University of Pittsburgh Athletics
2/10/2023 1:39:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH - A pair of former Pitt baseball players have been selected to rosters for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with right-handed pitcher R.J. Freure earning a spot on Canada's roster and right-handed pitcher Derek West being named to the roster for the Netherlands.
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with MLB. It is the only baseball tournament sanctioned by the WBSC that grants the winner the title of "World Champion." The 2023 tournament will be the fifth installment of the WBC. The World Baseball Classic field is made up of 20 teams that are assigned and ranked to four different pools for the first round. Pool play is a round-robin, double-elimination tournament. From there, the top two teams in each pool advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket. The 2023 WBC begins on March 8.
Freure appeared in 48 outings, including one start, in his two-year career (2017-18) as a Panther, owning a career record of 8-2 with two saves . He threw 96.2 innings with a 4.47 ERA. His 27 games played in 2018 are tied for the third-most by a pitcher in a single season program history while his 95 strikeouts that season rank as the fifth-most. Freure was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros with the 192nd overall pick. He has spent the last four seasons in Minor League Baseball, most recently suiting up for the Rome Braves - the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves - in 2022. In 77 minor league games, he has gone 14-13 with four saves and a 4.43 ERA and has registered 277 strikeouts over 223.1 innings.
West appeared in 31 games with 19 starts in his two seasons of competition at Pitt in 2018 and '19 after missing his first two years due to injury. He posted a career record of 6-6 with a 3.57 ERA and logged 118.1 innings of work, tallying 129 strikeouts and a .236 opponent average. His 82 strikeouts in 2019 are tied for the 15th-most in a single season in program history. West was drafted in the 28th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves with the 832nd overall pick but did not sign. He was then taken in the 14th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros with the 436th overall pick. West has spent the last three minor league seasons in Houston's system and split the 2022 season between High-A Asheville and Double-A Corpus Christi. He has played in 60 games, boasting a 6-3 record with 108 strikeouts over 93.2 innings.
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The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with MLB. It is the only baseball tournament sanctioned by the WBSC that grants the winner the title of "World Champion." The 2023 tournament will be the fifth installment of the WBC. The World Baseball Classic field is made up of 20 teams that are assigned and ranked to four different pools for the first round. Pool play is a round-robin, double-elimination tournament. From there, the top two teams in each pool advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket. The 2023 WBC begins on March 8.
Freure appeared in 48 outings, including one start, in his two-year career (2017-18) as a Panther, owning a career record of 8-2 with two saves . He threw 96.2 innings with a 4.47 ERA. His 27 games played in 2018 are tied for the third-most by a pitcher in a single season program history while his 95 strikeouts that season rank as the fifth-most. Freure was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros with the 192nd overall pick. He has spent the last four seasons in Minor League Baseball, most recently suiting up for the Rome Braves - the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves - in 2022. In 77 minor league games, he has gone 14-13 with four saves and a 4.43 ERA and has registered 277 strikeouts over 223.1 innings.
West appeared in 31 games with 19 starts in his two seasons of competition at Pitt in 2018 and '19 after missing his first two years due to injury. He posted a career record of 6-6 with a 3.57 ERA and logged 118.1 innings of work, tallying 129 strikeouts and a .236 opponent average. His 82 strikeouts in 2019 are tied for the 15th-most in a single season in program history. West was drafted in the 28th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves with the 832nd overall pick but did not sign. He was then taken in the 14th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros with the 436th overall pick. West has spent the last three minor league seasons in Houston's system and split the 2022 season between High-A Asheville and Double-A Corpus Christi. He has played in 60 games, boasting a 6-3 record with 108 strikeouts over 93.2 innings.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
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