Here are the World Baseball Classic Power Rankings

The World Baseball Classic is, at last, almost here. The 2026 Classic will kick off at 10 p.m. ET Wednesday night in Tokyo, and by Friday, all four pools will be underway, with games also taking place in Houston, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Only three teams have ever won the WBC: Japan (three times), the Dominican Republic (once) and the United States (once). But the beauty of baseball in this high-stakes tournament format is that anyone can.

With games set to begin, we had 20 MLB.com voters cast ballots, ranking the WBC teams, one through 20. It was an incredibly close race, with the top three teams – in fact, those same three with previous WBC titles – ending up in a virtual tie. But based on a points system (three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second and one point for a third), one team narrowly came out on top.

Fortunately, we’re about to play a whole bunch of games to find out who’s really No. 1.

1. Japan
Top MLB players: DH Shohei Ohtani, RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, OF Seiya Suzuki
They are the defending champs, a three-time winner and the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Unfortunately, Ohtani’s not pitching this time. But you may remember what happened the last time Yamamoto took the mound in a big game.

2. United States
Top MLB players: OF Aaron Judge, RHP Paul Skenes, LHP Tarik Skubal
We all remember how close they came last time, and that was when they didn’t have anything close to the pitching staff they do now. This is almost certainly the most talent Team USA has ever had. Now’s the time.

3. Dominican Republic
Top MLB players: OF Julio Rodríguez, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., OF Juan Soto
There’s not just star power everywhere on the field, there’s star power in the dugout, too. Albert Pujols has the ultimate opportunity to make the case for a big league managerial job by winning the D.R.’s first title since 2013.

4. Venezuela
Top MLB players: OF Ronald Acuña Jr., C William Contreras, LHP Ranger Suárez
They were one of the most exciting teams in 2023, going undefeated before losing a 7-5 eighth-inning lead in a quarterfinals defeat to Team USA.

5. Mexico
Top MLB players: C Alejandro Kirk, OF Jarren Duran, OF Randy Arozarena
The lineup is the strength for a team that made a surprise run to the semifinals in 2023. If Mexico’s offense can get them to the end of the game with a lead, Andrés Muñoz will be ready to shut the door.

6. Puerto Rico
Top MLB players: 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP Edwin Díaz, RHP Seth Lugo
Puerto Rico has gotten more headlines for the players who aren’t on the roster than those who are, but manager Yadier Molina will get everything out of them that he can.

7. Korea
Top MLB players: OF Jung Hoo Lee, INF Shay Whitcomb, INF Hyeseong Kim
After finishing second back in 2009, they haven't made it out of the group stage since. But there is a lot of talent here, some of which MLB fans are not yet familiar with and some that will bring back fond memories (Hyun Jin Ryu).

8. Canada
Top MLB players: 1B Josh Naylor, OF Tyler O’Neill, RHP Jameson Taillon
Canada has a real opportunity to advance out of the group stage for the first time in WBC history. That’s partly because of a favorable assignment in Pool A, where Puerto Rico and Cuba may not be as strong as in past years, and partly because Canada has assembled more talent than ever before.

9. Colombia
Top MLB players: LHP Jose Quintana, INF Michael Arroyo, RHP Nabil Crismatt
They pulled off the upset of the tournament last time, beating Mexico in the first game, but they lost their next three after that.

10. Netherlands
Top MLB players: 2B Ozzie Albies, SS Xander Bogaerts, RHP Kenley Jansen
They’ve made it to the semifinals in 2013 and ’17 and lost both times. This time around, Team Netherlands veteran Andruw Jones gets to manage his son Druw, a fellow slick-fielding center fielder who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 Draft.

11. Chinese Taipei
Top MLB players: OF Stuart Fairchild, INF Tsung-Che Cheng
This is, in fact, the No. 2-ranked team in the World Baseball and Softball Confederation rankings (behind Japan), yet they had to play their way out of the 2025 qualifier just to get here.

12. Italy
Top MLB Players: 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, RHP Aaron Nola, OF Jac Caglianone
They might be ranked a little low here, with MLB players and prospects dotting the roster under manager Francisco Cervelli. This tournament could be a showcase for the likes of Caglianone, Jakob Marsee and Kyle Teel, three young hitters who got their first taste of the Majors in 2025.

13. Cuba
Top MLB Players: INF Yoán Moncada, RHP Yariel Rodriguez
This isn’t the best team of players of Cuban origin that they could put together, but there’s still talent here. Will it be enough to get Cuba out of group play, something they have done in every WBC to date?

14. Panama
Top MLB players: INF José Caballero, LHP Logan Allen, INF Edmundo Sosa
Sure, there’s no Mariano Rivera or Rod Carew on this roster, but Panama has a lot of players with big league experience to go with some intriguing prospects. Maybe they’re due for some better luck this time around after getting eliminated via tiebreaker in 2023.

15. Great Britain
Top MLB players: INF Jazz Chisholm Jr., C Harry Ford
This is their second tournament ever, and they’re making strides every cycle. Pool B, with the U.S., Mexico and Italy, looks like a tough draw, however.

16. Australia
Top MLB players: INF Travis Bazzana, INF Curtis Mead
Bazzana, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, is the clear highlight here. MLB Pipeline’s No. 20 prospect will try to help the Aussies build on making their first quarterfinals appearance in 2023.

17. Israel
Top MLB players: OF Harrison Bader, RHP Dean Kremer, 1B Spencer Horwitz
For a team rated this low, Israel sure has a lot of players on its roster with big league time.

18. Czechia
Top MLB players: INF Terrin Vavra
The beloved underdogs of the 2023 WBC are back in the tournament for a second time. This is your reminder to read my colleague Michael Clair’s book about them.

19. Nicaragua
Top MLB players: INF Mark Vientos, RHP Erasmo Ramírez
This is their second WBC appearance, after they scored a total of four runs in four games last time. Dusty Baker is at the helm this time, though.

20. Brazil
Top MLB players: N/A
The Brazilians, back in the WBC for the first time since 2013, have the unenviable task of playing Team USA in their opener.