play1:37Judge: Team USA looking to carry Olympic hockey momentum into WBCAaron Judge joins Pat McAfee to explain how Team USA is looking to carry the momentum from Olympic hockey into the World Baseball Classic.
Passan: USA baseball is ‘unquestionably the most stacked’ team in the WBC (1:46)Jeff Passan joins “The Pat McAfee Show” to break down the U.S. roster heading into the World Baseball Classic (1:46)
Judge: Team USA looking to carry Olympic hockey momentum into WBCAaron Judge joins Pat McAfee to explain how Team USA is looking to carry the momentum from Olympic hockey into the World Baseball Classic.
Aaron Judge joins Pat McAfee to explain how Team USA is looking to carry the momentum from Olympic hockey into the World Baseball Classic.
Over the next two weeks, many of the biggest stars on the planet will take the field under the bright lights of the international stage.
Which teams join the United States as favorites to win it all? Who are the top candidates to shock the world? And which superstars will shine brightest during this year’s event?
It’s time to break it all down with our WBC Power Rankings, contender tiers and keys to reigning supreme in 2026.
Most likely MVP: Bobby Witt Jr. was a 22-year-old pinch runner who got just two at-bats in the last edition of the WBC. Since then, he has won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers, finished within the top five in MVP voting twice and accumulated 24.4 FanGraphs wins above replacement, trailing only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. At 25, he might already be one of the three best players in the sport. And he is primed to shine in this tournament. — Alden Gonzalez
A fact to impress your friends: With a .600 winning percentage through the first five WBCs, the U.S. ranks just fifth in winning percentage, behind Japan, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Korea. Against those four teams plus Mexico and Cuba, the U.S. has gone 11-13. — David Schoenfield
Judge: Team USA looking to carry Olympic hockey momentum into WBC
Most likely MVP: Juan Soto. On a team of superstars, he is the alpha. In a lineup composed of some of the game’s best hitters, he is the greatest of all. Soto isn’t the captain, but he is the one who will set the tone for the Dominican Republic. Three years ago, Soto went 6-for-15 with five extra-base hits in the tournament, but the Dominican team did not advance beyond pool play. He will make sure that does not happen again. — Gonzalez
X factor: Cristopher Sanchez is competing in his first WBC, and he’s doing so coming off a dominant breakout season that saw him put up a 2.50 ERA, compile 202 regular-season innings and finish second in National League Cy Young voting. He is the ace of a Dominican pitching staff that looks a lot better than it did three years ago, and he needs to dominate in his two starts. — Gonzalez
Most likely MVP: This is not complicated — it’s Shohei Ohtani, even if he will only hit in the WBC. Before coming out of the bullpen to strike out Mike Trout and win a championship in the 2023 WBC, Ohtani put up a 1.345 OPS in the tournament. His batting practice display in Japan recently made grown men act like children. No, Ohtani will not make an emergency pitching appearance, but he should do enough with the bat to lead Samurai Japan once again. — Gonzalez
X factor: Hiromi Itoh went 14-8 with a 2.52 ERA in 196⅔ innings for the Nippon-Ham Fighters and won the Sawamura Award as NPB’s best pitcher last year, an honor that Yoshinobu Yamamoto won three straight times. Yamamoto will join Itoh in this year’s rotation, but he might be limited given his workload last fall. Ohtani and Yu Darvish, meanwhile, won’t be pitching. And Itoh is the one who will have to step up. — Gonzalez
A fact to impress your friends: Masataka Yoshida drove in 13 runs in Japan’s 2023 title run — its third WBC title — the most in any single tournament. He’s on the roster again, but with Ohtani slated for the majority of the DH duties, Japan would have to deploy him in the outfield, where he has played just seven games the past two years with the Red Sox. — Schoenfield
Japan will win it all if … the starting rotation holds up without Ohtani, Darvish and Roki Sasaki. Ohtani is on the team as only a hitter. Sasaki chose to stay in camp with the Dodgers. Darvish is out for the season.
