World Baseball Classic: Pool D Preview

Take one look at the collection of teams in Pool D, and it’s only natural to think that there are two easy shoo-ins to make the next round: Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

On the surface, it would be hard to shame anyone for thinking this way. The Dominican Republic features a former Cy Young Award winner in Sandy Alcantara and last season’s runner-up in Cristopher Sánchez. Pair those starters with a roster of hitters who have combined for 31 total All-Star nods, and you have a powerhouse team.

Venezuela doesn’t have as much star power as its Caribbean rival, but it still features a strong group of starters, led by southpaws Ranger Suárez and Eduardo Rodriguez. Also in the rotation are Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela and Tigers swingman Keider Montero.

Supplement that with 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Contreras brothers, among other MLB All-Stars, and Venezuela is poised for another deep run.

That is, if the Netherlands, Israel, and Nicaragua don’t have anything to say about it.

The beauty of baseball is this: Anything and everything can happen, especially in one-game showdowns. The Rockies flirted with an all-time loss record last season, and they still beat the Dodgers twice.

So, what does this say about the WBC? That even in a game loaded with All-Stars, the best team can still manage to lose on any given day.

It’s time to consider the upsets!

When it comes to taking a flier on a team in the bottom three of the pool, the Netherlands is the easy choice. The Dutch pitching staff is lackluster, with Kenley Jansen being the only longtime MLB veteran, though their rotation boasts a lot of WBC expertise.

The Netherlands’ lineup, conversely, features an impressive combination of veterans, like Xander Bogaerts and Ozzie Albies, and youth, like Druw Jones. It’s also hard to ignore the historic nature of Dutch upsets in the WBC, especially with so much roster carryover.

While it’s hard to believe that any Pool D team can contend with the Dominican Republic super-squad, it’s also hard to deny how well some of these lineups match up with Venezuela’s pitching staff.

Suárez is likely to get the nod against the Dominicans, but from there, Venezuela’s remaining starters feature fairly prominent splits against lefties and righties. Montero’s opponents’ OPS jumped over .200 points when facing lefties in 2025. Rodriguez, a lefty, and Senzatela, a righty, both struggled mightily with limiting extra-base hits against right-handed opponents last season.

Some of this can play to Venezuela’s advantage; Israel’s left-handed heavy lineup could be excellent for Rodriguez or Senzatela. However, the Netherlands’ projected starting nine includes six right-handers, one left-hander, and two switch-hitters, who have each hit at least two-thirds of their home runs from 2024-25 from the right-handed batter’s box.

Add on Nicaragua’s right-handed heavy lineup, and Venezuelan manager Omar López will have some tough decisions to make.

Essentially, assuming Venezuela’s starting four in pool play consists of these four pitchers, they’ll have to swallow a bad matchup against at least one lineup, which could put their quarterfinal aspirations in jeopardy.

The solution is likely to take the bad matchup against Nicaragua. Will Nicaragua make it out of pool play? Likely not. But this is absolutely a pool where Nicaragua could play spoiler and finish above the relegated fifth-place spot. These polarizing matchups also create a potential tie scenario, so don’t be surprised if the second spot is settled by tiebreakers.

The counterargument for Venezuela is simple. The Venezuelan pitching staff still holds more MLB experience than any of the projected bottom three teams, and the lineup is more well-rounded than all of them.

As a result, it’s hard to see Venezuela finishing much lower than third. The same largely rings true for the Netherlands. The remaining questions lie with Team Israel and Team Nicaragua.

Read more

International

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Team Israel feels like a typical mid-to-low-tier WBC team: full of MLB journeymen and longtime minor leaguers. Its pitching staff is debatably the third strongest in the pool, with Dean Kremer at its helm and Tommy Kahnle and Max Lazar managing the last few innings.

On the lineup side, Team Israel has some bats who have boasted strong MLB numbers in recent years, notably Harrison Bader and Spencer Horwitz. They also have some complementary pieces in veteran catcher Garrett Stubbs and infielder Matt Mervis, who could contribute valuable PAs.

While many of the remaining bats for Team Israel are young, there’s still significant room for development, especially with a bench coach as unique as Kevin Youkilis. I wouldn’t assume any new or unusual batting stances, but perhaps a bit more patience at the place if the Greek God of Walks can work some magic.

While Nicaragua did finish 0-4 in 2023, the team won its qualifying tournament and is desperate to turn the page. The biggest difference from the last WBC? The addition of a young man by the name of Mark Vientos, who had a .998 OPS when the lights were brightest in the 2024 MLB playoffs.

On paper, the Nicaraguan lineup has the least MLB experience. But this could also be a strength for the team, as the top foes in Pool D are likely to use their best arms on the most-threatening-on-paper foes.

Just Baseball’s Pool D WBC Power Rankings

Author’s Prediction: The Dominican Republic advances to the quarterfinals. And while I’m incredibly torn on the second choice, I’ll have some whimsy and pick the Netherlands over Venezuela.

Pool D Team Previews

Team DR
By Leo Morgenstern

Only three countries have actually won the World Baseball Classic: Japan (2006, ’09, ’23), the USA (2017), and the Dominican Republic (2013).

In the last WBC, it was Samurai Japan and Team USA that battled it out in the final, while the Dominican squad failed to escape the first round. Despite that disappointing early exit, the DR remains one of the three favorites to win in 2026 – and perhaps the chip on their shoulder will be just the motivation they need.

It is also key to note that the Dominican team is in an easier pool this year. In 2023, they were grouped with Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Israel, and Nicaragua in Pool D.

