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World Baseball Classic 2026 Power Rankings

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Image credit: (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is finally here.

To get you ready for the start of games this week, we’re ranking all 20 teams in order of talent, tiered by what could be considered a solid tournament result for each country.

And since this is Baseball America, you can trust that this isn’t a quickie surface-level ranking. To create our list, we looked at every player (as best we could) on every team’s preliminary roster. We gathered average fastball velocity information for every pitcher we could (306 of 314 pitchers).

More WBC Coverage

We use average fastball velocity throughout these capsules as a short-hand way to illustrate pitching depth and arm talent. Obviously, fastball velocity isn’t everything when it comes to pitching, but at the broadest level, it does offer a useful indication of a team’s arm talent. And it’s especially important for a tournament like this, in which there will be a significant number of hitters who will struggle to catch up to plus velocity, especially in games that could determine who automatically qualifies for the next World Baseball Classic.

Battling For A Title

These are the teams for whom anything less than a title—or at least a spot in the championship series—will be a disappointment.

1. United States

This is the best roster Team USA has ever fielded for the World Baseball Classic. But in a tournament format, one bad game in the later rounds can derail even the best team, as Team USA found out in 2006. The depth of the lineup and the wide range of talented arms should give this team an easy path through pool play. The biggest worry is getting the right starters into the right games. With Skubal set to throw only once and Joe Ryan iffy with a back injury, Team USA could end up throwing its fourth or fifth starters in crucial games late in the tournament.

2. Japan

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 93.6 mph (5th)
  • Best Hitter: DH Shohei Ohtani
  • Best Pitcher: RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
  • Full Japan Roster Analysis

Japan is consistently the best team in the WBC because they play well together and treat this tournament with the utmost seriousness. But this does not look to be Japan’s best roster. The last WBC saw Team Japan field a rotation of Ohtani, Yamamoto, Yu Darvish, Roki Sasaki and Shoto Imanaga. This year, it’s still quite solid and Hiroto Takahashi is a future ace, but it’s without as much top-end talent to front the rotation. The lineup should thrash many WBC pitching staffs, but in the biggest games, the lack of range in the outfield could come into play.

3. Dominican Republic

The D.R. won it all in 2013, but since then, it’s failed to make the semifinals. Once again, the team’s Pool D in Miami is one of the toughest in the tournament, as Venezuela, the Netherlands and Israel can all cause problems. But this lineup has a chance to be exceptional, with more star infielders than spots to play them and an outfield of Soto, Julio Rodriguez and Fernando Tatis Jr.

4. Venezuela

Venezuela’s ability to overwhelm some teams with its array of power relievers should come in very handy in pool play. Between Jose Alvarado, Daniel Palencia and Angel Zerpa, hitters without bat speed will be in big trouble. The lineup has no glaring holes and features an array of stars led by Acuña and Jackson Chourio. But in the later rounds, Venezuela will have to mix and match pitchers adeptly to make up for having fewer front-end starters than some of the other top contenders.

Make It To Miami

These teams may not have the firepower to go head-to-head with the top tier, but they do have a shot to make it to the semifinals. And if a pitcher or two gets hot at the right time, who knows what could happen.

5. Puerto Rico

There’s a clear demarcation line from the top four to here. Puerto Rico is quite solid with an array of competent hitters and big league pitchers, but the star power is not nearly as impressive here, largely because Francisco Lindor was not allowed to play because of insurance issues.

6. Mexico

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 94.5 mph (4th)
  • Best Hitter: C Alejandro Kirk/OF Randy Arozarena
  • Best Pitcher: RHP Andres Munoz
  • Full Mexico Roster Analysis

Mexico can hope to batter teams into submission with a lineup led by Kirk, Arozarena, Jonathan Aranda and Jarren Duran. The pitching staff is a bit more scattershot, but Munoz is a lockdown late-inning arm, and the team has plenty of experienced starters who should thrive in pressure-packed situations.

7. Canada

This should be one of the better rosters Team Canada has sent to the WBC. As usual, shortstop is a big issue, but the Naylor brothers (Josh and Bo) and an outfield featuring Owen Caissie, Denzel Clarke and Tyler O’Neill have a chance to hit plenty of home runs. Canada will have to choose carefully when to send Taillon and Mike Soroka to the mound, because the pitching staff doesn’t have the depth of some other teams it will face.