X factor: (Alden): Dominant left-handed reliever Jose Alvarado was unable to get insured for this tournament, so it looks as if it’ll be Eduard Bazardo setting up and Daniel Palencia closing games. Bazardo and Palencia are coming off strong seasons for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs, respectively, and give Venezuela the sort of one-two-punch late in games that it didn’t necessarily have in 2023. — Gonzalez
A fact to impress your friends: Venezuela is the best team to never reach a final, finishing third in 2009 as its best result. For the first time, it will be playing without Miguel Cabrera, who played at least one game in the first five WBCs. He’s serving as a hitting coach this year. — Schoenfield
Most likely MVP: Nobody embodies the spirit of the WBC better than Randy Arozarena, the Cuban-born outfielder who continues to represent the country where he established residency while on his path to the United States. Three years ago, Arozarena was the heart and soul for a Mexican team that went further than many expected, slashing .450/.607/.900 and capturing the attention of fans throughout the tournament. This is his stage. — Gonzalez
X factor: Team Mexico will probably have to slug its way through this tournament, so the X factors will be those who surround Arozarena in the lineup — namely, Alejandro Kirk, Jonathan Aranda, Rowdy Tellez, Alek Thomas and Jarren Duran. This is a better, deeper offensive unit than the 2023 edition. It needs to show that. — Gonzalez
X factor: Three years ago, Edwin Diaz tore up his knee while celebrating an exhilarating victory over the Dominican Republic, a devastating blow on what was supposed to be a momentous night in Miami. His willingness to return — he called it an “easy yes,” given that Puerto Rico will host pool-play games — is a major boost to a team that has been defined by its absences. If Diaz is getting the ball in the ninth inning, Puerto Rico is in good shape. — Gonzalez
A fact to impress your friends: Runner-up in 2013 and 2017, Puerto Rico is an impressive 23-11 in WBC history. It was a perfect 7-0 going into the 2017 championship game but lost 8-0 to the U.S. — Schoenfield
Puerto Rico can go deep if … unheralded players emerge to help the lineup overcome significant absences. Puerto Rico’s position player group is not nearly as robust as expected without four mainstays: Star infielders Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa were not cleared for insurance. Javier Baez, an All-Star last season, was suspended for failing a drug test in 2023. Kiké Hernandez is still recovering from offseason elbow surgery.
The lineup is still solid without them. Nolan Arenado is a future Hall of Famer. Ramos and Willi Castro have been All-Stars. Eddie Rosario and Christian Vazquez have ample WBC and postseason experience. But others need to step up and deliver. Outfielders Bryan Torres, Carlos Cortes and Matthew Lugo, and infielders Edwin Arroyo, Darell Hernaiz and Luis Vázquez will be among the first-time participants given the opportunity. — Castillo
X factor: Won Tae-in will anchor Korea’s rotation after posting a 3.24 ERA in a career-high 166⅔ innings for the Samsung Lions last year. He made three appearances for Korea in the 2023 WBC but gave up three runs in 4⅓ innings. He will need to produce a better showing this time. — Gonzalez
Korea can go deep if … the pitching rebounds from a dismal 2023 showing. Korea surrendered eight runs in an upset loss to Australia before giving up 13 to Japan in their first two games in 2023, which resulted in not advancing out of pool play for the third straight WBC.
Hyun Jin Ryu, who hasn’t pitched for his country since the 2009 WBC, is now headlining the pitching staff. But he’s 38. The Koreans need Dane Dunning and a group of KBO hurlers, including Ko Young-pyo, Son Ju-young, So Hyeong-jun and Jeong Woo-joo, to help avoid another disappointing showing. — Castillo
Most likely MVP: Freddie Freeman isn’t suiting up this year, but Josh Naylor is, and he deserves our attention. Naylor made such an impression in Seattle down the stretch last season that the Mariners made re-signing him their top priority (which they did with a five-year, $92.5 million deal). He puts the ball in play, hits for power and has displayed an amazing knack for picking up stolen bases despite well below-average speed. In short, he’s perfect for a short tournament. — Gonzalez
Canada can be this year’s surprise team if … the lineup slugs them to wins. With Puerto Rico hit hard by absences, Canada has the best lineup in Pool A even without Freeman, who suited up in 2023 but declined this time. They’ll have major leaguers from one through nine led by Naylor and Tyler O’Neill. Bo Naylor is one of the best catchers in the tournament, Denzel Clarke might be the best defensive center fielder in the world and outfield prospect Owen Caissie has real power.
The Canadians have a trio of solid starting pitchers in Jameson Taillon, Michael Soroka and Cal Quantrill, but Rob Zastryzny is their only reliever who appeared in a major league game last season. Ultimately, they’ll need the offense to carry them out of Pool A — the most competitive group in the tournament — and to the knockout stage for the first time. — Castillo
A fact to impress your friends: Italy has won at least one game in each WBC, but it has never defeated any of the traditional powers, with its biggest victories being two wins over Mexico. Most of the players on this year’s squad have MLB experience, although there are two pitchers on the team actually from Italy in Claudio Scotti, who pitched briefly in the minors for the Mets, and Gabriele Quattrini. — Schoenfield
Most likely MVP: We’re going to go with a sentimental pick here. Alexei Ramirez will play in this tournament at 44 years old, 10 years removed from his last major league season. He played in the inaugural WBC in 2006, when he was just 26 years old, before he had even broken through with the White Sox. Soon, he’ll be the oldest player in WBC history. What does he have left? Who knows. But it would be cool to see him help Cuba make a surprising run. — Gonzalez