The sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic is upon us, and it is sure to be one of the very best ones. From March 5 to March 17, the best baseball countries from all around the world will face off to crown the tournament’s sixth winner.
The reigning champions, Japan, are among the top three favorites, along with the runner- up from the last tournament, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. Aside from the top three, many other countries can bring the fight and have a good chance of winning. Taking a look at the Japan team, there are a lot of returning faces, but the headliner is superstar Shohei Ohtani who returns for his second WBC and is looking to help Japan repeat.
The roster for Japan has gotten much better with names like Kazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami playing their first MLB seasons. They will look to make a big impact on this tournament. The ace of the Japanese team is none other than the 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who, after his amazing performance in the World Series, will look to anchor that Japanese rotation.
The Dominican Republic is once again bringing one of the best teams you could put together. A lineup that from top to bottom is very hard to pitch to, consists of players like Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez, Ketel Marte and Manny Machado, who played in the 2023 WBC. This time around, the Dominicans will also have Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Junior Caminero and Geraldo Perdomo.
The rotation is also amazing with Sandy Alcántara coming back and top three Cy Young finalist Cristopher Sanchez playing in his first WBC. This Dominican team can be seen as a redemption team after what happened in 2023, when they did not even make it out of the group stage. However, this Dominican team has all the pieces to try and win their second WBC championship.
The U.S. team is also back strong, and this time around they added Aaron Judge who is playing in his first WBC. They also have a one-two punch of both Cy Young winners this past season in Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes, who will surely bring it in what is also their first WBC. After failing to repeat, Team USA is looking to win their second WBC.
There are also other great teams like Venezuela, bringing just as good a roster as the three other teams, and Puerto Rico, which was really beat up by the insurance not covering a lot of their players but still form a solid team. The excitement for this WBC is like no other, and it is surely not to be missed.
