Blue Jays' Pardinho and Dante Bichette Jr lead Brazil into World Baseball Classic.

A Blue Jays pitching prospect was right at the forefront of the action.

Erik Pardinho, a 24-year old right hander from Lucelia, Brazil was in camp with the Blue Jays as a non-roster invitee after originally signing with them as an international free agent back in 2017.

Pardinho, who also pitched for his national team as a 16-year old, picked up the save in Monday's 9-7 victory over Germany. That win, combined with a loss from China, propelled the two teams into a tie for 2nd place. They played a rematch on Thursday.

The South American nation came out on top 6-4, clinching their spot in the 2026 tournament, returning to the classic for the first time since 2013. The fourth team in the qualifying group - Colombia - had already punched their ticket by defeating all three teams.

Colombia and Brazil will join Group A qualifiers Nicaragua and Chinese Taipei as well as the 16 holdovers from previous iteration, including underdogs and fan favourites Czech Republic and Great Britain.

Pardinho wasn't the only player on Brazil's roster with a Blue Jaysconnection. One of his teammates was Dante Bichette Jr., son of major league All-Star Dante Bichette and brother to the Blue Jays' Bo. Team Brazil also featured another son-of-a-major-leaguer in Lucas Ramirez, son of Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez.

Both Dante and Boare eligible to play for team Brazil to their mother Mariana being a Brazilian native.

Team Germany also had sports royalty in Jaden Agassi, son of legendary tennis players Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff.

The World Baseball Classic will take place from March 5-17, 2026 in Miami, Houston, San Juan, and Tokyo.