This time around, they’re still in Pool D with Venezuela, Israel, and Nicaragua, but the Netherlands replaces Puerto Rico to round out the group. It was Venezuela and Puerto Rico that beat the DR in 2023, and the Puerto Rican team is a bigger threat than the Dutch squad (even without Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa).

So, which MLB stars will suit up for the Dominican Republic as the country tries to bounce back from a first-round exit and win its second WBC title? Here’s a look.

Read Just Baseball’s complete Team DR roster preview.

Team Venezuela
By Taylor Greenhut

All of the major players are looking to take the crown in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, with Team USA and Team Japan as the clear favorites. Venezuela will be entering the tournament looking to play spoiler and take this year’s crown after having up-and-down showings in the previous iterations of this tournament.

In the original 2006 World Baseball Classic, Venezuela finished with a 3-3 record, failing to make it out of the second round of pool play. They followed up this performance in 2009 with a stellar 6-2 record, winning Pool C over powerhouses like the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the United States. After knocking off Puerto Rico and the USA for a second time in the tournament, Venezuela was eliminated in the semi-finals by South Korea.

The next two WBCs for Team Venezuela were not nearly as kind. In 2013, they went 1-2 and failed to qualify for the second round. 2017 was an even worse showing, failing to win a game (0-3). In previous years, this showing would have caused Venezuela to then have to qualify for the next tournament, but due to the pandemic, it was announced that all 16 national teams would automatically qualify.

Venezuela stormed back with a vengeance in 2023, going 4-0 in pool play, with wins over the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and Israel. They entered the quarterfinals in Miami, facing off against the United States of America. In a thrilling game that featured 16 runs, 23 hits, and over 10 future Hall of Famers, the USA eliminated Venezuela in a famously heartbreaking fashion.

Full rosters and coaching staffs have officially been released, and this just may be the best team Venezuela has ever rostered. Let’s take a look at who they are.

Read Just Baseball’s complete Team Venezuela roster preview.

Team Netherlands
By Gabe Shumway

European countries aren’t often known for their historic baseball programs. But baseball (or honkbal) is popular in the Netherlands, and thanks to the Dutch Antilles, Team Netherlands also includes a slew of players from small islands with huge baseball followings.

Curaçao has produced 17 MLB players with an estimated population of just 180,000. That is similar to the population of Cary, NC, which hosts Team USA training camps.

Pair this with Aruba, the island that produced Xander Bogaerts, and players from the Netherlands who compete in foreign leagues or the domestic league, and there’s a solid team forming.

The Netherlands were history-making underdogs who went on runs to the WBC semi-finals in both 2013 and 2017. The 2023 WBC produced a crazy result, with all five teams in Pool A finishing 2-2, and the Netherlands missed out on advancing due to tiebreakers.

This time around, the Netherlands still has a strong group. While many of their best players are past their prime in MLB, they have plenty of guys with big league experience. Combine those players with a few promising youngsters making their way through the minors, and this is a turning point event that could usher in the next generation of Dutch stars.

Read Just Baseball’s complete Team Netherlands roster preview.

Team Israel
By Cai Rogers

As the World Baseball Classic approaches, anticipation for the tournament intensifies, particularly following the release of the full rosters for all 20 teams.

Israel has built one of its more experienced rosters to date, and this team is looking to shock some people in the baseball world.

Team Israel played in the qualifiers in 2013 but didn’t make the cut for the main tournament. Their first appearance in the WBC was in 2017, when they were one of the lowest-ranked competing teams and a true underdog.

That underdog squad impressively swept their pool, which included three countries ranked in the top 10 (South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and the Netherlands), advancing to the second round.

Israel continued its impressive run, winning the first game of the second round against Cuba, but ended up falling in the next two games against the Netherlands and Japan.

The 2023 WBC didn’t go as well for Team Israel, as they failed to advance to the next round after losing three of four pool play games, including back-to-back 10-0 shutouts against Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

With several returning members and a couple of big new faces, this team is looking to revive some of that 2017 magic and make it out of pool play for the second time in its history.

Read Just Baseball’s complete Team Israel roster preview.

Team Nicaragua
By Leo Morgenstern

Nicaragua is a baseball country, and now, the rest of the world is starting to take notice.

After failing to qualify in 2013 or 2017, Nicaragua finally debuted in the World Baseball Classic in 2023. No one could have expected Team Nicaragua to beat Venezuela, Puerto Rico, or the Dominican Republic, but their 3-1 loss against Israel was a tough blow, especially since it meant they had to qualify all over again for the 2026 tournament.

Now, however, that 0-4 performance is in the past. Team Nicaragua has qualified again, and they’re headed to their second WBC with a team led by several major leaguers and made up almost entirely of players with experience in affiliated ball.

They’ll be playing in Pool D, against the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the Netherlands, and Israel. That’s three of the four teams they lost to in 2023, with the Netherlands swapped in for Puerto Rico. The DR and Venezuela are the favorites, with the Dutch team a dark horse to advance.

Needless to say, Team Nicaragua is an underdog, but this squad has enough talent to make things interesting. Their number one goal will be to guarantee themselves a spot in the next WBC, but you never know, a bigger upset is always possible.

Let’s take a closer look at the roster that could bring Nicaragua its first win in the World Baseball Classic.

Read Just Baseball’s complete Team Nicaragua roster preview.

World Baseball Classic Pool B Schedule

Here’s when to watch every game the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Israel, and Nicaragua will play leading up to and during the 2026 WBC.

Exhibition Games

Pool Play

Knockout Rounds