From scalding espresso shots to kudos from Kyle Schwarber, Dante Nori’s WBC run with Italy is a whirlwind
The Phillies prospect showed some surprising pop in his first World Baseball Classic game, and heard about it from Schwarber. Next up: His longtime family friend and Team USA.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Dante Nori couldn’t sleep on Saturday night. This wasn’t due to the rush of hitting two home runs in his first-ever World Baseball Classic.
It was due to the scalding-hot espresso shots that followed. The Phillies prospect plays for Team Italy, which has an espresso machine in its dugout.
His teammate, Vinnie Pasquantino, created an impromptu home run celebration before their game against Brazil on Saturday.
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When Nori hit a home run 420 feet to right-center field in the seventh inning off Murilo Gouvea, he became the first member of Team Italy to test the new ritual.
It did not go well. Nori is “not a big coffee or espresso guy.” To make matters worse, Pasquantino began preparing the espresso as Nori rounded the bases, so it was scalding hot by the time he reached the dugout.
The first baseman filled it all the way to the very top.
Nori took a sip, winced, and tried his best not to spit it on the floor.
“It was very hot, and there was way too much of it,” Nori said. “Which makes sense for the two hours of sleep I got the next night.”
An inning later, in the bottom of the eighth, he hit another home run 395 feet to the same spot. This time, Pasquantino was more gracious.
“There was only a quarter of what was in the first [espresso shot],” Nori said. “He was like, ‘I’m going to give you not a lot of caffeine.’ Thank God he didn’t. That one was easier to put down.”
It’s been a whirlwind week for the Phillies prospect, who left big league camp to join his brethren on Team Italy in Houston.
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Nori has Italian descent from his great-grandparents on both sides. At 21, he’s the youngest player on the roster, but has more than held his own.
Against Great Britain on Sunday, Nori went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Through his last two games, he’s leading his team in slugging (1.714) and OPS (2.492).
Of course, this is an incredibly small sample size, and Nori hasn’t always faced big league pitching throughout his WBC tenure. But the prospect’s pop caught the attention of two people in the Phillies organization: manager Rob Thomson and DH Kyle Schwarber.
Both Thomson and Schwarber texted Nori after his big two-home run game.
Schwarber, who hit a titanic blast of his own for Team USA the same night, decided to give the prospect some good-natured teasing.
“Schwarber’s was funny,” Nori said. “He just said, ‘Two homers!?’ And he said, ‘You’re bad.’ I just laughed at it. Just joking.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You just hit an absolute mammo.’”
Schwarber and Nori have known each other for a while. Nori’s grandfather, Fred, coached the Phillies’ DH when he was in college. Schwarber has found ways to pay it forward, from plowing Fred’s driveway when it’s covered with snow, to training with Dante during the offseason.
Nori was selected by the Phillies in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft. He jumped three levels in his first full minor league season last year, from single-A Clearwater to high-A Jersey Shore, ending it at double-A Reading.
Nori slashed .261/.361/.372 with a .732 OPS across his stops in 2025, with a 13% walk rate and 14.7% strikeout rate.
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Nori proceeded to the Arizona Fall League after that, where he hit .308/.386/.436 in 39 at-bats.
He made a few swing adjustments with Phillies director of player development Luke Murton that appear to have unlocked some power. Nori is standing more upright now, and staying more stacked throughout his swing.
The goal is to be more efficient through the zone, so he can access more pop. Last year, he felt himself driving forward a bit. He took these adjustments into the Fall League, and now, into the WBC, where he’s seen strong results.
The ultimate test will be on Tuesday, when he’s reunited with Schwarber and Team USA at Daikin Park in Houston. The pitching will be harder, but seeing an old friend is a good payoff.
“From what he does at spring training, I don’t think [Kyle] really goes on the line [for pregame hitting and stretching],” Nori said. “But if there’s an opportunity to walk over there and say hi, I definitely will.”