Brazil bloodlines: Joseph Contreras, Lucas Ramirez make loud WBC debuts, so what’s in store for pro futures?

Friday night, Aaron Judge and Team USA opened their 2026 World Baseball Classic schedule with a predictably convincing win over Brazil (USA 15, BRA 5). Brazil, which does not have a single active MLB player on its roster, was simply overmatched. They used nine pitchers in nine innings, issued 17 walks, and struck out only two. Brazil kept it close for eight innings, but it was a tune-up game for USA, basically.

“I know people are definitely looking forward to the U.S./Mexico game because they have a fantastic team over there,” Judge told MLB.com after Friday’s win. “But we have to take it one game at a time. And when they are next for us, we will lock it in for that.”

Although USA brought the star power and won the game, two young — very young — Brazil players stole the show Friday. Lucas Ramirez, Brazil’s right fielder and leadoff hitter, hit two home runs, including a leadoff blast in the first inning against Logan Webb. The recently turned 20-year-old is the son of 12-time All-Star and 555-homer man Manny Ramirez.

“Ever since the qualifiers I’ve been envisioning a first-at-bat bomb. It is crazy it actually happened,” Lucas Ramirez said after the game. “For five months, every time before I go to bed, after I pray, you know, I visualize it, and it happened. That’s why — I don’t know if you saw me running the bases — I said, ‘I told you,’ because I visualized it and it happened. It was awesome.”

This has been quite a week for young Mr. Ramirez. He hit a home run off Jacob deGrom in a WBC exhibition game Wednesday, then took Webb and Gabe Speier deep Friday. That’s a two-time Cy Young winner, a three-time top six finisher in the Cy Young voting, and one of the nastiest left-on-left relievers in the sport. What an impressive three-day span for the 20-year-old.

“I was looking forward for him to do something special. He’s been working so hard all year round and I’m proud of him,” Manny Ramirez told the Associated Press. “I’m proud of him. Thank God for this opportunity that he has.”

While Ramirez starred at the plate, Joseph Contreras stood out on the mound. The 17-year-old is the youngest player to appear in the WBC since 2013. He is the son of 11-year big leaguer and longtime Cuban baseball star Jose Contreras. On Friday, Joseph Contreras hit 97.8 mph with his fastball and turned Judge’s bat into firewood on an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

“Impressive,” Judge said about Contreras after the game. “I know I wasn’t doing that at that age. Just great stuff. I know he had some poise on the mound. He’s throwing up to 100 miles an hour. He’s facing Team USA, a lot of guys he has seen on TV. It was just impressive, impressive just seeing him control himself out there and get out of a big jam. And he had some good stuff.”

Judge is one of baseball’s biggest stars. Contreras is a student at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia, and he was excused from class to participate in the WBC. He told The Athletic he had to finish his social studies homework Friday morning, before the game against USA, and he’s had to skip hanging out with his Brazil teammates to keep up with his schoolwork.

“They’re always down there partying. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I can’t really go down there with you guys.’ Got to stay up and do homework,” Contreras joked with The Athletic. “… I think (Friday) just shows scouts that my stuff plays. They’ll get some (Statcast) metrics that they won’t get at my high school games, so it’s just a closer look. I’m happy for it.”

Contreras allowed one run in 1 ⅓ innings Friday and was Brazil’s second most effective pitcher behind 40-year-old journeyman Tiago Da Silva. He threw 33 pitches and WBC rules stipulate he must rest one day before he can pitch again. Contreras will be eligible to pitch Sunday, when Brazil faces Mexico. If he doesn’t pitch against Mexico, he could face Great Britain on Monday.

Here is more on Ramirez and Contreras, who really stole the show against USA despite Brazil’s blowout loss.

Ramirez hoping to rise in Angels system

Ramirez turned 20 in January, so he’s a young 20. He was a 17th-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels in 2024, and last summer he hit .282/.374/.454 with three homers in 49 rookie ball games. The Angels even bumped him up to High Class-A for 11 games late in the season just to challenge Ramirez. High Class-A was the best competition he’d ever faced prior to the WBC.

“This is the best day ever of my life, to be honest,” Ramirez said after Friday’s two-homer game. “My mom doesn’t really make it to all of the games because she is back home with my brother. My dad is at most of the games. I’m just really thankful that my family is here was to watch me play.”

Despite last year’s performance and despite his bloodlines, Ramirez is not a highly regarded prospect. Neither Baseball America nor MLB Pipeline rank him among their top 30 Angels prospects, and the Halos have one of the thinnest farm systems in the game. That said, if Ramirez keeps performing and taking Cy Young contenders deep, he’ll force prospect rankers to notice.

Ramirez was born and raised in Florida and his father is from the Dominican Republic, though his mother is from Brazil, allowing him to play for them in the WBC. The Angels move their prospects very aggressively. Ramirez could begin 2026 back in High Class-A, though a stint in Low Class-A to begin the season would be more appropriate, developmentally.

Contreras will go early in this year’s MLB Draft

Contreras was born on May 6, 2008, two days after his father threw eight innings against the Toronto Blue Jays for the Chicago White Sox. As mentioned earlier, he’s still in high school. When the WBC is over, Contreras will go back home to Georgia, catch up on schoolwork, take his finals, go to the prom, do all that stuff. It really is remarkable he’s pitching where he is right now.

“My dad played for a very, very long time, and he never got to play in (the WBC),” Contreras told The Athletic. “That (reminds me) of the magnitude of this event, and I’m just happy to make the most of it.”  

The WBC is just the beginning of Contreras’ baseball journey. He is a well-regarded prospect for this summer’s amateur draft. Baseball America ranks him as the 35th-best prospect in the 2026 draft class. MLB Pipeline has him 47th. That puts Contreras in the late first-round/early second-round mix. Here is Baseball America’s scouting report:

Joseph Contreras is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound righthander with long levers and tons of physical projection. As he’s gotten older and stronger, his velocity has ticked up significantly, from topping out around 91 in 2004 to sitting 92-96 mph and touching 98 in 2025. He shows feel for an 83-86 mph slider flashes plus, spins in the 2,400-2,800 rpm range and flashes good depth. He has multiple offspeed pitches led by a unique vulcan-grip forkball with low spin rates and hard tumbling action in the mid 70s and a more typical changeup with armside fade in the low 80s. Contreras is a Vanderbilt commit who’s young for the class and has first-round upside.

Depending how quickly he develops and rises through the minors, there’s a chance Friday won’t be the last time Contreras faces Judge in an important game. For now, he’ll focus on competing in the WBC, then graduating high school (!) and getting drafted this summer.