2026 World Baseball Classic: U.S., Japan, Dominican Republic top the futures board
The 2026 World Baseball Classic officially kicked off on Thursday, March 5, with the final scheduled for March 17.
The United States enters as a -110 favourite to win the WBC, followed by Japan at +350 and the Dominican Republic at +375.
Games will be hosted in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan. The final will be played at LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins.
Let’s get into it.
Team USA
There’s no getting around it, Team USA is stacked with All Star talent, led by captain and Yankees slugger, Aaron Judge. The top of the batting order will also include Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Combined, those four players launched a ridiculous 167 home runs in the majors last season.
Tigers star Tarek Skubal leads the top of the rotation, fresh off back-to-back AL Cy Young awards. The United States will also go with Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Logan Webb of the Giants. One thing to note, however, is Skenes has said he will only pitch one game in the WBC, so keep that in mind. Team USA will also have the veteran presence of future Hall-of-Famer Clayton Kershaw.
It’s clear to see why the Americans are favoured as they’re stacked throughout the roster and they’ll have home field advantage.
Team Japan
It obviously starts with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani when you’re talking about Japan. Ohtani led Japan to victory at the last World Baseball Classic in 2023, winning MVP. He’s also coming off his fourth MVP season in the majors, leading the Dodgers to a second straight World Series championship.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year’s World Series MVP, will anchor the pitching staff for this team with Ohtani not taking the mound. Yamamoto was an absolute boogeyman against Toronto in the Word Series and he was great in the 2023 WBC, striking out 12 batters and allowing just two home runs in 7.1 innings pitched.
Japan’s bats don’t match the U.S., but with Ohtani solely focused as the designated hitter, they should be fine offensively. They also boast the best pitching in the tournament, so they’re a great value pick at +350.
Team Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic also offers value with the like of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado, Julio Rodriguez, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. leading the lineup.
The offensive upside is incredible with the Dominican Republic, but it’s the pitching that isn’t equal to the United States or Japan. This is a team capable of beating anyone when they’re at their best, but they don’t match up on paper.
How does Canada stack up?
Canada will be captained by Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor. Outside of Nayor, however, they’ll be in tough as they look to advance past the pool stage at the WBC for the first time ever.
Canada is scheduled to practice twice in Puerto Rico before they open the group stage against Colombia on Saturday. They are in Group A with Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, and Colombia.
Team Canada has the second-shortest odds to win Group A at +300. However, they just need to finish top-two in the group to reach the knockout stage.
