2023 World Baseball Classic Pool Winner Bets & Picks

With this year's World Baseball Classic right around the corner, it's a great time to lock in futures plays for the bi-annual competition. This year should be an interesting one for group play – three of the four groups have a heavily-favored team, with the fourth group being wide open. 

The WBC format is similar to Soccer's World Cup – within a pool, each team plays every other team in Pool Play. At the end of the Pool Play round, the two teams with the best records will advance, with the best team "winning" their pool. Below are my best bets for the winner of each WBC pool this year.

Pool A: Netherlands (+250)

Pool A is the most wide-open of any pool heading into the tournament. While all five teams in are priced at +1600 or shorter to win Pool A, Cuba (+115) and the Netherlands stand as the two most likely winners based on current odds.

The Cuban team comes into Pool play with the best odds of winning Pool A. They absolutely have a chance to win the whole tournament with MLB talent all over their roster. Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada, and Yoenis Cespedes are the most recognizable names on the Cuban team for MLB fans. That said, the Netherlands has a stacked lineup that includes Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons, and Chadwick Tromp.

If Pool A does indeed come down to these two teams, it won't be due to pitching – neither team has any big names on their staff’s. With similar outlooks in the pitching staffs and big-name MLB players in both lineups, I'll take the flier on the Netherlands with their longer odds.

Pool B: Korea (+450)

Japan is a heavy favorite in Pool B, currently priced at -600 to come out on top. Their pitching staff is led by Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish, while MLB stars Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida join Ohtani in headlining the Japanese lineup. Even the names on Japan's roster that may not be as well-known to MLB fans are prominent players in the prestigious Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, Japan's most prestigious league and arguably the second-highest level of play in the world behind the MLB.

While Japan is rightfully a heavy favorite in this pool, the Korean team is absolutely capable of pulling off a shocker and winning Pool B outright. They don't have quite the MLB star power that Japan does – Korea's biggest MLB names include Ha-Seong Kim and Tommy Edman – but they're absolutely loaded with talent from the prestigious Korean Baseball Organization. Anyone who spent the early days of the pandemic betting on Korean Baseball – one of the first global leagues to resume play – is familiar with names such as Eui-ji Yang, Jeong Choi, and Sung-Bum Na. The star of the Korean lineup is 2022 KBO MVP Jung-hoo Lee, who is likely to come to the MLB within the next year. 

While the Japanese team comes in with a stacked roster, I love the value in Korea at +450 to win Pool B.

Pool C: Mexico (+450)

Similarly to Japan in Pool B, the United States (-420) is rightfully installed as a heavy favorite to win Pool C. The USA lineup is filled with MLB stars, including Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Mike Trout, and Mookie Betts, among others. The pitching staff, however, is a different story. With most star MLB pitchers opting to preserve their arms for the upcoming season, the USA pitching staff is pretty thin – there are plenty of MLB players, but it's mostly back-of-the-rotation starters. 

With the USA pitching staff a question mark, I'll take a shot on Mexico coming out of Pool C in first place at +450. Mexico can bring out better pitchers than the US, with stars Julio Urias and Taijuan Walker headlining a staff full of MLB talent. Mexico's lineup doesn't have anywhere near the star power that the USA lineup does, but includes a few legit studs. Alejandro Kirk, Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, and Rowdy Tellez headline a solid top-to-bottom lineup.

While the USA has an elite team and has a great chance of winning the whole tournament, I think Mexico has the pitching staff to knock off USA head-to-head and pull off a shocker by winning this group.

Pool D: Dominican Republic (-260)

While there are plenty of talented rosters in this year's WBC, the Dominican team may have the most exciting roster for most MLB fans. Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, Manny Machado, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and Rafael Devers are just some of the MLB All-Stars in the loaded DR lineup.

The Dominican pitching staff isn't quite as deep, but every member of the staff is an MLB-caliber player. Sandy Alcantara is the staff ace and arguably the best pitcher in the entire WBR this year. Cristian Javier and Johnny Cueto will likely round out the top three slots on the staff.

Venezuela and Puerto Rico have the best chance of pulling an upset and winning the group, but I don't see anyone coming out of Pool D ahead of the Dominican Republic. Even with the -260 price tag, I'll take this team confidently to come out on top in Pool play.

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