The World Baseball Classic is back. A few teams will likely catch your eye among the rosters from all the countries participating.
In the World Baseball Classic, the following teams compete: Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, United States, and Venezuela.
Several statistics and analytics point toward the United States and the Dominican Republic winning the World Baseball Classic
As the Dominican Republic enters the WBC 2023, they have established themselves as a threat. The last time they won the WBC was against Puerto Rico in 2013.
In their lineup, the Dominican Republic is led by outfielders Julio Rodriguez, Juan Soto, Eloy Jimenez, Nelson Cruz, and Teoscar Hernandez. In the Infielders Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jean Segura, Ketel Marte, Robinson Canó, Willy Adames, Wander Franco, Jeremy Peña, Rafael Devers, and Manny Machado. It’s the Dominican Republic’s catchers and pitchers that put it above all other teams in the World Baseball Classic. These players include Sandy Alcantara, Cristian Javier, Johnny Cueto, Gary Sanchez, Francisco Mejia, and much more.
The Dominican Republic is the fan favorite in the World Baseball Classic, replacing the United States in Fox Sports betting. The odds for the Dominican Republic to win the 2023 WBC is +200
Although the Dominican Republic is the favorite to win the World Baseball Classic, the United States still finds itself at a +250 Odd
As a result of defeating Puerto Rico in the baseball world classic, the United States hopes to win back to back. Compared to team Dominican, this team consists of more veteran quality major leaguers. The lineup includes Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Jeff McNeil, Trea Turner, Tim Anderson, Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker, and pitchers Ryan Pressly, and Devin Williams.
Due to the absences of Clayton Kershaw, Nestor Corte, and Jacob DeGrom. Team USA still lacks depth in the starting pitching rotation. In the WBC, the absence of many hitters and pitchers could hinder Team USA’s chances of winning another championship.
Team USA captain Mike Trout was interviewed by the MLB Network, and despite the absence of many players, he still expressed hope that they will win and expressed the chemistry among the players.
World Baseball Classic 2023 will be held between March 8th and March 21st. The United States and the Dominican Republic will play their first game on March 11th. The Dominican Republic will play Venezuela at LoanDepot Park in Miami, while the United States will face Great Britain at Chase Field in Arizona.