Six international baseball stars were rated by the Baseball America magazine the top prospects in their Major League Baseball (MLB) organization: Bryce Eldridge (San Francisco Giants), Matt Shaw (Chicago Cubs), Carson Williams (Tampa Bay Rays), Travis Bazzana (Cleveland Guardians), Colt Emerson (Seattle Mariners) and Kumar Rocker (Texas Rangers).
Shaw, Williams and Bazzana competed in the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS.
Matt Shaw was the USA starting third baseman. He played perfect defence and went 14-for-34, a .412 batting average. The 23-year-old starred for the Cubs at the Double-A (86 games) and Triple-A (35 games) levels in 2024.
Carson Williams (21) also contributed to the USA bronze medal. He started all games at shortstop and went 8-for-31, with a .358 batting average. During the 2024 campaign, he was the Rays' starting shortstop at Double-A.
After representing Australia at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2019 and the U-23 Baseball World Cup 2022, Travis Bazzana made Australia's Premier12 team at the end of his first professional season in the US (27 games at the A + level). He played four games at second base and one at DH, going 5-for-19, a .263 batting average, and committing no error.
Bazzana made history in July when the Cleveland Guardians made him the first Australian to be selected No. 1 in the MLB draft.
Bryce Eldridge dominated the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2022. His left-handed bat connected for three home runs and 13 RBIs. As a right-handed pitcher he didn't allow a run in three appearances out of the bullpen, including the World Championship Final, and picked one save.
Eldridge, who turned 20 in October, played his first professional season in 2023 and played at four levels for the Giants in 2024, including eight games at Triple-A, seven at first base and one at DH.
Colt Emerson, 19, was the starting third baseman for USA in the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2022. He also appeared at shortstop and DH, went 9-for-25, a .360 batting average, and committed just one error. It was not the only World Cup he won. Emerson was on the USA team that won the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2017.
In his second professional season, Emerson went from Rookie ball to Class A Advanced for the Mariners. He impressed in the Arizona Fall League in the postseason, batting .370.
Max Clark, the starting right-fielder on that USA U-18 National Team, just missed the list. Baseball America rated him the No. 2 Detroit Tigers prospect behind right-handed pitcher Jackson Jobe. Clark deserves to be mentioned as the No. 6 overall prospect, while Jobe is No. 5.
Aidan Miller played left fielder, third baseman and right fielder on the same team. He went 11-for-23, a .478 batting average, with three triples, two home runs and eight RBIs. Baseball America rates him second behind right-handed flamethrower Andrew Painter. Considering Painter is coming off surgery and has resumed playing in the 2024 Arizona Fall League, MLB.com believes Miller should be the top Phillies prospect.
Kumar Rocker helped USA win the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2017. The big right-hander committed to Vanderbilt University and starred at the NCAA level.
The New York Mets drafted Rocker No. 10 overall in 2021, but the parties failed to agree on a signing bonus. The right-hander played a portion of the 2022 season for the Tri-City Valley Cats of the independent Frontier League, and the Texas Rangers selected him No. 3 overall in the 2022 draft and granted him a US$ 5.2 million bonus. Rocker started only 16 minor league games, including two at Triple-A, before making his MLB debut in 2024.
