Team Taiwan Unveils 2026 World Baseball Classic Roster Featuring New Taiwanese American Talent

Taipei: Team Taiwan has announced its 30-man roster for the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which includes two Taiwanese Americans set to suit up for the first time.According to Focus Taiwan, the roster, unveiled on Friday and captained by 2024 WBSC Premier MVP Chen Chieh-hsien, consists of 16 pitchers, three catchers, and 11 position players, including four outfielders. Among them are five-year MLB outfielder Stuart Fairchild and infielder Jonathon Long, who play for the Triple-A affiliates of the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago Cubs, respectively. Both players were born to Taiwanese mothers and will be making their international debuts for Taiwan.Pitchers to watch include Lin Yu-min of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Lin Wei-en of the Athletics, both of whom have been invited to their teams' MLB spring training camps. Also on the roster are two fireballers playing in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB): Gu Lin Ruei-yang and Hsu Jo-hsi, the best local pitchers in Taiwan's Chinese Prof essional Baseball League (CPBL) in 2024 and 2025, respectively.