Eight International Players to Watch In the MLB Wild Card Series

The Major League Baseball postseason has finally arrived.

After 162 regular season games, the four Wild Card Series begin tonight, with three wild card teams and a division winner from each league facing off in a best-of-three series to determine who will advance to the Division Series.

Here are eight international players to watch, one from each team, in the opening round of the 2025 MLB Playoffs.

Elly De La Cruz, 2B, Cincinnati Reds – In his third Major League season, the Dominican sensation continued to produce for Cincinnati, who returned to the postseason for the first time in five years under new manager Terry Francona. With 86 RBIs this season, De La Cruz led the team and drives the offense, and if the Reds knock out the Dodgers, De La Cruz will likely have a big role.

Roki Sasaki, P, Los Angeles Dodgers – Sasaki didn’t live up to the hype that preceded him coming over from Japan, and after missing four months with shoulder impingement, he’s been recast in a bullpen role late in the season. While there are bigger international names on the Dodgers, Ohtani and Yamamoto to name two, Sasaki’s success or failure on coming out of the bullpen on the biggest playoff stage in baseball could be the difference in whether the Dodgers advance to the Division Series or watch from the couch.

Brayan Bello, P, Boston Red Sox – Bello, from Samana, Dominican Republic, will get the ball in game two of the Wild Card Series, facing the Yankees in the Bronx. If his Aug. 22 start is any indication, he’ll respond to the pressure of pitching in the biggest rivalry in baseball in the postseason. Bello threw seven scoreless innings in a 1-0 Red Sox win that day, allowing three hits with five strikeouts and a walk. They’ll need a similar performance to get through to face Toronto.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, New York Yankees – The first Bahamian to play for the Yankees, Chisholm had the best year of his career in the Bronx this summer, and now has the chance to etch his name into the Yankees’ postseason lore with a big performance against the Red Sox. He went 13-f0r-41 with three walks and nine strikeouts against Boston this year, driving in 13 runs with a .965 OPS. He’s may not be the most powerful bat in the Yankee lineup, but he gets a lot of pitches to hit.

Javier Baez, SS, Detroit Tigers – Baez, originally from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, had a renaissance in his age 32 season this year, and while he’s not the player he was with the Chicago Cubs in the late 2010s, he’s a solid utilityman in the field and can provide some pop both as a pinch hitter and from the back end of the lineup.

Jose Ramirez, OF, Cleveland Guardians – With the fourth 30-homer season in the books, Ramirez has developed into a franchise player for the Guardians, who won their third American League Central title in four years thanks to his bat. Against Detroit, the Bani, Dominican Republic-native batted .347/.439/.592 with a 1.030 OPS, two homers, 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored this season. If the Tigers can quiet his bat, they can win the series. If they can’t, the Guardians will likely be headed to Seattle to face the Mariners.

Wandy Peralta, P, San Diego Padres – Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts are bigger names, but Peralta, a lefty reliever from San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic, will come out of the bullpen against a Cubs lineup that has six left-handed or switch hitters in their daily lineup. Peralta is effective against batters on both sides of the plate, but will likely come in from the bullpen in a high-leverage situation against Michael Busch, Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker, or Pete Crow-Armstrong. How Peralta performs in those situations could turn the series.

Seiya Suzuki, DH, Chicago Cubs – Suzuki, a native of Arakawa, Japan, had 13 at-bats against San Diego this year and got just one hit, and is just 9-for-56 for his career against the Padres. Considering he hit 32 homers and had 103 RBIs this season, Suzuki is a big piece of the Cubs offense, and though the sample size against the Padres is small, as Suzuki’s bat goes, likely so go the Cubs.

Photo: San Diego Padres relief pitcher Wandy Peralta throws against the Seattle Mariners during a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)