Japan has named a 27-man roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The last spot is supposed to be filled out soon. As expected the only MLB player on the roster is going to be Norichiki Aoki of the Houston Astros. Several other Major Leaguers like Masahiro Tanaka, Kenta Maeda, Junichi Tazawa and Yu Darvish had declined an invitation or were blocked by their clubs. Nonetheless Samurai Japan features a star-studded lineup headed obviously by superstar Shohei Otani of the Nippon Ham Fighters. Japan squares off against Cuba, China and Australia during first-round play at the Tokyo Dome at the 2017 WBC.
Roster:
Pitchers:
| Hiroki Matsui | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
| Tomoyuki Kanno | Yomiuri Giants |
| Akiyoshi Ryo | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| Norimoto Nakayama | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
| Naoki Miyanishi | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters |
| Shohei Otani | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters |
| Shintaro Fujinami | Hanshin Tigers |
| Hiroshi Masui | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters |
| Ishikawa Ayumu | Chiba Lotte Marines |
| Toshiya Okada | Chunichi Dragons |
| Kazuhisa Makita | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| Sengaku Chika | Fukuoka Softbank Hawks |
| Hirano Hirano | Orix Buffaloes |
Catchers:
| Seiji Kobayashi | Yomiuri Giants |
| Ryota Ono | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters |
| Kimihiro Shima | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
Infielders:
| Norihiro Matsuda | Fukuoka Softbank Hawks |
| Ryosuke Kikuchi | Hiroshima Toyo Carp |
| Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants |
| Sho Nakada | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters |
| Tetsuto Yamada | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
Outfielders:
| Seiichi Uchikawa | Fukuoka Softbank Hawks |
| Norichika Aoki | Houston Astros |
| Ryosuke Hirata | Chunichi Dragons |
| Yoshi Tsuyoshi | Yokohama DeNA Baystars |
| Seiya Suzuki | Hiroshima Toyo Carp |
| Shogo Akiyama | Saitama Seibu Lions |