With the 2026 World Baseball Classic set to begin in March, the preliminary roster for Israel is here. Initial rosters are subject to change. Read on below for our team summary and breakdown of top players and prospects to know.<\/p>\n
Find all of our WBC coverage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Team Summary: Led by manager Brad Ausmus, Israel is composed of predominantly MLB-affiliated players and lots of prospects, making it one of the youngest teams in the tournament. Orioles starter Dean Kremer<\/a> leads a pitching staff that has plenty of one-inning relief options, but few legitimate starters, even if it has some firepower and plenty of professional experience. The lineup is anchored by new Giants outfielder Harrison Bader<\/a> and Pirates infielder Spencer Horwitz<\/a>. <\/p>\n Top Players: A nine-year veteran, Bader is Israel\u2019s best big leaguer and biggest star. He\u2019s coming off arguably the best season of his career in 2025 and just signed a two-year deal with San Francisco. The Pirates acquired Horwitz during the 2024 winter meetings in the trade that sent Andres Gimenez to the Blue Jays. In his first season with the Pirates, Horwitz hit .272\/.353\/.434 with 11 home runs.<\/p>\n Best Prospects: RJ Schreck <\/a>spent most of 2025 with Triple-A Buffalo and might have a sneaky claim to being Team Israel\u2019s second-best hitter. The outfielder has a nice blend of plus bat-to-ball skills and an advanced approach, making him a tough out. Schreck can play all three outfield positions and has just enough power to be dangerous. SS\/OF Cole Carrigg<\/a> can play every position on the field and brings some athleticism and explosiveness to the Israel lineup.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pool D<\/p>\n Venezuela<\/p>\n Dominican Republic<\/p>\n Netherlands<\/p>\n Israel<\/p>\n Nicaragua<\/p>\n Dates\/Location: March 6-11, Miami, Florida.<\/p>\n Israel World Baseball Classic Roster<\/p>\n playerposbatsthrowsheightweightagemlb orgclubBeilenson, CharlieRHPRR6-0021526SEAArkansas Travelers (AA)Blum, JoshRHPRR6-0119522NYMBrooklyn Cyclones (A+)Bowman, MattRHPRR6-0018534MINSt. Paul Saints (AAA)Cohen, HarrisonRHPRR6-0021526NYYScranton\/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (AAA)Federman, DanielRHPLR6-0120527Aberdeen IronBirds (A+)Geber, JordanRHPRR6-0320026NYMBinghamton Rumble Ponies (AA)Kahnle, TommyRHPRR6-0123036\u2013Kaminsky, RobLHPRL6-0019531Staten Island FerryHawks (Ind.)Kremer, DeanRHPRR6-0221030BALBaltimore OriolesLazar, MaxRHPRR6-0220026PHIPhiladelphia PhilliesLequerica, CarlosRHPRR6-0219825DETWest Michigan Whitecaps (A+)Mallitz, JoshRHPRR6-0321024SDSan Antonio Missions (AA)Morgan, EliRHPRR5-1019029KCOmaha Storm Chasers (AAA)Prager, RyanLHPLL6-0320523CLELynchburg Hillcats (A)Simon, BenRHPLR5-1120023NYMBinghamton Rumble Ponies (AA)Stock, RobertRHPLR6-0120036NYMSyracuse Mets (AAA)Weiss, ZackRHPRR6-0321033\u2013Stubbs, CjCRR6-0321629TORRochester Red Wings (AAA)Stubbs, GarrettCLR5-1017532PHIPhiladelphia PhilliesCarrigg, ColeSSSR6-0220023COLHartford Yard Goats (AA)Gelof, Jake3BRR6-0119523LADGreat Lakes Loons (A+)Horwitz, Spencer1BLR6-0019028PITPittsburgh PiratesMendlinger, Noah3BLR5-0918025STLMemphis Redbirds (AAA)Mervis, Matt1BLR6-0222527WSHRochester Red Wings (AAA)Rosengard, BenjaminSSLR6-0219026Idaho Falls Chukars (Ind.)Bader, HarrisonCFRR6-0021031SFSan Francisco GiantsJohnston, TroyLFLL6-0020528COLColorado RockiesLevenson, ZachRFRR6-0121023STLSpringfield Cardinals (AA)Lowengart, AssafLFRR6-0119527New York Boulders (Ind.)Schreck, RjLFLR6-0120825TORNew Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the 2026 World Baseball Classic set to begin in March, the preliminary roster for Israel is here.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2276],"tags":[10264,5,2291,4,1586],"class_list":{"0":"post-557112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-draft","8":"tag-2026-world-baseball-classic","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-major-league-baseball-draft","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-mlb-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116021574661924489","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}