Get Out Of The Pool

Two teams will advance out of each WBC pool. While the teams above this should have their eyes on going deep in the tournament, for the mass of teams in the middle, a quarterfinal appearance would be a very solid result. For most of these teams, a third- or fourth-place finish in their pool will earn an automatic spot to return for the 2029 WBC.

8. Netherlands

At this point, we’re now among teams with clear strengths and weaknesses. The Netherlands’ defense should be sure-handed thanks to Druw Jones and Ceddane Rafaela roaming the outfield and MLB veterans like Ozzie Albies, Bogaerts and Didi Gregorius in the infield. But the lineup will have some holes that allow teams to pitch around its stars. The pitching staff will be relying on a number of long-time international veterans (Shairon Martis and J.C. Sulbaran) to go with young arms boasting talent but less experience (Antwone and Jaitoine Kelly, Dylan Wilson, Jaydenn Estanista and Justin Morales).

9. Cuba

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 92.3 mph (12th)
  • Best Hitter: 3B Yoan Moncada
  • Best Pitcher: RHP Raidel Martinez/RHP Yariel Rodriguez
  • Full Cuba Roster Analysis

Cuba made it to the WBC finals in 2006 and was one of the must-see teams in this tournament for the first three WBCs. This year’s squad still has some muscle memory from the teams that used to dominate international baseball, but the lineup just can’t compare with what the team could field 15-plus years ago. This pitching staff could still shut down opponents with Martinez, Rodriguez and Livan Moinelo, but the top-end talent and total depth is a bit lacking.

10. Italy

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 92.9 mph (7th)
  • Best Hitter: 1B Vinnie Pasquantino
  • Best Pitcher: RHP Aaron Nola
  • Full Italy Roster Analysis

Nola is coming off an injury-plagued year, but his combination of experience and savvy should carve through many WBC lineups. The pitching staff has a nice array of experienced arms with MLB time, and a lineup that includes Kyle Teel, Pasquantino, Thomas Saggese, Nick Morabito, Jakob Marsee, Dominic Canzone and more should thrash lesser teams without pitching depth.

11. South Korea

South Korea made it to the WBC finals in 2009, but it’s failed to advance out of pool play since then. Hyun-Jin Ryu, the star of those teams, is still on the roster, but the lefty is now 38 years old. Pitching is this club’s biggest question, as most of the top pitchers in the KBO are foreign imports (Cody Ponce was the league’s ace in 2025). Young-Pyo Ko is a crafty righthander who was among the best homegrown pitchers in the league this year, but he sits at 84 mph. Third baseman Do Yeoung Kim is a young star in the making. Only 22, he was league MVP in 2024, hitting .347/.420/.647. But he missed most of the 2025 season because of hamstring injuries.

12. Great Britain

Great Britain was one of the surprise stories of the 2023 WBC, as they went from being a first-time qualifier to earning an automatic spot in the 2026 WBC by beating Colombia, 7-5. It will be no surprise if they are an automatic qualifier again, as this team has plenty of MLB/MiLB players who should be able to match up with Brazil and potentially give Italy a challenge in pool play. Catcher Harry Ford, outfielders Matt Koperniak, Kristian Robinson and Trayce Thompson and third baseman Nate Eaton are bats to watch. The pitching staff isn’t as impressive, but righthanders Gary Gill Hill, Donovan Benoit, Najer Victor, Chaver Fernander and Miles Langhorne give this team more velocity than many of the mid-tier teams.

13. Israel

Pool D is brutally tough, and it’s hard to see Israel matching up with the D.R. or Venezuela. The Netherlands should be a tough game, as well, but a win against Nicaragua would likely ensure an automatic bid for 2029’s WBC. The combination of Bader, infielders Spencer Horwitz and Matt Mervis and catchers Garrett and CJ Stubbs gives this team some thump and veteran experience. Figuring out how to line up a pitching staff that has plenty of MiLB arms who know how to mix pitches could be key to another impressive run.

14. Colombia

Pool A is the most wide-open pool. Puerto Rico is the clear favorite, but someone between Panama, Cuba, Canada and Colombia is also going to advance. Colombia cannot be considered the favorite out of that group, but they are a nice dark horse candidate to surprise. The pitching staff will rely on experience more than young talent, but Luis Patino, Jhon Romeo, Reiver Sanmartin, Julio Teheran, Guillermo Zuniga and Tayron Guerrero give this team more options than most mid-tier opponents. If Jorge Alfaro, Elias Diaz, Harold Ramirez, Gio Urshela and Donovan Solano can turn back the clock, watch out.

