World Baseball Network’s Matthew Tallarini has ranked all 20 teams in the World Baseball Classic. Today, we look at teams ranked No. 10 through No. 6 in his power rankings.
10. Colombia – The pitching staff will be the biggest question for Colombia during this year’s World Baseball Classic. Starting off in Pool C in Phoenix and playing against the United States, Mexico, Canada, and qualifier Great Britain, Colombia will have to get a lot of good innings from Jose Quintana, Nabil Crismatt and Rivier Sanmartin to have a chance to advance to Miami for the quarterfinals. If Gio Urshela, Harold Ramirez, and Jordan Diaz can produce great at-bats for manager Jolbert Cabrera, Colombia could really catch the eyes of the baseball world and make a deep run during this year’s tournament.
WBC Site: Pool C, Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
WBSC Ranking: 11
Pool Play Schedule
March 11 – vs. Mexico – 2:30 p.m. EST – Fox
March 13 – vs. Great Britain – 3 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
March 14 – vs. Canada – 3 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
March 15 – vs. United States – 7 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
9. The Netherlands – Appearing in back-to-back semifinals in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classics, the Netherlands has a great staff under returning manager Hensley Meulens. Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius and Wladimir Balentien can be a big spark to the offense during Pool A. Pitching coach and Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven will have to manage young pitchers well, with most of the Netherlands pitching staff coming from the Honkbol Hoofdklasse league, high minor league players, and Major League Baseball players. If the Netherlands pitchers can get ahead of batters right out of the gate, there should be no issue for the Dutch to advance out of Pool A.
WBC Site: Pool A, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Taichung City, Taiwan
WBSC Ranking: 7
Pool Play Schedule
March 7 – vs. Cuba – 11 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 8 – vs. Panama – 11 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
March 11 – vs. Chinese Taipei – 6 a.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
March 12 – vs. Italy – 7 a.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
8. Cuba – Manager Armando Johnson is hoping to revive the winning tradition to the Cuban National Team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. This is the first time that Cuba is bringing Major League Baseball players to the WBC. Cuba took talent drawn from the international leagues, the Cuban Serie Nacional, and their newly-minted winter league, the Cuban Elite League, which started during the 2022-23 season, to build their national team roster. Pitching coach Pedro Lazo will have key starting pitchers Roenis Elias and Elian Leyva coming off huge winter league seasons in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Chicago White Sox players Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert will also have major roles to fill for Cuba’s offense in the World Baseball Classic. Cuba will have a difficult road in this year’s World Baseball Classic to get back to the championship game for the first time since the first WBC in 2006, where they lost to Japan.
WBC Site: Pool A, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Taichung City, Taiwan
WBSC Ranking: 8
WBC Schedule
March 7 – vs. Netherlands – 11 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 9 – vs. Italy – 6 a.m. EST – Tubi
March 9 – vs. Panama – 11:30 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 11 – vs. Chinese Taipei – 11 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
7. Korea – Manager Kang Chul Lee will look to help Korea get deep into the World Baseball Classic for the first time since the nation appeared in the championship game of the 2009 tournament losing to Japan. Korea will have most of their roster built with players from the Korea Baseball Organization. Lee Jung-hoo, who won the MVP Award and the batting title last season with an average of .349, will be a big factor for Korea offensively during the World Baseball Classic. Kwang Hyun Kim, who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020 and 2021 before returning to the KBO last year with the SSG Landers, could have a major impact on the pitching staff, along with Young Pyo Ko, who went 13-8 last year the KT Wiz and recorded a 3.26 ERA.
WBC Site: Pool B, Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
WBSC Ranking: 4
WBC Schedule
March 8 – vs. Australia – 10 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 10 – vs. Japan – 5 a.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 10 – vs. Czech Republic – 10 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 13 – vs. China – 6 a.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
6. Mexico – Manager Benji Gil has built a great roster under general manager Rodrigo Lopez for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with a lot of Major League Baseball players, players from the Liga Mexicana De Beisbol, and their winter league, the Liga ARCO Mexicana Del Pacifico. Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, Luis Urias, and Joey Meneses will be key factors to Mexico’s offense during the tournament. Julio Urias, Taijuan Walker, and Jose Uriquidy will boost the pitching staff for Mexico starting out in Pool C in Phoenix.
WBC Site: Pool C, Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona.
WBSC Ranking: 5
WBC Schedule
March 11 – vs. Colombia – 2:30 p.m. EST – Fox
March 12 – vs. United States – 10 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 14 – vs. Great Britain – 10 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 1
March 15 – vs. Canada – 3 p.m. EST – Fox Sports 2
Tommorow, we’ll examine the Top Five in the World Baseball Network’s power rankings.