Corbin Carroll on ESPN’s way-too-early Team USA roster for 2029 World Baseball Classic

Team USA finished as runners-up in the World Baseball Classic for the second straight tournament on Tuesday night, and it’s never too soon to look ahead as Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll was featured in ESPN’s way-too-early 2029 roster projection.

MLB reporter David Schoenfield pegged Carroll, who missed out on making his WBC debut because of a broken right hamate bone, as the starting right fielder.

The two-time MLB All-Star has totaled a 15.7 bWAR, .258 batting average, 82 home runs, 248 RBIs and 123 stolen bases in his four seasons.

The speedy and powerful dynamo was the only clear choice three years from now for Schoenfield, but he did offer a few other names that may make a case for the U.S. roster.

Others to watch: Jac Caglianone (who played for Italy this year but could also play for Team USA) and don’t discount Kyle Tucker, who was on the 2023 squad and will be coming off his age-31 season. Byron Buxton, who was also on this year’s team, probably will have aged out of center field but could be a right fielder by this point and might merit consideration as well.

Though hamate surgery typically subdues a player’s long ball ability, the lefty Carroll crushed his first home run of spring training 410 feet to the opposite field Wednesday. His status was once a concern for Opening Day, but now the question centers around how many defensive reps he can get in before March 26.

The rest of Team USA’s outfield is less obvious, as the Boston Red Sox’s Roman Anthony (a 2026 participant) and the Washington Nationals’ James Wood are candidates for left field and the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong (a 2026 team member) and the Texas Rangers’ Wyatt Langford up for center field.

The New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who was positioned in right field during the WBC final against Venezuela, is Schoenfield’s pick at designated hitter in 2029. He will be 36 by then and the ESPN contributor said he doesn’t doubt Judge may still be “the best hitter in the game.”

The rest of the lineup features proven talent like Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, but Chandler Hamilton High School product Roch Cholowsky, a 20-year-old UCLA star at shortstop, received Schoenfield’s final roster spot.

We have room for one more player and should probably go with another infielder. … So, let’s add that infielder and go with Cholowsky, a UCLA star who looks like a lock for the Chicago White Sox as the first pick in the 2026 draft. He’s advanced enough that he’s expected to quickly reach the majors. Maybe Cholowsky won’t play much, but he can soak in the knowledge of being around all the best players in the game.

Projected Team USA position players, pitchers for 2029 World Baseball Classic

Catcher

• Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
• Carter Jensen, Kansas City Royals

First Base

• Nick Kurtz, Athletics

Second Base

• Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers

Third Base

• Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

Shortstop

• Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
• Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh Pirates

Left Field

• Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox
• James Wood, Washington Nationals

Center Field

• Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers
• Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs

Right Field

• Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks

Designated Hitter

• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Starting Pitchers

• Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
• Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
• Hunter Brown, Houston Astros

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