The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball competition that is supposed to put the best of the best against each other.

The WBC also allows those who aren’t MLB stars to play on a grander stage and have the chance to make a name for themselves. Brazil took on the United States on Friday night, and Team USA put up two runs on the Brazilian starter.

Team Brazil opted to turn to the bullpen for the second inning and gave the ball to Joseph Contreras. He is 17 years old and is still an active high school student, and he was forced to pitch against some of MLB’s best. After allowing the bases to be loaded, Contreras got the biggest outs of his baseball career so far as he forced New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge to ground into a double play.

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Who is Joseph Contreras?

Contreras is a right-handed pitcher for Team Brazil at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He is listed on the WBC website as being 6-4, 195 pounds. Contreras is the son of former major leaguer Jose Contreras. The youngster came out of the bullpen and threw 97 mph with his first pitch, and he also sports a Vulcan changeup that has crazy movement.

With the bases loaded, Contreras went up and in on Judge, and the pitch broke the slugger’s bat. He weakly hit a ball to shortstop, and Brazil converted the 6-4-3 double play.

Expect everything.

17-year-old high school senior Joseph Contreras gets Aaron Judge to hit into a bases-loaded double play to end the ending 😮 pic.twitter.com/R0qH0kODQr

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 7, 2026

Contreras allowed a single to Kyle Schwarber in the third inning and the Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter took second on a wild pitch. Bregman got him to third and then another wild pitch scored Schwarber. Contreras was pulled after that, but it was still an extremely impressive outing for the high schooler.  

Is Joseph Contreras related to Jose Contreras?

Yes. Joseph is Jose’s son. Jose was also a pitcher, debuting in 2003. He initially came up with the Yankees and was with them for two seasons. Contreras then bounced around four different franchises in what ended up being an 11-year career. 

The elder Contreras was named an All-Star in 2006 and won the 2005 World Series with the Chicago White Sox. 

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Joseph Contreras high school

Contreras is an active high school student. He attends Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia. Contreras is committed to Vanderbilt University, but the broadcast noted that he was excited to pitch in the WBC because he would get some Statcast metrics on his pitching, that he doesn’t have access to in high school. 

Joseph Contreras draft projection

While Contreras is currently committed to Vanderbilt, but he may not end up making it on campus. The right-handed pitcher will be eligible for the 2026 MLB Draft. He is currently ranked by MLB.com as the No. 47 prospect in the class, which would have him selected in the second round. Given that teams just watched him get Judge to ground into a double play with the bases loaded, his stock may get an uptick. 

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Where is Joseph Contreras from?

Contreras was born when his father was still with the White Sox. The younger Contreras was raised in Roswell, Georgia. While his father is of Cuban decent, he plays for Team Brazil in the World Baseball Classic because his mother Isabel is of Brazilian ancestry.