The World Baseball Classic will begin on March 5. This tournament will run till halfway through March and will showcase some of the best talent in the world.
The talk as of late is about the pitching in the WBC. Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes have announced their plan for the WBC, and many fans are not happy about it. Skubal will pitch just one start in group play. It is unclear how long his leash will be, but considering it will be his only game, he could pitch 6+ innings, which is very rare for the WBC. As for Skenes, he reportedly may pitch in two games, likely once in group play and one in the knockout stages.
There are not many games being played. Team USA will play only four group games before the KO rounds. Pitchers usually don't pitch very many innings, which allows them to appear in multiple games. The United States will take on Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, and, of course, Mexico.
Ken Rosenthal broke down the complicated situation around the WBC pitching.
“Fans can get as outraged as they want or not, but there's just more to it than meets the eye.”@Ken_Rosenthal explains why managing a pitching staff in the WBC is trickier than you'd expect… pic.twitter.com/3DwwNe6urH
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 25, 2026
“There is pressure coming from all sides on what they should do,” Rosenthal said. “There is a lot going on with these guys in the WBC. The WBC is a great event. But there are different considerations that take place. Fans can get as outraged as they want or not, but there's just more to it than meets the eye.”
