Germany and Brazil will compete for the final spot in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Germany will be looking for its first appearance in the World Baseball Classic, and Brazil will be looking for its first appearance since 2013.
In what will be Germany’s biggest game in German baseball history, Niklas Rimmel will take the mound to try and deliver history. Rimmel, a former minor leaguer in Minnesota’s organization, has a 2.20 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 49 innings for Bundesliga champions, Bonn Capitals.
Offensively, they’ve been led by former major leaguer, Donald Lutz. Lutz leads all qualifiers with a 2.278 OPS and has been hitting absolute missiles all tournament. They’re also led by former Padres minor leaguer, Lucas Dunn, who played as high as AA in 2024. He has a 1.271 OPS in the qualifier with solid defense in CF.
All German pitchers besides Markus Solbach are already. Expect to see LHP Tommy Sommer coming in to pitch for Germany at some point. He threw three innings against Brazil in Brazil’s 9-7 win and did not allow a hit. He should appear out of the bullpen for the Germans in this one.
Tiago da Silva will be getting the start for the Brazilians. He has pitched in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic for Italy. His most well-known performance was in the second round in 2013 against the Dominican Republic. He stifled the 2013 champions for 5.1 innings and allowed two runs as Italy nearly pulled off the shocking upset. He most recently played for México in 2024 and the Nicaraguan and Venezuelan winter leagues in 2024-25. He had a 5.74 ERA in 64.1 innings in México, which is known as a hitter’s paradise.
Offensively, Leonardo Reginatto will lead Brazil. He has a 1.212 OPS and is the main source of power in this lineup. He got Brazil’s first RBI in World Baseball Classic history in 2013 against Japan. He has played seven seasons in the Venezuela winter league and had a .623 OPS this past winter.
Lucas Rojo, Brazil’s starting second baseman, after a strong South American Championship, in which he posted a .971 OPS, has followed that up with a 1.000 OPS in Tucson with strong defensive play.
Bo Takahashi is not starting; however, he should see time out of the bullpen. It will very likely be a low-scoring game in which both teams will use a lot of arms.
Prediction:
After being the only team invited to the qualifiers never to make a WBC, Germany finally breaks through and punches their ticket to the 2026 World Baseball Classic on the backs of Rimmel and Sommer.
4-3 Germany.
