Panama vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan): World Baseball Classic Odds, Picks and Predictions

Panama vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) Odds

On Wednesday, the World Baseball Classic pool play will continue with a matchup between Panama and Chinese Taipei at Taichung Stadium in Taiwan.

Panama finished 14th in the tournament in 2006 and 15th during the 2009 event, but did not compete in 2013 or 2017. Chinese Taipei finished eight in 2013, but went 0-3 and did not advance out of the first round in 2017.

Ahead of first pitch, oddsmakers have priced Chinese Taipei as heavy -145 favorites on the moneyline, with over/under on the total set at eight runs.

Panama

Jonathan Arauz headlines Panama offense

Though Jonathan Arauz is a recognizable MLB name among more die-hard fans, his production has left much to be desired at the big league level during the early portion of his career. In 196 plate appearances, Arauz has only five home runs, a .200 batting average, and a .361 OPS. He has struckout in 24.5% of his trips to the batter’s box.

Mejia earns the start on the mound

A former member of the Miami Marlins organization, Humberto Mejia will take the mound for Panama to begin their quest for a title in 2023. In 2022, Mejia struggled mightily on the mound nearly everywhere he went – posting a 9.60 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP in AAA, 7.71 ERA and 1.84 WHIP with Oaxaca, 4.99 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with Guadalajara, and a 3.60 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with Tijuana.

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Chinese Taipei

Expect fireworks from the offense

Though Chinese Taipei does not have an abundance of recognizable American players on their roster, they do have reigning CPBL Most Valuable Player Li Lin, and Kungkuan Giljegiljaw, who led the league in home runs in 2022, per MLB.com.

In 2019, Giljegiljaw hit five home runs in the minor leagues at the AA level as part of the Cleveland Guardians organization. He had 14 home runs and an .831 OPS in 2022 with Wei Chuan in the CPBL.

Chih-Wei Hu gets the ball

Chih-Wei Hu has pitched a total of 23.0 innings in his MLB career, delivering a 3.52 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 23.3 K%, 7.8 BB%, and a 0.83 WHIP with the Tampa Bay Rays. More recently, he had a 3.35 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP in 150.2 innings during the 2022 season with Uni-President, playing in the CPBL. In his career, he has struggled to keep the ball in the yard, and has allowed a lot of hard hit contact against him. His 12.7 K% from last year suggests that there will be plenty of balls put in play as well.

Panama vs. Chinese Taipei – Picks & Predictions

Panama has never won a World Baseball Classic game, losing all five of their contests. In those five games, they have scored a total of seven runs (1.4 runs per game), while allowing 7.20 runs per game. Panama lost 2-1 to Puerto Rico, 7-0 to Puerto Rico, 9-0 to the Dominican Republic, 8-6 to Cuba and 10-0 to Netherlands.

Chinese Taipei has been inconsistent offensively in this tournament when they have competed, but they have scored as many as 12 runs in a game. They should be able to do enough with the bats to earn a win in this spot.

PICK: Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) ML (-155, DraftKings)