Air Force Captain will pitch for Team USA in 2026 World Baseball Classic

Billy Heyen

•
Air Force Captain will pitch for Team USA in 2026 World Baseball Classic image

Griffin Jax already knows what it means to represent the United States.

He'll get a new look at it as part of Team USA at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Jax was named to the team on Wednesday, but it's not his first U.S. Duty. He's also a Captain in the Air Force Reserves.

MORE: Ernie Clement completes improbable rise to Team USA for WBC

Jax is a 6-foot-2 relief pitcher born in Phoenix before going to high school in Colorado and college at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

He was a third-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2016 MLB Draft.

Jax spent the first four-and-a-half seasons of his big league career with the Twins, where he became one of the most-used relief pitchers in the sport.

He threw in 65 games in 2022, 71 in 2023 and 72 in 2024.

Midway through the 2025 season, Jax was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. In 23 outings with the Rays to close out 2025, he had a 3.60 ERA and struck out 12.2 batters per nine innings.

MORE: Yankees trade for son of former New York World Series champion

At 31 years old, this is a great opportunity for Jax to make a difference on what promises to be a stacked U.S. Roster for the WBC.

Pitching is a tricky beast at this tournament, since it takes place in March. That overlaps with Spring Training, which means pitchers aren't fully stretched out yet for the season ahead.

A guy like Jax, who has pretty much proven to have a rubber arm, could be crucial to the staff in his ability to get on the mound whenever called upon.

He certainly knows what it means to do his job, and he'll try to do that on the mound for Team USA.

More MLB news:

Senior Editor