2023 World Baseball Classic Futures: Best Overall Winner Bets

You can feel the baseball in the air as the calendar flips to March! Major League Baseball Spring Training is in full swing on the domestic front. As for the international level, the world’s best players will depart from their training facilities shortly to join their respective countries to compete in the World Baseball Classic!

Twenty national teams have been divided into four groups, where they’ll compete in a round-robin format. The top two squads from each pool will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket.

There are some obvious gaps in talent throughout the different countries, but let’s see if we can still find some value from a betting perspective. Here are my top two picks to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

World Baseball Classic: Best Outright Winner Picks

United States of America To Win Outright (+275 via DraftKings)

The USA comes into the 2023 World Baseball Classic with the second-shortest odds, trailing only the Dominican Republic (+200). Each team has equally impressive rosters and is bolstered with All-Star-level talent throughout. They’re essentially both a lock to qualify for the final bracket, with the USA coming in at -3500 to advance while the Dominican is sitting at -2000.

The oddsmakers, the mainstream media, and most of the public have these two on a collision course to meet in the final. It’s hard not to agree solely based on talent alone. However, I’ll take a shot with the USA to win the tournament.

They boast a lineup featuring four MVPs, including Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Mookie Betts, and Clayton Kershaw. The position player depth is insane, with Pete Alonso earning a roster spot, as well as Nolan Arenado, Tim Anderson, and Trea Turner. Honestly, it’s a logjam of talent in the infield, so skipper Mark DeRosa will have his hands full filling out the lineup card each day.

On the mound, we’ll see Kershaw headline the rotation along with Merrill Kelly, Lance Lynn, and Nestor Cortes. In the bullpen, Ryan Pressley, Daniel Bard, Devin Williams, and David Bednar will once again offer DeRosa a plethora of options to pick and choose his matchups late in games.

The bottom line here is that the USA should cruise through the group stage featuring Mexico, Canada, Columbia, and Great Britain. At that point, they have the talent, experience, and pitching depth to make a run at the title.

Venezuela To Win Outright (+1100 via DraftKings)

While Venezuela enters with the fourth-shortest odds, it still seems like a bit of a longshot play with how stacked the Dominican Republic, USA, and Japan (+300) are. With that being said, the beauty of the World Baseball Classic is its single-elimination format down the stretch. Anybody can beat anybody in a single game. And that’ll be the angle with Venezuela as they attempt to knock off the above-mentioned powerhouses.

Venezuela is definitely an underdog, but let’s not make this into a “Little Engine That Could” story. This lineup has plenty of stars, including Ronald Acuna Jr., Jose Altuve, and 2022 American League batting champion Luis Arraez. This trio will be supplemented by Salvador Perez and Eugenio Suarez, while veterans Miguel Cabrera and David Peralta will also look to make contributions.

As for the arms, manager Omar Lopez will turn to Pablo Lopez, German Marquez, Ranger Suarez, Jhoulys Chacin, and Luis Garcia to handle the pitching responsibilities.

Ultimately, this ball club has a lethal top of the lineup, and if they get hot in the elimination round, I don’t think anyone should be shocked if they pull off a couple of upsets. Let’s take a flier on Venezuela to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic.