USA pitching rotation projection: When to expect Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and more in 2026 World Baseball Classic

One of the United States' Achilles heels in past World Baseball Classics has been the team's inability to recruit star-level pitching talent to compete for their country. In 2026, that's changed in a major way.

At the last WBC, in 2023, Team USA rolled out a group of solid starters, including Lance Lynn, Adam Wainwright, Kyle Freeland and Miles Mikolas. But for the 2026 tournament, the names truly pop out as elite hurlers among manager Mark DeRosa's options — including the two reigning Cy Young award winners.

It remains to be seen how long of a leash those star pitchers will have for Team USA, given the fact that Opening Day is approaching for the MLB season, but the Americans will undoubtedly have a pitching advantage throughout most of the WBC.

Here's a look at Team USA's projected pitching rotation in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

MORE: Full WBC rosters for every team

USA pitching rotation projection

Starting Rotation

• LHP Logan Webb (vs. Brazil, Friday, Mar. 6)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (Making 1 start vs. Great Britain, Saturday, Mar. 7)
• RHP Paul Skenes (vs. Mexico, Monday, Mar. 9)
• RHP Nolan McLean (vs. Italy, Tuesday, Mar. 10)

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa has set his pool play rotation, and it's lefty Logan Webb who will make the start in Game 1 against Brazil on Friday. From there, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal will get the ball in Game 2 against Great Britain, while Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes will start in Game 3 against Mexico.

Currently, New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean is in-line to start Game 4 against Italy, but as he fights an illness, that could change.

"Yeah, it's set up," DeRosa said after Team USA's first workout, per ESPN. "There's obviously guardrails for the tournament ... pitch count-wise, but there's also guardrails for guys having to throw on certain days to get ready for their team's Opening Day."

It does remains unclear to what extent each starter will be able to pitch for Team USA in the WBC. While the group of rostered pitchers includes some big names, headlined by Skenes and Skubal, MLB teams typically aim to hard-cap their WBC pitching participants at a certain number of innings, something DeRosa will be navigating.

Notably, in Skubal’s case, it is already known that he will make only one start in the World Baseball Classic, which will be in pool play against Great Britain. In February, the Detroit Tigers’ ace said he would take the ball just once in the tournament.

"I'm trying to do both things -- trying to pitch for Team USA, but I understand the need to be here with these guys [Tigers] and get ready for the season," Skubal told reporters at spring training, per ESPN. "I think it's kind of the best of both worlds in that aspect, and I'm grateful they took me in that capacity."

Skubal is set to throw 55 pitches against Great Britain, per Bob Nightengale.

Still, while it will be short-lived, the Skenes-Skubal pairing should be one of the greatest pitching tandems in WBC history. The two reigning Cy Young Award winners will be looking to help guide the United States to the title. Skenes' official workload for the WBC hasn't been reported, but there also could be a chance he's limited to a certain innings or starts count. 

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Regardless, DeRosa still has some talented pitchers to deploy even when Skubal's contributions are over. Logan Webb, who is starting Game 1 against Brazil, has led MLB in innings pitched in each of the last three seasons, and he had a league-high 224 strikeouts in 2025. Once Skubal is finished, Webb will become the second-best option in the rotation.

With Minnesota Twins righty Joe Ryan ruled out of the tournament with a back injury, expect Matthew Boyd to also get some shine. The Cubs lefty had a strong year last year, putting up a 3.21 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 179.2 innings, his most since 2019. He could play a role in the action during the tournament, especially if Skenes is shut down after one or two starts.

Depending how deep DeRosa goes into a rotation, there are a plethora of other notable starters on his roster. Two New York Mets starters, 24-year-old Nolan McLean and 32-year-old Clay Holmes, are the best of that bunch, both right-handed pitchers who could also come out of the bullpen. McLean is scheduled to start in pool play against Italy. 

While Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw is on the United States' roster months following his retirement from MLB, he's not expected to take on the kind of prominent starting role he may have in his prime years. At best, Kershaw could be an innings-eater for Team USA in any blowout results.

Bullpen

• RHP Mason Miller
• RHP David Bednar
• LHP Garrett Cleavinger
• RHP Griffin Jax
• RHP Brad Keller
• LHP Gabe Speier
• RHP Garrett Whitlock
• LHP Clayton Kershaw
• RHP Nolan McLean
• RHP Clay Holmes
• RHP Michael Wacha
• LHP Ryan Yarbrough

The headliner of Team USA's bullpen is San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller, who has become one of MLB's premiere closers as a flamethrower — he's likely to continue manning the ninth inning in the WBC.

However, there are plenty more solid bullpen arms for Team USA, a group of MLB's best relievers last season. Right-hander David Bednar bounced back with the New York Yankees last season, two years removed from an All-Star bid, while other right-handed options are the Tampa Bay Rays' Griffin Jax (4.23 ERA, 99 Ks in 2025), the Philadelphia Phillies' Brad Keller (2.07 ERA, 75 Ks in 2025) and the Boston Red Sox's Garrett Whitlock (2.25 ERA, 91 Ks in 2025).

Having a lefty-heavy rotation will help, but the only three true left-handed relievers for Team USA are the Rays' Garrett Cleavinger (2.35 ERA, 82 Ks in 2025), the Seattle Mariners' Gabe Speier (2.61 ERA, 82 Ks in 2025) and the New York Yankees' Ryan Yarbrough (4.36 ERA, 55 Ks in 2025).

It's also likely, however, that Mark DeRosa is able to use some of his starters in a bullpen role. McLean, Holmes, Kershaw and Kansas City Royals veteran Michael Wacha are all candidates to come out of the bullpen, despite having MLB starting roles.