The World Baseball Classic is fast approaching, and this year the event is shaping up to be one of the most hyped and highly anticipated tournaments in history of the WBC.
This year, 20 teams will go for the quest to be crowned the world’s best as they will start playing on March 5. The front-runners include reigning champs Japan, along with the USA and the Dominican Republic.
The United States is coming into the games with a new look as Mike Trout is out as Captain, and it is Aaron Judge as he looks to avenge their defeat to Japan a few years back. The rotation is arguably the strongest part of this roster, as they will have stars Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes and Joe Ryan as their headliners.
Along with this group of pitchers, the United States will feature Clay Holmes and Mason Miller out of the bullpen. The lineup is also balanced with a wide variety of accomplished stars and up-and-comers.
Japan is looking to follow up on their run a few years ago that ended on a Shohei Ohtani strikeout of Mike Trout to end the game. This year, Ohtani will be back as he headlines the roster alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Seiya Suzuki.
Japan will also return Muneteka Murekami, who just made the transfer over to the MLB as he gears up for his first season with the White Sox. However, something to note for Japan is that they will not have Ohtani’s arm, as he will just be hitting in the tournament.
The Dominican Republic is also looking to make a splash this year following a few disappointing years at the tourney. They boast the best lineup in the tournament by far, as they are headlined by Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The pitching staff will be set to go with Sandy Alcantara and Christopher Sanchez. Unfortunately, The Dominican Republic are not the favorites, because of how good USA and Japan are as teams.
Outside of the clear top three, Venezuela, Mexico and the Netherlands should all have solid tournaments as they all produce solid rosters in almost every tournament. Venezuela will look to lean on Wilyer Abreu and Ronald Acuña Jr. to carry them through the tournament.
For Mexico, they have an all-around solid roster headlined by Jarren Duran, who will provide some speed and spark to their offense. Their rotation will be a weak spot, although they will have a solid bullpen to hopefully combat that.
The Netherlands will also be strong again with Xander Bogaerts and Ozzie Albies, along with arguably the best defender in baseball, Ceddane Rafaela. They will also have a few notable prospects on the roster, such as former top pick Drew Jones, who will help add depth to a team that could make a long run.
Teams also not to be mentioned in the upper echelon but could have breakout runs include Puerto Rico, Israel and Italy. Puerto Rico has been the talk of the tournament so far due to insurance issues with stars Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor. Regardless of this fact, they still have aging star Nolan Arenado along with Edwin Diaz to anchor their bullpen.
Team Israel is looking to bounce back after a rough 2023 showing. In 2017, they had a magical run and are looking to do the same as they will have arguably their best roster of all-time. Led by Harrison Bader and Dean Kramer, they will have solid MLB talent along with some prospects looking to make a name for themselves on the national stage.
Finally, for Italy, they have a lot of decent pieces in a very well-rounded roster. Jac Caglianone and Kyle Teel are the names that jump off the list as they will look to boost Italy deep into the tourney, along with their plethora of veteran pitching.
This year’s World Baseball Classic is set to promise big moments as the players set to make their way with their nations to a variety of sites in different countries to play. This is baseball’s Olympics and will be a great kickoff to the MLB season.