WBC 2023: Top Teams In Each Pool

Baseball fans across the globe are gearing up for the biggest stage for international play. Even with some big names recently opting-out of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the tournament is set to begin on March 7. Clayton Kershaw, Jhoan Duran, Paolo Espino, Ramón Urías are among the names who opted out for various reasons, the most interesting reason being due to not gaining clearance by their insurance to play for the respective countries.

Regardless of this, there are loads of MLB, MiLB, and international talent to fill out all 20 rosters. Below we will examine the top two teams in each pool in what looks like will be a terrific WBC.

Pool A: Taichung, Taiwan

1. Netherlands

The Dutch have a nice mix of MLB players and countrymen on their roster. While Pool A is likely the weakest of the field, Netherlands has the edge when it comes to their top players.

They have impact bats that will need to carry the bulk of the lifting. Xander Bogaerts, who just signed a massive 11-year, $280 million contract with the San Diego Padres this winter, is their clear-cut star player. Joined by Didi Gregorius, Jonathan Schoop and Andrelton Simmons in the infield, this group must stay hot at the plate to make a deep run in the elimination round.

Sharlon Schoop will join his younger brother Jonathan on the team. Sharlon played minor league ball from 2005-2018 before beginning his Dutch Major League career with the L&D Amsterdam Pirates in 2019. In 13 seasons in the minors, he slashed .244/.312/.341.

Kenley Jansen and Pedro Strop will need to lock it down out of the pen mainly because there isn’t a whole lot of proven arms outside of these two.

Former Atlanta Braves’ starter Jair Jurrjens has the most MLB experience among the Dutch rotation. Now 37 years of age, he last played in the MLB on a short-stint with the Colorado Rockies in 2014. Jaydenn Estanista is an intriguing name to watch. The Phillies’ farmhand posted a 2.01 ERA over the course of 31 1/3 innings while striking out 35 batters in 2022, playing in Rookie ball. He tops out at 97-98 MPH and has some of the best stuff on this Dutch staff.

2. Cuba

Cuba’s two best players are current-MLB teammates playing for the Chicago White Sox. These are 25-year-old centerfielder Luis Robert who slashed .284/.319/.416 in 2022 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI. The former number-one prospect Yoán Moncada will man third base for the Cuban national team. After what seemed to be a breakout season in 2019 where he hit 25 long balls with a .315/.367/.548 line including a 140 OPS+, he has since regressed in his last two seasons with the White Sox. He still has pop in his bat to contribute at any moment.

It will be interesting to watch Yoenis Céspedes play competitive baseball again. He hasn’t been on a MLB roster since he opted out of the 2020 shortened season while still a member of the New York Mets, where he practically carried the offense into the 2015 postseason. He only played in eight regular season games that year, but boasts career numbers of 165 home runs and a .824 OPS.

Now at age 37, many wonder if he has anything left in the tank. A productive WBC could potentially earn him a chance to sign a minor-league deal with a team before the season begins. He is a two-time All-Star with two home run derby belts.

Cuba’s pitching staff has a few major league arms on its roster. Specifically, Roenis Elias, Miguel Romero and Ronald Bolaños are names to keep an eye on.

Some pitchers who have had success in recent years playing in Japan are Livan Moinelo, Raidel Martinez and Yariel Rodriguez.

Pool B: Tokyo, Japan

1. Japan

Japan has won the most WBC tournaments, winning two championships in 2006 and 2009. They are the easy favorites to come out on top of Pool B. This team could potentially be the most exciting out of all 20 teams. The squad has stars all over their roster.

The starting rotation is led by the two-headed monster of Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish. Ohtani, arguably the best baseball player in the world right now, will attract eyeballs to the television whenever he is on the field. Darvish has a lot of experience pitching in the WBC, dating back to 2006 when he made his international debut as a 19-year-old. He closed down the championship game in 2009 to secure Japan’s 2nd consecutive WBC championship.

