The 2023 World Baseball Classic will be one of the most exciting competitions in the baseball calendar for the current year.
The event will be played in several venues and will start on March 8.
We will know the champion of the fifth edition of the tournament on March 21, the day of the final game.
MLB insider Hector Gomez posted a fun exercise to rank all teams leading to the event.
Shawn Spradling, an independent WBC writer and analyst, was actually the one who ranked all participants.
You can see the early favorites here.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic Power Rankings, per @Shawn_Spradling. pic.twitter.com/vMw1QdCb8C
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) January 2, 2023
The Dominican Republic is currently ranked number one, meaning they are probably the favorites to lift the trophy in late March.
They already won in 2013 and are looking for their second title.
They have a star-studded roster with some of the most talented players in the world.
Just look at some of the names who have reportedly committed to play for the Dominican team: Sandy Alcantara, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Castillo, Bryan Abreu, Camilo Doval, Diego Castillo, Emmanuel Clase, Felix Bautista, Genesis Cabrera, Gregory Soto, Jhoan Duran, Rafael Montero, Seranthony Dominguez, Wandy Peralta, Gary Sanchez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jose Ramirez, Jeremy Pena, Manny Machado, Starling Marte, Julio Rodriguez, Juan Soto, Eloy Jimenez, Rafael Devers, Teoscar Hernandez, and Wander Franco, among others.
Who can beat that kind of roster?
That’s an impressive collection of talent.
The reigning WBC champions, the United States, are ranked second and will also have a roster full of stars, from Mike Trout to Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, among others.
Two-time champs Japan are third, Venezuela is fourth, and Mexico completed the top five.
NEXT: Yankees Fans Honor David Cone On His Birthday