WBC 2026: Reranking USA, D.R., Japan and all remaining teams

pool game in 2026 World Baseball Classic It’s officially over, and we’re headed to the quarterfinals.

The opening round of the tournament was not without excitement or surprises. Team USA, which was a favorite to win with a deep, star-studded lineup, almost did not advance to the quarterfinals after losing to Italy, whose fate was decided in the final matchup between Italy and Mexico. Italy won to remain undefeated in pool play – allowing America needs to move forward – While Mexico was eliminated.

Canada also surprised in the opening game by leading 3–1 and defeating Puerto Rico to win Pool A and advance to its first quarterfinal since the tournament’s inception in 2006.

How do the final eight teams stack up against each other? And how their rankings have changed since the tournament started? As the event moves toward its elimination rounds, ESPN MLB experts Jeff Passan, Alden Gonzalez, Jorge Castillo and David Schoenfield recap the quarterfinal field and break down what we’ve learned about each country’s team so far.

1. Dominican Republic

Pre-WBC Rank: 2 | Title Possibilities: +230

Next opponent: Korea (Friday 6:30 p.m. ET)

What we’ve learned about Team DR: That players can mash, and they know how to celebrate. The Dominican team has hit the tournament’s highest number of 13 home runs in its four games, with five of its players being – junior caminero, oneil cruz, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.., juan soto And Fernando Tatis Jr.. –Everyone is killing a couple. At impact, they all toss their bats, scream, point at each other, salute the fans, take their sweet time circling the bases, then come into the dugout filled with props to continue their celebration. DR manager Albert Pujols said this is the best energy he has had in all his years in the big leagues, and it is easy to see why. Their team is loaded with superstars, but the scariest part? They are playing loose. — Gonzalez

2. United States of America

Pre-WBC Rank: 1 | Title Possibilities: +140

Next opponent: Canada (Friday at 8 p.m. ET)

What we learned about Team USA: Baseball is an incredible sport. Talent doesn’t always mean winning, and the turmoil Team USA faced after losing to Italy Scared the team straight away. The Americans know they can attack as well as any team left in the WBC. with logan webb, Paul Skenes And nolan mclean Lined up on the mound, they have the best trio of starters. Now it’s time for manager Mark DeRosa to stop trying to get everyone on the roster in the game and focus on deploying his wealth of resources offensively. Canny management can win a tournament, and to defeat Canada (and potentially DR in the semi-finals and Japan in the finals), the United States will need the best of its players as well as DeRosa. –passan

3. Japan

Pre-WBC Rank: 3 | Title Possibilities: +450

Next opponent: Venezuela (Saturday 9 p.m. ET)

What we learned about Team Japan: Japan went 4–0 in pool play, but it was not easy – except for the 13–0 loss to Chinese Taipei. Japan rallied late to defeat Korea 8–6, trailing Australia in six innings, and were held scoreless by Czech amateur pitchers until the eighth inning. shohei ohtani Has done the trick, going 5 for 9 with two home runs in three games, but remember: He’s not pitching. Since the competition has now become much tougher, rallies cannot be relied upon against non-MLB pitchers. We will see what the lines of rotation are like, but yoshinobu yamamoto And Yusei Kikuchi Are in line to pitch the quarterfinals and semifinals, giving 23-year-old Hiroto Takahashi a potential championship game start. –Schoenfield

4. Venezuela

Pre-WBC Rank: 4 | Title Possibilities: +900

Next opponent: Japan (Saturday at 9 p.m. ET)

What we learned about Team Venezuela: This team knows how to fight. That became evident late in Wednesday’s pool-play game against the Dominican Republic, the first time Venezuela was really tested this tournament, when it managed to score the winning run after trailing by four runs in the ninth inning. Venezuela’s lineup isn’t as good as DR or the US, but it’s close Ronald Acuna Jr.., jackson chourio, Gleyber Torres And eugenio suarez Show the way. The question is whether Venezuela can pitch well enough. ranger suarezA big game is needed to see who will take the ball to Yamamoto in the quarterfinals. and headlined by a bullpen Daniel Palencia And Eduard Bazardo Need to come from behind him. — Gonzalez

5. Italy

Pre-WBC Rank: 9 | Title Possibilities: 18-1

Next opponent: Puerto Rico (Saturday at 3 p.m. ET)

What we learned about Team Italy: The Italians arrived ahead of schedule, like a big league team with a great farm system that puts everything together earlier than anticipated. The lineup is real. also with kyle teal On the shelf after his hamstring injury, Italy have big players with experience (vinny pasquantino, john bertie), ceiling youth (jack caglianone, Jacob Marcy) and prospects with talent (Andrew Fisher, Dante Nori, Sam Antonacci). Even if the pitching doesn’t match the bat, Italy has limited homers and walks while punching out hitters. Pool-play upsets are part of WBC history. It would be history for a team like Italy to reach the last four. –passan

6. Puerto Rico

Pre-WBC Rank: 6 | Title Possibilities: 16-1

Next opponent: Italy (Saturday 3 p.m. ET)

What we’ve learned about Team PR: The Puerto Ricans will go as far as their pitching staff will take them. Puerto Rico began pool play at home with a shutout win over Colombia, allowing only seven runs in four games. However, the offensive scored only 15 runs. Five were scored in the fifth inning of the opening match against the Colombians. The three were produced on soon-to-be-retired 39-year-old Martín Maldonado’s bases-clearing double against Cuba. This is more than half of his scoring output in just two innings. are not happening francisco lindor, carlos correa, javier baez And enrique hernandez The team has had the expected impact on the lineup. heliot ramosThe team’s best hitter, on paper, went 1 of 13 in San Juan. If it can’t turn it around, Puerto Rico’s firepower is limited. Run prevention is paramount. –Castillo

7. Canada

Pre-WBC Rank: 8 | Title Possibilities: 30-1

Next opponent: United States (Friday at 8 p.m. ET)

What we learned about Team Canada: Canada has a very original lineup. San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium played big in pool play with all teams’ pitchers benefiting, but the Canadians posted the two-highest scoring outputs and finished with a pool-high 21 runs as they advanced to the WBC quarter-finals for the first time in their history. Left fielder and top-100 prospect owen casey (1.458 OPS) and veteran utilityman Abraham Toro (1.529 OPS) rounded out a lineup that also included Josh Naylor And Tyler O’Neal in the middle. Canada starts big leaguers at almost every position. A move to hitter-friendly Daikin Park should help this formidable group. –Castillo

8. Korea

Pre-WBC Rank: 7 | Title Possibilities: 50-1

Next opponent: Dominican Republic (Friday 6:30 p.m. ET)

What we learned about Team Korea: Korea had not advanced beyond pool play in the previous three tournaments, so reaching the quarterfinals – even if just barely, doing so via tiebreakers over Australia and Chinese Taipei after all three pool games ended 2-2 – takes a lot of pressure off a team that had success in the first two WBCs. First baseman Bo Gyeong Moon has been the hitting star, batting .538 with two home runs and 11 RBI, but Korea will need more production from its MLB players because of its lack of pitching depth. Shay Whitcomb There are two home runs, but Hyesong Kim (.100), Jahmai Jones (.222) and Jung Hoo Lee (.278) hasn’t done much. –Schoenfield