World Baseball Classic Qualifiers: Germany Riding Highest WBR Ranking Into Tucson

When Germany takes the field at Kino Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. for the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, the team will do so with its highest-ever position in the World Baseball Rankings to bolster their confidence.

Currently No. 17 in the WBSC’s World Baseball Rankings, Germany is appearing in the WBC Qualifier for the fourth time, but they are still looking for their first trip to the World Baseball Classic, having failed to qualify in 2013, 2017, and 2023.

Germany came within one win of qualifying for the 2013 WBC, winning their opening game in the qualifier 16-1 against the Czech Republic to advance to the semifinals, where they lost to Canada 16-7. They then beat Great Britain 16-1 to advance to the final game of qualifying, where Canada squashed their hopes with an 11-1 win at Armin-Wolf Arena in Regensburg, Germany.

In 2016, Germany went 0-2 at the Mexicali, Mexico Qualifier for the 2017, losing 5-4 to Nicaragua and 15-3 to the Czech Republic. Six years later in Regenburg, they lost their opener to Great Britain 8-1, but rebounded with an 11-5 win over South Africa before being eliminated by the Czech Republic 8-4.

Germany’s national team hasn’t played since the 2022 Regensburg Qualifier, so the upcoming qualifier in Tucson will be their first game action as a team in more than two years.

Pitching – The only pitcher with MLB experience in Germany’s lineup are Nick Wittgren, and Wittgren will likely play a big role out of the bullpen. In 314 MLB games over parts of eight seasons with Miami, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Kansas City, Wittgren has a 4.04 ERA over 329 1/3 innings with a WHIP of 1.254. He had a rough 2024, splitting the year between Triple-A and Double-A in the Minnesota Twins organization, posting a 6.18 ERA over 59 2/3 innings across 40 appearances, but bounced back over the winter, making 11 appearances in LIDOM with the Aguilas Cibaenas and posting a 2.25 ERA over eight innings of work. Wittgren has generally been used as a short reliever, seldom pitching more than 1 1/3 innings as a Major Leaguer, though expect him to be the first one up in the bullpen for Germany should a starter get into trouble.

Veteran Markus Solbach and Niklas Rimmel, a former Minnesota Twins farmhand and an elite starter in Germany’s Bundesliga, are likely to each get a start in Tucson. Dalton “Duke” von Schamann, who pitched in both the Cleveland and Los Angeles Dodgers organization and is now a coach at Oklahoma Christian University, could play a significant role as either a starter or a middle reliever. The son of former NFL kicker Uwe von Schamann threw two solid innings against Samurai Japan last spring at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, striking out two. University of Southern California product Jaden Agassi, the son of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, is a player to watch. He posted a 2.96 ERA over 27 1/3 innings with Mahoning Valley of the MLB Draft League last summer.

Batting – Former Cincinnati Red Donald Lutz is the only Germany batter with MLB experience, batting .211/.239/.284 over 113 plate appearances in 2013 and 2014, striking out 33 times. Lutz hasn’t played in the summer since 2017 with Leon of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, but has played in the Australian Baseball League in three of the last five seasons. This past winter, he appeared in 14 games with Brisbane, batting .194/.268/.278 with 10 strikeouts in 36 at-bats.

While the majority of Germany’s batters are, by and large, unknown to the casual fan, one player to watch is Lucas Dunn, who’s on the roster as an outfielder but has also played second and third in the San Diego Padres organization. Dunn, an eighth round pick of San Diego in the 2021 MLB Draft, has career .229/.342/.353 batting line with 20 homers, 163 RBIs, and a .695 OPS in 1,237 at-bats in the Padres’ organization.

Simon Baumgardt, who hit .287/.363/.523 with a .886 OPS, 10 homers and 43 RBIs in 195 at-bats in 52 games for the University of Notre Dame last year, could make a big impact at the plate for Germany.

Outlook – It’s not a secret that teams will rise and fall in the WBC Qualifier largely on the strength of their pitching. Germany could have the second-best staff in Tucson, though it’s hard to predict the strength of China and Brazil’s pitchers. The biggest question is how manager Jendrick Speer will handle the pitching over the first two games: specifically, who will start against China and Brazil, and who that leaves to face Colombia, which is the strongest team at this Qualifier. Largely, it comes down to whether Speer wants to throw Solbach and Rimmel against China and Brazil in hopes of winning those two games and facing Colombia with an opportunity to go 3-0, with a loss to Colombia likely sending Germany to the March 6 play-in game for the final qualifying spot. It’s unlikely that Germany runs the table in Tucson, but they’ll have a great chance to earn their first World Baseball Classic berth.

Schedule at the 2025 Tucson WBC Qualifier
All times Eastern Standard Time

March 2
1 p.m. – Germany vs. China

March 3
1 p.m. – Brazil vs. Germany

March 4
8 p.m. – Germany vs. Colombia

March 6
8 p.m. – Second Place vs. Third Place

Where to Watch – Games during the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers will be streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, and MLB.tv.