*This content was translated by AI.
Is it self-praise or cold-hearted assessment. A U.S. media outlet predicted low performance at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Asian countries, including South Korea and Japan.
The US media Sports Illustrated (SI) introduced the 2026 WBC Power Ranking on the 5th (Korea Standard Time).
The harsh criticism against Japan, the winner of the last tournament, attracts attention. "Japan won its third WBC championship in 2023," SI said. However, Japan, the defending champion, is not as good as it was three years ago. Shohei Ohtani pointed out that four out of the five players who started the 2023 tournament without pitching this year are not starting pitchers.
In fact, Ohtani came out as the closing pitcher and struck out Mike Trout (LA Angels) to win the 2023 tournament, which was spectacular. In addition to Ohtani, Ryu Darvish (FA), Rocky Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LA Dodgers) and Shota Imanaga (Chicago Cubs) all entered the major leagues.
This tournament has a rather poor name value. Only Yamamoto remained alone in the starting lineup, and the vacancy will be filled by veteran major leaguers and young NPB players, including Yusei Kikuchi (LA Angels), Tomoyuki Sugano (Colorado Rockies), Hiroto Takahashi (Junichi Dragons), Hiroya Miyagi (Orix Buffaloes), and Hiromi Ito (Nihonham Fighters). However, young Japanese pitchers are also under discussion to advance to the Major League, so we must not let our guard down. The batting lineup is still very impressive. SI also pointed out this part.
SI said, "Otani is major leaguers Seiya Suzuki, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Yoshida Along with Masataka, he will lead a lineup that includes NPB stars such as Kondo Kenske and Makishugo. "The Japanese team is still strong, but the fact that the pitching staff is weaker than 2023 can have a big impact," he said.
Their first favorite was the U.S. SI said, "The U.S. national team is really solid. It's the best list they've ever sent to the WBC. The U.S., which won the WBC in 2017, finished second in 2023 and is an overwhelming favorite this year."
He cited solid mound as the reason. SI said, "Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) and Paul Skins, the Cy Young winners, will lead the U.S. mound. He also praised the 2025 All-Star Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants), Matt Boyd (Chicago Cubs), and New York Mets genius Nolan McClain, who had a solid roster.
"The batters include Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), Cal Lally (Seattle Mariners), Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies), Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals), and Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs). Mason Miller (San Diego Padres) is scheduled to come out as a closer, so a 104 mph fastball could come out. If the U.S. fails to advance to the final, it will be disappointing," he added.
Likewise, the Dominican Republic, where all Major League All-Stars are participating, was ranked second in the list of favorites. In particular, the fantastic top batting order leading to Juan Soto (New York Mets), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays), Manny Machado (San Diego Padres), Julio Rodriguez (Seattle Mariners) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego) was considered the reason.
SI said, "Dominica's lineup is really scary. The champion of the 2013 tournament, they said, "Both of the WBCs have recently been eliminated from the group stage, and this time it will be disappointing."
Meanwhile, Asian countries other than Japan received low ratings. The Korean national team, led by Ryu Ji-hyun, was seventh. "Korea has not advanced to the second round of the WBC since the runner-up at the 2009 tournament," SI said. It's five wins and five losses since then. Outfielder Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco), Jamai Jones (Detroit), Kim Hye-sung (LA Dodgers), and Shay Witcom (Houston Astros) are the only major leaguers on the roster filled with KBO All-Stars.
"Dane Dunning, a former Texas pitcher who signed a minor league contract with Seattle in the offseason, should lead a pitching team that did not meet expectations in 2023," he added.
In addition, Australia ranked 15th and Taiwan ranked 17th, making it difficult to advance to the first round. "Taiwan has participated in all WBC competitions, and its best performance is 8th in 2013," SI said. Infielder Jung Zonger (Boston Red Sox) and outfielder Stuart Fairchild (Claver Guardians) played in the Major League last year. Shirooshi (Softbank Hawks), who throws fastballs, and Lin Wen of the Athletics Minor are also noteworthy.
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*This content was translated by AI.
