Spring Training friendlies are in the books and now it’s time for the real games to begin. The 2026 World Baseball Classic takes place March 5-17, with pool play games taking place in Houston, Miami, San Juan, and Tokyo. In all, 20 teams will take the field and some of them are stacked with Major Leaguers, while others are just happy to put together a roster. The quarterfinals will be played in Miami and Houston,
With baseball as part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, this tournament also serves as an Olympic qualifier. The top two teams from the Americas will qualify for the 2028 games, joining Team USA, who is automatically in as the host nation.
The last World Baseball Classic was back in 2023 and Japan beat Team USA in the finals. If you’ll recall, there were several dramatic moments, maybe none better than Shohei Ohtani striking out then-teammate Mike Trout to win the championship. Those two teams are your favorites as we look at the odds for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
2026 World Baseball Classic Betting Odds
- United States −110
- Japan +350
- Dominican Republic +400
- Venezuela +900
- Puerto Rico +2000
- Mexico +2200
- Canada +5000
- South Korea +6500
- Italy +8000
- Cuba +8000
- Colombia +8000
- Panama +10000
- Netherlands +10000
- Chinese Taipei +20000
- Israel +25000
- Great Britain +25000
- Australia +25000
- Czech Republic +50000
- Nicaragua +50000
- Brazil +50000
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Mar. 4, 3 p.m. ET
Before digging any further into the overall championship odds, it’s important to consider the four pools that the 20 teams have been divided into for the WBC.
Pool A
- Puerto Rico -125
- Canada +280
- Colombia +550
- Cuba +700
- Panama +1200
Puerto Rico
The Puerto Ricans have home-field advantage here at Hiram Bithorn Stadium and a solid roster full of Major Leaguers. There are not a lot of stars listed on the roster, especially relative to the coaching staff, which includes manager Yadier Molina, hitting coaches Juan Gonzalez and Edgar Martinez, and base coaches Sandy Alomar Jr. and Joey Cora. The most notable Puerto Rican pitcher is Edwin Diaz, who tore his ACL celebrating with his team during the 2023 WBC.
Canada
Team Canada also has a lot of Major Leaguers, including the Naylor brothers, Josh and Bo, as well as a rotation made up of guys with MLB experience, headlined by Jameson Taillon and James Paxton.
Colombia
The Colombians have a smattering of MLBers and guys who had cups of coffee at the top level. The most notable names are Donovan Solano, Gio Urshela, Harold Ramirez, Jose Quintana, Luis Patino, and Julio Teheran.
Cuba
Cuba doesn’t have the name recognition on the pitching side as the other countries, nor do they have a lot of MLB experience on the position player side. Yoan Moncada is the biggest name here, but Alexei Ramirez is another name baseball fans will recognize.
Panama
There are a handful of current and former MLB pitchers on Team Panama, including Jaime Barria, Logan Allen, Javy Guerra, and Humberto Mejia. The position player side has fewer names of note for MLB fans, but Miguel Amaya and Christian Bethancourt make for a pretty good catcher group.
Pool A Picks
Puerto Rico should advance from here, as the -125 price includes home-field advantage with what should be a wild and raucous environment for their games. Canada should advance, even if Colombia, Cuba, and Panama could present some challenges for them.
Pool A Winner: Puerto Rico (-125)
Pool B
- USA -800
- Mexico +600
- Italy +2200
- Brazil +5000
- Great Britain +5000
United States
The Americans shouldn’t really get challenged much in this pool. Obviously the roster is made up entirely of Major Leaguers or prospects who will soon be at that level. Paul Skenes is the biggest name on the pitching staff, but Logan Webb, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Matthew Boyd, Michael Wacha, Tarik Skubal, and flamethrower Mason Miller are among the others. The offense is stacked as well, including Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr., Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and a slew of others who could have an impact.
Mexico
Mexico is a favored to be the other team that advances out of this pool. The guys who aren’t in the big leagues play professionally elsewhere, so this is a very experienced roster with several MLB players, including Taijuan Walker, Javier Assad, and Andres Munoz on the pitching side, while Alejandro Kirk, Jarren Duran, Randy Arozarena, and Joey Ortiz highlight the position player group.
Italy
Because of the fairly loose criteria to play for a country, the Italians have a ton of Major Leaguers, most of whom were born in the U.S. Aaron Nola is the headliner of the Italian, but Michael Lorenzen, Matt Festa, Adam Ottavino, Ron Marinaccio, and Dan Altavilla all have pretty sizable Baseball-Reference pages. There are fewer noteworthy names on the position player side, but Royals teammates Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone are two of the biggest. Truth be told, I could see the Italians pulling an upset of Mexico and qualifying for the knockout round at +200.
Brazil
Brazilian athletes excel globally in a lot of areas, but based on this roster, we shouldn’t expect baseball to be one of them. Dante Bichette Jr. is on Team Brazil and is the most notable name because of his father, not necessarily because of him. Otherwise, this team is a long shot to show well.
Great Britain
And so is Great Britain, who has a few current and former Major Leaguers, including Tristan Beck, Dylan Covey, and Vance Worley. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the biggest name by far on the position player side, as he was born in the Bahamas, but because that is a commonwealth territory that was formerly a British colony, he’s eligible to play.
Pool B Picks
The U.S. doing anything other than winning this pool would be a stunner, but I do really like that Team Italy to advance bet at +200.
Pool B Winner: United States (-800)
Pool C
- Japan -575
- South Korea +800
- Chinese Taipei +1100
- Australia +1800
- Czechia +6500
Japan
The Japanese are loaded, whether they’re borrowing Major Leaguers or using their own professional players. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yusei Kikuchi, and Tomoyuki Sugano are the most recognizable pitchers on the staff for Americans. The position players are mostly made up of guys playing in the NPB, but Rookie of the Year candidates Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto are on the roster, along with Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida. Oh, yeah, and some guy named Shohei Ohtani is there, too.
