The best junior baseball players in the world are in Mexico playing in the 2026 WBSC U15 Baseball World Cup presented by Raxus.
Twelve countries competed in two groups of six, and the Super Round kicked off on Thursday 1 October.
I’m in Mexico calling the games for Gametime.Sport and WBSC affiliate channels, which has given me a pretty good look at some of the big names of the future.
And there’s plenty of history here.
Household baseball names have rolled through this tournament over the years.
Think Freddie Freeman, Luis Arraez, Francisco Lindor, Yordan Alvarez, Hunter Greene, Kyle Tucker, Brice Turang, Royce Lewis and Mark Vientos, among plenty of others.
Some were already highly touted prospects. Others used tournaments like this as an early opportunity to put their names on the international baseball map.
So, who could be next?
This list is by no means all-inclusive. There have been standout performances up and down the rosters in Mexico, but these are a few players who have really caught my eye through the first phase of the tournament.
I’ve also included an honourable mentions section at the end because, frankly, there are far too many good players here to squeeze into one list.
You can follow the tournament via WBSC channels, through Gametime.Sport or via many of the international broadcast outlets.
Raylen Hunter, OF, USA
Call him ‘Big Play’ Ray.
This guy is unbelievable. He can impact all facets of the game.
Hunter has shown power by hitting a decisive 344-foot homer. He’s made an insane leaping, diving catch up against the left-field wall. He scored a game's only run — the winning run at that — by stealing second, putting pressure on the defence, forcing an errant throw and scoring on the error.
Oh, he also leads the tournament in runs, hits and batting average.
Not a bad week.
Takumi Ibata, INF, Japan
Does the name sound familiar? It should.
Ibata is the son of Hirokazu Ibata, the longtime Chunichi Dragons/Yomiuri Giants infielder, seven-time NPB Golden Glove winner and Japanese national team manager.
But Takumi is quickly establishing his own reputation.
He was MVP of a major 177-team youth tournament earlier this year, is a middle-of-the-order hitter and has already gone viral at this World Cup for a spectacular defensive play that looked an awful lot like something his dad might have made.
He went 7-for-17 with three extra-base hits and six RBI through Pool Play.
Santiago Vasquez, LHP, Venezuela
Vasquez got the start against a USA team that had piled on 49 runs in its first four games.
He no-hit them over his five innings of work, with eight strikeouts to boot.
He was consistently touching 91–92 mph.
Needless to say, he was hyped up.
The crazy part? Venezuela somehow lost the game 1-0 without allowing a hit.
And, for the record, that game was crazy. Venezuela no-hit the USA and still lost 1-0 thanks to the efforts of Big Play Ray.
Albert Mejias, INF, Venezuela
Remember back in January when the New York Yankees were reported to have entered a ‘pre-arrangement deal’ with a 13-year-old kid for more than US$7 million?
That’s this kid.
Mejias only turned 14 earlier in September and immediately went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks through his first two games. He’s also made some stellar defensive plays at shortstop.
There is a long, long way to go in his baseball journey, but watching him here, you can understand why so many eyes are already on him.
Chen Po-Chun, RHP, Chinese Taipei
“I want to be the best submarine pitcher in the world” is an awfully large declaration.
But that’s what Chen told WBSC after his first game.
Chen tossed five shutout innings in a crucial win over fellow Super Round opponent Nicaragua. Then he tossed another scoreless inning against Australia.
Nobody has come close to consistently hitting the ball hard off him.
He told Taiwanese media he switched to the submarine arm slot because he likes the way the ball floats through the air.
So far, it’s been pretty effective.
Angel Montas, OF, Dominican Republic
The 15-year-old slugger entered a reported pre-arrangement deal worth more than US$5 million with the Toronto Blue Jays last year.
He led the tournament in RBI after the Opening Round.
His mammoth homer against Japan was a big one, helping the Dominican Republic hand the Japanese their first loss of the tournament.
He has serious big-league pop.
Tyler Early, 1B/OF/RHP, USA
Early has been doing a little bit of everything.
He had already stolen five bases through his first three games, doubled home USA’s first run against Australia and has also been used on the mound.
He’s one of the most credentialed players here, too. Early was the 2023 USA Baseball Player of the Year after helping the U12 team win gold.
He has made a couple of nice plays in right field, is holding down the fort at first and is called upon in big spots.
The former U12 MVP just keeps doing his thing.
Esteban Gallardo, INF, Mexico
Gallardo has succeeded everywhere he has been.
He was at the U12 World Cup in 2023, starred in a Mexican U13/14 National Championship-winning performance and has been nothing but nails this week in Mexico.
He has hits in every game so far and is batting .467 on the week.
But as they say: quality over quantity.
Gallardo has a walk-off RBI single against the Dominican Republic and a game-tying double against Japan.
Okay, Mr. Big Time.
Tadeáš Edmár, P/SS, Czechia
While he isn’t from one of the traditional baseball superpowers, Edmár has impressed.
And if you’re going to announce yourself at a World Cup, a grand slam isn’t a bad way to do it.
Edmár drove in all six Czech runs against Venezuela’s powerful pitching staff, including the slam that gave Czechia an early 4-0 lead.
He’s also been here before. Edmár represented Czechia at the 2023 U12 World Cup, meaning he’s already playing in his second WBSC World Cup at just 15.
He plays the game tough and is a really difficult at-bat who can do some damage.
Honourable Mentions
There are far too many talented players at this World Cup to fit them all above. So, here’s one more player from each country who deserves some love.
Australia — Beau Stockdale: Leads Australia in hits and has complemented the bat with some really nice defensive plays in the field.
Chinese Taipei — Chang-Rei Chen: A complete-game shutout against a talented Venezuelan side is worth a mention.
Cuba — Ihosvany Doce: The catcher produced one of Cuba’s biggest offensive performances of the Opening Round, driving in five runs against South Africa.
Czechia — Filip Staňka: The MVP of Czechia’s domestic U15 championship has carried that form onto the international stage and remains one of the most accomplished players on this Czech roster.
Dominican Republic — Angel Peralta: It’s easy to get overshadowed by Montas, but Peralta has been a major part of the Dominican offence, including a two-run double in the statement win over Japan.
Germany — Gideon Kutzner: Seems to find himself in the middle of Germany’s big innings. He doubled and scored the eventual winning run in the historic 3-2 win over Cuba, then drove in another run against South Africa.
Japan — Yuma Yamaguchi: Talk about big moments. Yamaguchi hit Japan’s first home run of the tournament and then delivered a two-out, seventh-inning walk-off single to beat Mexico 5-4.
Mexico — Kevin Machorro: Gallardo gets plenty of the clutch-hitting headlines, but Machorro was outstanding on the mound against the Dominican Republic, striking out eight over four scoreless innings while allowing just one hit.
Nicaragua — Adolfo Alcoser: The 14-year-old and youngest member of Nicaragua’s team has already been used in three of its first five games, including tossing a shutout in a start to help send his country through to the Super Round.
South Africa — Tatum White: South Africa’s captain has been asked to do a little bit of everything and helped lead a team that showed plenty of fight in pushing Germany all the way in a 9-7 thriller.
USA — Noah Vrzal: Easy to get lost amongst the ridiculous depth of the American roster, but Vrzal has been nearly perfect in his two outings. He’s also 6’5 and has touched 93 mph.
Venezuela — Christopher Cabrera: Yep, that Cabrera. The son of Miguel Cabrera is forging his own path at this World Cup, representing Venezuela on the international stage and writing the first chapters of his own baseball story.
