"Wow!" I'm not last in Korea! 7th in the WBC Power Ranking, beating Canada, the strongest in 'ML at least 10' history

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun (55), has been evaluated as not the weakest team among the teams that advanced to the second round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Major League Baseball's official website, MLB.com , ranked ahead of the 2026 WBC quarterfinals, which will be held in the U.S. from the 14th (Korea Standard Time). The second round of the WBC starts with the South Korea-Dominica Republic match, followed by the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico-Italy, Venezuela-Japan. Fifteen MLB.com reporters participated in the power ranking, and each of them picked a representative player who received attention in the power ranking and group stage before the competition began.

The Korean national team, led by KBO league players, was not surprisingly last. Before the start of the competition, South Korea was seventh and Canada was eighth in the power ranking, but the ranking remained the same. It is all the more surprising that the results have not changed even though South Korea came second in Group C with two wins and two losses after twists and turns, and Canada beat host Puerto Rico and "maybe the strongest" Cuba to advance to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in Group A.

The Canadian national team for this year's event is called the strongest ever. Canada, which has participated in the inaugural tournament, never advanced to the second round before the tournament. This time, he set up an all-star lineup with determination, and as a result, his face was spectacular, with at least 10 players on the 40-man roster in the Major League at present.

One-two punch made up of Michael Soroka (Arizona Diamondbacks) and James Tayon (Chicago Cubs) was considered competitive. Analysts say that the batting lineup led by brothers Josh Naylor (Seattle Mariners) and Bon Naylor (Claveland Guardians) is also not easy.

MLB.com paid attention to Korea's competitiveness in this tournament, not to the number of major leaguers. Only four active major leaguers in the national team are Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants), Kim Hye-sung (LA Dodgers), Shay Witcombe (Houston Astros), and Germay Jones (Detroit Tigers).

However, Dane Dunning (Texas Rangers Triple A) and Ko Woo-seok (Detroit Triple A) showed their competitiveness. On top of that, young prospects receiving attention from Major League Baseball, such as Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers), Kim Joo-won (NC Dinos), and Ahn Hyun-min (KT Wiz), are shining, raising expectations.

The most notable thing is Moon Bo-kyung, who has been called the treasure of Korea in the LG Twins' literary treasure. MLB.com ranked Korea seventh, the same as before the tournament, and selected Moon Bo-kyung as a group star.

MLB.com said, "Moon Bo-kyung was one of the most productive hitters with seven hits (two home runs) and 11 RBIs in 13 at-bats in the group stage. His 11 RBIs are first among all hitters in the tournament, and his seven hits are tied for first place."

"Moon Bo-kyung started the tournament with multiple hits, including a grand slam, in a 11-4 victory over the Czech Republic. In the match against Australia, he finished the group stage with an outstanding performance of three hits and four RBIs in five at-bats. He has grown into one of the best hitters in the KBO in recent years. In the past two years, he has become a LG-centered hitter with 20 home runs and an OPS of 0.830 or more," he said.

The Dominican Republic, which will compete with South Korea for a place in the semifinals, was selected as No. 1 in the pre-tournament rankings, two places up, realizing the difficulty. Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres), who had six hits (2 home runs) and five walks and nine RBIs in 13 at-bats in the group stage, was selected as the representative player.

MLB.com said: "The Dominican Republic has a perfect four wins and no losses in the group stage. He has various players, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, and Brian Bello, and Tatis Jr. was the most brilliant. Tatis Jr.'s dynamic performance was revealed throughout the field, and he will try to continue his dominance in the match against Korea.

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*This content was translated by AI.