Masataka Yoshida, Seiya Suzuki, Munetaka Murakami, and Ohtani have the ability to provide tremendous power in the top half of the lineup. I’m particularly interested in watching Murakami. The left-handed hitter blasted 56 home runs in 612 plate appearances for the Tokyo Yakult Swalows in 2022. Lars Nootbaar will be making his WBC debut for Samurai Japan.

The oldest pitcher out of the pen is 27-years-old. A young Japanese squad with a lot of velocity and movement will need to hold down the fort in the late innings.

2. Korea

Korea, led largely by the stars of KBO, is typically in the mix at the final stages of the tournament. In 2017, the last time the WBC was held, they lost one of the most shocking games in WBC history to Israel in the playoff round. That still stands as the biggest upset the tournament has seen since it begun in 2006.

The name to watch is outfielder Jung-Hoo Lee. It is widely speculated that he can potentially be posted in the next year or two, before making the transition to MLB. He won the KBO MVP award in 2022 in his age-23 season. In 627 plate appearances for the Kiwoom Heroes, he slashed .349/.421/.575 with a .996 OPS. For many, this may be the first time he gets the global exposure, unless you had woken up in the wee hours during 2020 to watch the KBO while MLB-play was suspended during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tommy Edman is the most well-known player on the roster, spending his first four MLB seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. He has a great mix of contact, speed, and power to boast in front of the global stage. San Diego Padres’ infielder Ha-Seong Kim will be representing his home country as well. After struggling to adjust to MLB pitching in his rookie season in 2021, slashing .202/.270/.352 he was able to improve those numbers to .251/.325/.383 in 2022. His playing time was boosted after Padres’ star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a banned substance. Edman and Kim will provide a slick-fielding middle infield for Korea.

Another name to watch in this lineup is Jeong Choi, who is second all-time in the KBO in home runs, with 429 long balls. He’ll be tasked to provide much of the power that Korea needs.

The pitching staff is lined with some of the best arms in the KBO. Kwang Hyun Kim pitched the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, posting a combined 2.97 ERA in 35 games, including 28 starts. Last year, with the SSG Landers of the KBO, he posted a 13-3 record, 2.13 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP. The 34-year-old lefty will head the rotation, joined by fellow left-hander Eui Lee Lee. Lee is only 20 years of age who struck out 161 batters in 154 innings in 2022 for the Kia Tigers.

Pool C: Phoenix, Arizona

1. USA

The most talented team in Pool A are the reigning WBC champions, Team USA. There’s no real surprise here, as USA’s squad is littered the MLB talent from top-to-bottom.

Their lineup is stacked, basically running out a full team of MLB All-Stars. Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Cedric Mullins, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt just to name a few. All of these guys have hit 30-plus home runs at least once in their major-league careers. Some have hit 40-plus home runs in multiple MLB seasons throughout their own careers, including Arenado and Trout.

Four Mets’ players will be representing the stars and stripes, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Adam Ottavino and newly-acquired lefty reliever Brooks Raley.

Three reigning National League Champions of the Philadelphia Phillies will play a key role with the team. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto will add to an already deep lineup.

The starting pitching took a hit recently when Kershaw was forced to opt-out after facing an insurance issue with the WBC due to his past injury history with his back. Adam Wainwright has the most experience in professional baseball out of this rotation, with Lance Lynn, Merrill Kelly and young-gun Brady Singer all joining him.

While USA does not have the best rotation out of all 20 teams, their bullpen is easily in the top three, if not higher. David Bednar, Ryan Pressly, Devin Williams, Kendall Graveman and Ottavino headline the backend of their bullpen.

Let’s not forget their coaching staff either. Manager Mark DeRosa will have some of the most talented players to ever play the game of baseball aiding his staff. Ken Griffey Jr. and Andy Pettitte are on-board, as well as former-Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel serving as the bench coach.

2. Mexico

The best threat to beat out USA in Pool A is Mexico. They have an extremely impressive outfield. Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, Alek Thomas and Jarren Duran are all impact players.