15. Taiwan

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 91.7 mph (14th)
  • Best Hitter: OF Stuart Fairchild/OF Chieh-Hsien Chen
  • Best Pitcher: RHP Ruei-Yang Gu Lin/LHP Wei-En Lin
  • Full Taiwan Roster Analysis

Japan has an almost automatic bid out of Pool C, but the second spot in this pool is wide open, especially if Taiwan can surprise South Korea in their head-to-head matchup. With Australia and Czechia in this pool, Taiwan has to at least land an automatic qualifying bid. Having to go back to the qualifier, as they did after 2023, would be a shocking and devastating blow. Righthander Ruei-Yang Gu Lin is coming off an injury-plagued 2025, but with his over-the-top delivery and excellent control, he’s an arm to watch.

16. Panama

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 91.5 mph (15th)
  • Best Hitter: C Ivan Herrera/C Miguel Amaya
  • Best Pitcher: LHP Logan Allen
  • Full Panama Roster Analysis

Panama has a chance to be sneakily impressive and could be a savvy underdog pick to figure out a way to make it out of Pool A, which is more wide open than most pools. There’s a nice mix of athleticism thanks to Jose Caballero, Enrique Bradfield Jr. and an absurdly deep group of catchers led by Herrera/Amaya and Leo Bernal. The pitching staff is also better than you might think thanks to Allen, Humberto Mejia, Ariel Jurado and Javy Guerra. While Panama ranks 16th here, they are closer to 10 than 18-19 on this list.

Avoid The Basement

The fifth-place-finisher in each pool does not automatically qualify for the next World Baseball Classic. For these four teams, finishing fourth and earning that automatic spot in the next WBC would be a welcome result.

17. Australia

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 88.1 mph (19th)
  • Best Hitter: 2B Travis Bazzana/INF Curtis Mead
  • Best Pitcher: LHP Jack O’Loughlin
  • Full Australia Roster Analysis

Team Australia has participated in every WBC and made it to the quarterfinals in 2023. They’ve only had to qualify once to make it back, winning a spot for the 2017 WBC after going 0-3 in 2013. With Czechia in the same pool, earning a qualifier spot should once again be a solid goal, but the lack of arm strength may limit this team’s ability to do much more. The vast majority of Australia’s pitchers sit in the mid-to-upper 80s. They are going to have to rely on deception, location and guile, as there’s no one here who projects as an ace or a moment-of-truth stopper. The lineup is in a bit better shape, but the team is largely filled with Australian Baseball League vets who were one-time U.S. minor leaguers.

18. Brazil

  • Average Fastball Velocity: 90.6 mph (17th)
  • Best Hitter: 1B Dante Bichette Jr.
  • Best Pitcher: RHP Daniel Missaki/RHP Thyago Vieira/RHP Bo Takahashi
  • Full Brazil Roster Analysis

Brazil should be interesting, as it rosters the youngest player in the tournament in the intriguing 17-year-old righthander Joseph Contreras. But few pitchers have significant pro experience, and the lineup isn’t much better.

19. Nicaragua

Nicaragua has a blend of Vientos, ex-big leaguers like Cheslor Cuthbert and Jeter Downs, as well as a number of players who play in Nicaragua. Having to play in Pool D, in which every team has a realistic hope of advancing out of pool play, only makes it rougher. When Rodriguez, Erasmo Rodriguez and JC Ramirez take the mound, Nicaragua should be able to make life a bit difficult for Israel or the Netherlands, but the depth of pitching and hitting just can’t stack up to the rest of Pool D.

20. Czechia

Beating China at the 2023 World Baseball Classic was a wonderful moment and a great example of how on any given day, a WBC underdog can figure out a way to pick up a win. But Czechia will need another miracle to get a win in Pool C. Vavra has MLB experience, but the vast majority of the roster are players who play in the Czech league, with a few who have come to the U.S. to play in college. Daniel Padysak pitched at Georgia and for the Savannah Bananas in the Coastal Plain League. Closer Filip Kollman is pitching at Arizona Western JC. Catcher Martin Cervenka was the star of the Czech league alongside first baseman Martin Muzik.

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