Projected Team Mexico

Batting Order

3B Jerry Hairston Jr.: Long time major leaguer. Played with the Dodgers this season hitting .273 with 4 HR and 26 RBIs in 78 games. Hairston competed at the 2009 WBC where he hit .286 over 4 games.

OF Scott Hairston: Brother of Jerry, hit .278 in the 2009 installment of the WBC. Had a bounce back year with the Mets hitting a career high 20 HR and 57 RBIs, while having an average of .263.

1B Adrian Gonzalez: A perennial all-star. Spent the season between the Red Sox and the Dodgers. Hit .299 with 18 HR and 108 RBIs this season. He will be relied on heavily in Mexico is to advance out of their pool.

C Rod Barajas: A very effective, defensive catcher. Has bounced from team to team over the past couple of years. Hit .206 with 11 HR and 31 RBIs with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

SS Luis Cruz: Played well for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year hitting .297 with 6 HR and 40 RBI in just 78 games.

OF Karim Garcia: Pedro Martinez’ favourite player is still a big player in Mexico where he hit .334 with 22 HR and 80 RBI.

DH Jorge Guzman: The powerful lefty hit .292 with 21 HR 86 RBI while playing with Veracruz in the Mexican league.

2B Edgar Gonzalez: Older brother of first-baseman Adrian. Has played all over including in Korea. He hit .273 in the 2009 WBC and is a career .255 hitter in the bigs. Unlike his brother he can provide some speed on the basepaths.

OF Leonardo Heras: Played in Mexico this season where he hit .323 with 24 HR and 64 RBI. Helped Mexico to a silver medal at the 2011 PanAm games.

Pitching

SP Luis Mendoza: Spent his season with the Kansas City Royals going 8-10 with a 4.23 ERA. He split time between the bullpen and as a starter and could have the same role with Mexico.

SP Miguel Gonzalez: The righty just finished his first year in the MLB with a solid 9-4 record. He also sported a 3.25 ERA. Gonzalez also has big game experience from pitching in the Bronx against the Yankees in this year’s playoffs. He went 7 innings, allowing only one run.

SP Oliver Perez: Perez had a 2.12 ERA out of the bullpen for Seattle this year, although in past years he has been predominately a starter. He has started 195 games over his big league career and started 2 games for Mexico in 2009, where he was 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA.

RP Rodrigo Lopez: Spent his season with the Cubs where he sported a 5.68 ERA. Has played in both previous WBCs.  

RP Fernando Salas: Came into this year as a potential closer for St. Louis after having 24 saves in 2011. He had a bit of a setback year, saving 0 games, while having an ERA of 4.30. However, he could be put in as the closer role for Mexico

RP Alfredo Aceves: Had a very up and down season as the Red Sox closer. He saved 25 games, but blew 8 games. He finished the season with a 5.36 ERA. He could be the closer but will most likely be used as a 7^th inning man, or to get out of jams.

RP Miguel Ruiz: He led the Mexican league in 2012 with a 2.42 ERA. Will be used out of the bullpen in middle innings.

RP Jose (Miguel) Ramirez: Put up a 9-2 record with a 2.53 ERA in the Mexican league. Could be used in long relief situations.  

RP Adrian Garza: Had an ERA of 2.37 while saving 23 games in Mexico. Could be used as the set-up, or 7^th inning guy.

RP Marco Estrada: Spent the season with the Milwaukee Brewers posting a respectable 3.64 ERA while going 5-7. He could be a valuable asset if Mexico finds themselves in jams.

Bench

C Roman Solis: .283AVG, 6HR, 40RBI with the Indianapolis Indians.

INF Alfredo Amezaga: .274AVG, 6HR, 42RBI with the Iowa Cubs.

INF Jorge Cantu: N/A

C Carlos Rodriguez: .296AVG, 32HR, 94RBI with Rieleros de Aguascalientes.

OF Mario Valenzuela: .357AVG, 22HR, 77RBI with Mexican del Pacifico

Hopefuls

Jaime Garcia: His year ended early in the playoffs with a hurt shoulder but Jaime put up a record of 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA during the regular season. Pitching has always been Mexico’s weakness so adding an arm like Garcia to the rotation would go a long way.

Yovanni Gallardo: Gallardo never seems to want to play for his birth nation. He did move to the US early in his life but is eligible to play for Mexico. He sported a 16-9 record with a 3.66 ERA for the Milwaukee Brewers. Having Gallardo would give Mexico that ace they desperately need.

Jorge del la Rosa: del la Rosa is a career 54-51 pitcher in the big leagues. He doesn’t have swing and miss stuff but will eat up innings and provide solid starts or long relief.appearances. 

Joakim Soria: After missing the entire 2012 campaign with injury, it is unlikely we will see Soria come March. Historically players who miss large chunks of the previous season do not play in the WBC because their MLB team does not allow them to. If Soria does get the O.K then it will be a huge boost for the weak Mexican pitching staff.

Projection

Mexico has advanced to the second stage in both prior World Baseball Classics. If they are to do it again they will need better pitching then they did in 2009. Over 6 games they let up an average of 8.67 runs. This included letting up a record 22 hits to Australia in their tournament opener. They will most likely be placed in a pool with Canada, USA, and Italy. The big game will come against Canada. If they can find a way to win that then they should be looking at their third straight second stage. The offense should be there for Mexico but the defense and pitching is VERY suspect. If Mexico can convince Gallardo, or hope Jaime recovers quickly, then they may have a shot.