Managed by former MLB player Benji Gil, who played for the Texas Rangers and Anaheim Angels (yes, just Anaheim), Mexico is looking for their first top-four finish in the tournament. Joining him on staff is three-time Silver Slug Award winner Vinny Castilla, known for hitting 40-plus home runs in three consecutive seasons for the Colorado Rockies from 1996-1998.

Rounding out their infield, Nationals’ fan-favorite Joey Meneses as well as Rowdy Tellez, Luis Urías, and Isaac Paredes are expected to start. These four combined for a total 84 home runs and 215 RBI in the 2022 MLB season.

Mexico’s starting rotation is very, very good. Led by World Series Champions Julio Urías and Jose Urquidy, they will be a tough matchup for anyone who steps into the box. Former-Met Taijuan Walker as well as Patrick Sandoval round out the rotation. With this pitching, they can compete with anyone in Pool A.

Pool D: Miami, Florida

1. Dominican Republic

Talk about a stacked team.

The Dominican Republic is well-known for their past, present, and future star players. There is no hole in their starting lineup, and will without a doubt give some fear to opposing pitchers. Manager Rodney Linares could throw a dart at all of the names on the wall and still come away with a lethal starting nine.

The projected starting lineup could include: (2022 AL ROY) Julio Rodriguez, (2020 Batting Title) Juan Soto, (6x AS) Manny Machado, (AS MVP) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., (4x AS) José Ramírez, (2018 WS Champion) Rafael Devers, (2x Silver Slugger) Teoscar Hernández, (2x AS) Gary Sanchez, and (2022 WS MVP) Jeremy Peña.

Now, the competitive aspect of any opposing pitcher should be excited to face this star-studded lineup, but I can’t imagine there are many guys looking forward to it. Need a pinch hitter? How about Ketel Marte? Eloy Jimenez? Nelson Cruz? Wander Franco? The list goes on and on.

Their starting rotation is nothing to sneeze at either, led by Sandy Alcantara, Cristian Javier, and Johnny Cueto. Some of the bullpen names include former-Met Rafael Montero as well as Diego Castillo, Yimi Garcia and Gregory Soto among others.

This team is definitely in the top-two talent-wise. Depending on who you ask, they are the best team in the tournament, with USA being the other team within the top two.

2. Puerto Rico

Making the quick jump from player to manager, Yadier Molina will get his first crack to lead Puerto Rico to their first WBC title. They have finished in second-place twice, both coming in the last two tournaments. Unfortunately for them, they were shutout in both championship games.

Their middle infield has some familiarity with one another. Not only have Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez played together during the WBC, but also spent some time manning the Mets’ middle infield after New York acquired Báez at the 2021 trade deadline.

One interesting note is the pair of catchers who will represent this team. Christian Vázquez and Martín Maldonado are both coming off of a World Series championship with the Houston Astros.

Eddie Rosario is a name to watch, he has a knack for coming up in a big spot despite his down year in 2022. He helped the Atlanta Braves win the 2021 World Series, earning himself the NLCS MVP award.

While Puerto Rico’s lineup may not be quite up to par with the power house teams this year, their pitching is right up there with the best of them.

Edwin Díaz is penciled in as the closer after enjoying his best season of his career with the Mets in 2022. In 62 innings he finished with a 1.31 ERA and 118 strikeouts. He’ll have the honor of teaming up with his younger brother Alexis Díaz, who had a heck of a year for himself, posting a 1.84 ERA and 3.1 bWAR in his rookie campaign with the Cincinnati Reds. Jorge Lopez and Emilio Pagan will also be a key part of this pen.

The starting rotation is headlined by José Berríos and Marcus Stroman. Although Berríos struggled in his first full season with Toronto, he had enjoyed early success with the Minnesota Twins from 2017-2021.

Final Thoughts

The 2023 WBC has all the talent in the world to be an exciting tournament for baseball fans all over. Pool C and D will likely have the most talent involved, and it will be a thrill of a ride to see who comes out on top. There are more than a handful of teams that have a realistic chance to win the championship. Who knows, there could always be a few huge upsets by the end of it.