Who is favored to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic? Expert predictions and analysis

The World Baseball Classic 2023 is finally here. With 20 international teams gearing up to compete over the course of the next two weeks, MLB fans are curious to know which team is favored to win the championship.

Forecasts and insights from reputed MLB analysts for the 2023 World Baseball Classic:

World Baseball Classic, championship round, Game 3: United States vs. Puerto Rico

Mark Feinsand believes that the United States will defeat Cuba in the first semifinal, and the Dominican Republic will defeat Japan in the second semifinal. According to Feinsand, the Dominican Republic has a better chance of winning the World Baseball Classic than the United States. Feinsand believes that Manny Machado will be the MVP.

Michael Clair predicted that Korea will defeat the Dominican Republic in Semifinal 1, Japan will defeat the USA in Semifinal 2, Korea will emerge victorious over Japan in the championship, and Chang-Mo Koo will be the MVP.

David Venn predicted that Korea will defeat Mexico in the first semifinal, the Dominican Republic will defeat Japan in the second semifinal and the Dominican Republic will go on to win the championship with Rafael Devers being named MVP.

Andrew Simon predicted Mexico to defeat Korea in semifinal 1, Japan to defeat the USA in semifinal 2, Japan to become the champions by beating Mexico in the World Baseball Classic and Shohei Ohtani from Japan to be named the MVP.

Efrain Ruiz Pantin predicted that Japan will win Semifinal 1 against Venezuela, the Dominican Republic will win Semifinal 2 against Korea and Japan will win the Championship against the Dominican Republic with Munetaka Murakami (Japan) as the Most Valuable Player.

Mike Petriello predicted that the Dominican Republic will defeat Korea in the first semifinal, Japan will defeat the USA in the second semifinal and Japan will defeat the Dominican Republic in the championship, with Roki Sasaki from Japan being named MVP.

Ricardo Montes de Oca predicted that in the semifinals, the Dominican Republic will beat Cuba and Japan will beat Venezuela, and in the championship game Japan will beat the Dominican Republic with Shohei Ohtani being named MVP.

Matt Monagan predicted that the Dominican Republic will beat the Netherlands in the first semifinal, the USA will beat Japan in the second semifinal and the Dominican Republic will beat the USA in the championship, with Julio Rodríguez from the Dominican Republic being named MVP.

Sarah Langs predicted that the Dominican Republic will defeat Cuba in the first semifinal, Japan will defeat the USA in the second semifinal and the Dominican Republic will then defeat Japan in the championship game, with Jeremy Peña of the Dominican Republic being named MVP.

Thomas Harrigan predicted that the Dominican Republic will defeat Korea in the first semifinal, Venezuela will defeat Japan in the second semifinal, Venezuela will defeat the Dominican Republic in the championship and Ronald Acuña Jr. (Venezuela) will be the MVP.

David Adler predicted that the Dominican Republic will defeat Italy in the first semifinal, the USA will defeat Japan in the second semifinal and the USA will win the World Baseball Classic over the Dominican Republic, with Trea Turner from the USA being named MVP.

At 11 p.m. EST on Thursday, Cuba and the Netherlands are slated to face off. The final game will take place on March 21 in Miami, Florida. On that day, the final two teams will face off against one another in the championship game.