South Korea
The South Koreans have gone very heavy on KBO players, understandably so. Jahmai Jones and Hyesong Kim are familiar names to MLB fans, as well as pitchers Hyun Jin Ryu and Dane Dunning. This is basically a KBO All-Star team, though, and a very formidable group. They just don’t quite have the star power that Japan does.
Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei has a smattering of current and former MLB players. They actually take the field in the first game against Australia, so they’ll be out there virtually right away. There aren’t a ton of household names here, but all of these guys have gotten ample experience playing professionally in Asia and many of them have played together before.
Australia
Ironically, Warwick Saupold, who is part of Team Australia, was a tremendous pitcher in the KBO, so he’ll see some guys that he’s gotten out before when those two teams meet up. We’ll see if this tournament serves as a breakout party for Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick for the Cleveland Guardians in the 2024 MLB Draft. Curtis Mead is one of a few guys with some MLB numbers in their careers.
Czechia
The Czechs face extremely long odds, as they have a couple of guys who have been on MLB rosters in the past, but nobody who has really made much of an impact at that level.
Pool C Picks
I’m not expecting any surprises here, with Japan going undefeated and South Korea advancing to the knockout round. That will likely be a very good head-to-head matchup, but the other games have the potential to be duds. South Korea is +110 to advance. I think that’s a very good bet to make.
Pool C Winner: Japan (-575)
Pool D
- Dominican Republic -160
- Venezuela +150
- Netherlands +1300
- Nicaragua +6500
- Israel +6500
Dominican Republic
The pitching staff has some bright spots and some question marks for the Dominicans, headlined by Cristopher Sanchez and Sandy Alcantara, as well as what profiles to be an excellent bullpen. But, this lineup is OUTRAGEOUS. The infielders include Junior Caminero, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, and Jeremy Pena (who is dealing with a fractured finger). The outfielders include Oneil Cruz, Julio Rodriguez, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. This group, managed by Albert Pujols with bench coach Placido Polanco, is a legitimate threat to win the entire tournament.
Venezuela
The Venezuelans are running out a damn fine team in their own right. Ranger Suarez is the biggest name on the pitching side, but there are a lot of tenured big leaguers in that group. Again, like the Dominicans, there are a lot of proven and polished relievers. The offense is not quite as imposing, but William Contreras and Salvador Perez are quite a catching tandem, along with Luis Arraez, Willson Contreras, Maikel Garcia, Eugenio Suarez, and Gleyber Torres on the infield, plus slick-fielding Andres Gimenez. This may very well be the best defensive team in the tournament. And the outfield just includes Wilyer Abreu, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Jackson Chourio. The coaching staff includes Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, and Victor Martinez.
Netherlands
The Netherlands and the long shots have a major mountain to climb against those two potential juggernauts. Kenley Jansen is the biggest name on the pitching staff, as this team is made up of players from the Netherlands, Aruba, and Curacao. The position players are very interesting, with Ozzie Albies, Xander Bogaerts, and Didi Gregorius on the infield and then Ceddane Rafaela and Andruw Jones’ son, Druw, among the outfielders.
Nicaragua
Dusty Baker will manage Team Nicaragua here, as there are a few guys with some MLB experience, but not nearly as much as the three teams ahead of them on the odds board. Mark Vientos is the biggest name on the team, with Cheslor Cuthbert and Jeter Downs also on the infield.
Israel
Almost everybody on the Israeli team is American-born, except for OF Assaf Lowengart. This was one of the big surprise teams back in 2023, as Team Israel beat South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and the Netherlands to advance. Israel’s Law of Return sets the criteria for this team, so being a member of the Jewish faith or being the child, grandchild, or spouse of somebody who is Jewish creates eligibility for the players. Big leaguers on the roster include Tommy Kahnle, Rob Kaminsky, Dean Kremer, Garrett Stubbs, Spencer Horwitz, and Harrison Bader, plus there are some minor league prospects and guys who used to play in MLB. The team is managed by Brad Ausmus.
Pool D Picks
The Pool D winner probably comes down to the final game of pool play, as the Dominican Republic faces off with Venezuela on Mar. 11 at 8 p.m. ET. That should be a fun one. Israel made some magic back in 2023, but I don’t think that they will here. No surprises forthcoming in this one, as the Dominicans and Venezuelans have absurd rosters relative to everybody else. Venezuela +150 is maybe worth a look here because the two teams aren’t separated by that much, though I can’t get that Dominican Republic lineup out of my head because of how downright scary they are.
Pool D Winner: Venezuela (+150)
2026 World Baseball Classic Odds to Win
Back to the overall odds…
The teams that advance go into a bracket-style format for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.
Per Wikipedia, that bracket looks like this:
So if things go how I projected above, we’ll have these quarterfinal games:
South Korea vs. Venezuela
Canada vs. USA
Italy vs. Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic vs. Japan (goodness, what a game this would be)
If Team USA can avoid the Dominicans, it’s no cakewalk against Venezuela, but it certainly looks like a better matchup on paper. Plus, one of the Dominican Republic or Japan would get eliminated in the quarters. That being said, laying the -110 price on the U.S. is a big ask. If the Dominicans make it out of Pool D as the winner and then draw South Korea and then Team USA, I think they win it.
But, I do think Venezuela at 9/1 is the best price on the board. They’re very likely to advance to the knockout round out of Pool D, whether they beat the Dominican Republic or not and I think they’re live against any of the other teams that would come out of pool play. Ultimately, I do think one of the four favorites does win it and we don’t get any big surprises, but Venezuela is a very good roster getting slept on a little bit.
Pick: Venezuela (+900)
