 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Japan. Five years later, he got the 'W' for the Miami Marlins in his first big league appearance.

Some of the biggest names in baseball played in the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup as teenagers.

Left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett, a 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup champion with Team USA, made his MLB debut on Sunday, in a Marlins’ 8-1 win over the Phillies. The southpaw excelled in his first taste of the Major Leagues, pitching five innings with six strikeouts, while allowing three hits and a run, a solo homer by Team USA Premier12 2019 player Alec Bohm.

The 23-yead-old pitcher struck out Andrew McCutchen, the 2013 National League MVP, to begin his MLB career.

“It was unbelievable...from the moment I found out until now, it's been an incredible ride,” Garrett told mlb.com. “It's a dream come true.”

Garrett pitched one inning in relief in the Final of the 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup against Japan. He worked one inning in the decisive game, won by USA, 2-1.

He posted a 3.12 ERA in 8.2 innings for the tournament, with two games saved. USA won their third consecutive U-18 world championship in a row (2012, 2013, 2015) before a big crowd at Koshien Stadium.

The left-hander was selected in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft as the seventh overall pick.