Pool C features United States, Mexico, Colombia, Canada and Great Britain
The reigning WBC champions reside in Pool C, as the United States will look to fend off a few really interesting challengers to get out of the pool stage and have a chance to defend the title. All pool games will be played at Chase Field, so Team USA will have home-field advantage here and throughout the tournament, as the next rounds will be in Miami.
Odds are posted for Group Play and also the overall tournament winner at DraftKings Sportsbook, so let’s look at those and also some info on the teams.
Odds to Win Pool C
USA -500
Mexico +400
Colombia +2500
Canada +2500
Great Britain +10000
Team USA Roster
Not surprisingly, the Americans are stacked. There are 21 All-Stars and four MVPs on the roster, headlined by Mike Trout. Trout is far from the lone star, as Mookie Betts, Kyle Schwarber, Paul Goldschmidt, Pete Alonso, Nolan Arenado, Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto are just some of the other position players.
Truthfully, the pitching staff could be a lot better given all of the American aces that aren’t on the roster, but starters include Merrill Kelly, Lance Lynn, Miles MIkolas, Brady Singer and Adam Wainwright. Nestor Cortes and Clayton Kershaw were originally on the roster, but have been removed. The position player group is far superior to the pitching staff, but the Americans are still among the favorites to win.
Team Mexico Roster
The Mexican roster is very top-heavy, as Julio Urias and Jose Urquidy lead the rotation and Alex Verdugo and Randy Arozarena lead the position player group. There are a lot of really solid relievers on Team Mexico, though, including Giovanny Gallegos, Andres Munoz and Roberto Osuna.
Mexico has progressively finished worse in each of four appearances in the WBC. They were sixth in 2006, but eighth in 2009, 11th in 2013 and 13th in 2017. Just about all of Mexico’s players are signed with MLB organizations and they are clearly the second-best team in Pool C. Keep an eye on Roberto Ramos, who has been one of the most prolific hitters in the KBO throughout his career.
Team Colombia Roster
Colombia could be an interesting darkhorse in this pool. Team USA should absolutely move on, but it wouldn’t be stunning to see Mexico fall short on account of Colombia. The Colombians are in the WBC for the second time after going 1-2 in 2017. They took the Americans to extra innings in a 3-2 loss and also went 11 innings with the star-studded Dominican Republic in a 10-3 loss where the wheels fell off.
This is a stronger team. Jose Quintana and Julio Teheran headline the rotation, with Gio Urshela and Harold Ramirez among the top position players. Colombia has also been producing some interesting prospects lately and some are on hand, including Jordan Diaz, who will likely debut for the Athletics this season, and Cubs pitcher Danis Correa.
Team Canada Roster
Things can only go up for Canada, as they went 0-3 back in 2017 and were outscored 21-3 with a quick exit in their fourth WBC. The Canadians haven’t finished better than ninth and have not made it out of the pool stage yet. This is also a young team. A lot of the players on the roster are prospects or guys with limited MLB experience. Freddie Freeman, Abraham Toro, Tyler O’Neill, Cal Quantrill, Nick Pivetta and John Axford are some of the notable exceptions.
Bo Naylor (Guardians) leads a really inexperienced group of catchers. Freeman is far and away the biggest name on the roster and, despite being born in the United States, he honors his Canadian-born parents by playing for Canada. Many position players are prospects, while most of the relievers are journeymen veterans or flamed-out prospects. At least the future looks bright for Canada with the prospects getting a chance on the national stage.
Team Great Britain Roster
Great Britain is one of three newcomers to the WBC, joined by Nicaragua and Czech Republic. Most of the notable names on the roster are prospects, including Seattle’s top youngster in Harry Ford. A handful of guys have MLB experience, like pitchers Vance Worley and Ian Gibaut. Trayce Thompson (Klay’s brother) is still with the Dodgers. The Brits beat France, Germany and Spain in qualifying to earn a spot.
World Baseball Classic Pool C Prediction
Obviously the Americans are stacked relative to the rest of the teams in this pool and -500 may not even be a big enough price. They have advanced out of pool play in all four WBCs, though they hadn’t finished higher than fourth before winning the last tourney in 2017. As mentioned, Colombia played the Americans really tough back in 2017 and that would have been the swing game in the pool, so they are not at all invincible.
Still, Mexico and Colombia are not there yet. Team USA at -500 is about the only pick to make, but I do like Colombia at +450 to qualify. I like their roster more than what Mexico and Canada have to offer.
How to Watch the World Baseball Classic
All games streamed on Fox Sports App. All games will be televised on either Fox, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes or Tubi.