Pitcher Sandy Alcantara embraces his role as star starter for Team Dominican Republic at World Baseball Classic

Sandy Alcantara was one of the bright spots in an otherwise unremarkable season for the Miami Marlins in 2022. The 27-year old logged a league-best 228 innings over 32 starts, 6 of which were complete games.

He was subsequently named the NL Cy Young Award winner, marking the first time in franchise history that the honor has gone to a Marlins pitcher. Now, Alcantara is looking to take his game to the international stage.

The 2023 World Baseball Classic kicks off this month. The Dominican Republic is seen as one of the teams most likely to capture the title in the fans' first glimpse at international baseball since 2017. The team suffered heartbreaking subsequent losses to the USA and Puerto Rico in the second round last time around.

Speaking to MLB Network Radio at the Miami Marlins' spring training facility in Florida, Sandy Alcantara shared his excitement to appear in the first WBC of his career. He said:

"I want to compete to win and represent our country"

"We want to compete to win and represent our country."

@SandyAlcantar22 on playing for the Dominincan Republic in the WBC:

@Marlins | #Marlins | @WBCBaseball https://t.co/fM87q6mebb

"@SandyAlcantara22 on playing for the Dominican Republic in the WBC" - @ MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM

The Dominican Republic boasts a dynamic pitching rotation for the tournament including Luis Garcia of the Houston Astros and Sandy Alcantara's former Marlins teammate Johnny Cueto.

Despite Sandy Alcantara's brilliance on the mound, the Marlins were unable to get much going offensively and finished with a 69-93 record last season. They finished fourth in the NL East and were 32 games behind the 101-win Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.

🇩🇴WBC NEWS - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC🇩🇴

Per @hgomez27, this is the pitching rotation for Team Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic:

• Sandy Alcantara
• Cristian Javier
• Johnny Cueto
• Roansy Contreras https://t.co/62hrkswhQ4

"WBC NEWS- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Per @hgomez27, this is the pitching rotation for Team Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic:" - @ Shawn Spradling

The Dominican Republic is set to kick off their World Baseball Classic action in a blockbuster duel with Team Venezuela on March 11th at LoanDepot Park, where Alcantara treated Marlins fans to a lot of magic last year.

It is unclear if Alcantara will get the nod to start the first game from manager Rodney Linares.

Sandy Alcantara is a pivotal piece of the lineup as pitching will prove critical in WBC

In short tournaments such as the World Baseball Classic, pitching is everything. It will become even more clear if Sandy Alcantara's team advances out of their group to meet other contending teams like the USA and Japan in their quest for glory.