The first candidate to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is the Dominican Republic (DR).

This is evident in the odds of famous American sports betting companies. Draft Kings offered +200 in the Dominican Republic, +225 in the United States, and +280 in Japan as winning odds, respectively. BetMGM also announced odds of +200, +250, and +350 in the same order, respectively. The lower the odds, the higher the chance of winning.

The Dominican Republic’s probability of winning is expected to be the highest because it has the most stable power across the pitch. The national team was composed of the best players in the major leagues, such as Cy Young Young pitcher, World Series MVP, Rookie of the Year outfielder, MVP second place infielder, and 21st century Ted Williams. It is a country nicknamed ‘the strongest in the universe’.

Apparently, the frontrunner to lead the Dominican Republic to the championship should be Sandy Alcantara (Miami Marlins). He was last year’s National League unanimous Cy Young Award winner. All 30 members of the BBWAA voting reporters voted first for Alcantara.

He pitched 228⅔ innings in 32 games, going 14-9 with a 2.28 earned run average and 207 strikeouts. He is a rare ‘inning eater’ these days, as he pitched six complete games. 온라인카지노

The Dominican Republic competes in Group D with Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Israel and Nicaragua. Venezuela and Puerto Rico, which are also home to major leaguers, are difficult opponents, but there is a high chance that they will advance to the quarterfinals with a top spot in the group. In that case, the runner-up in Group C will face Mexico or Canada.

There is a high possibility of competing for supremacy with the United States or Japan if the Dominican Republic goes to the final. The quarterfinals will be held on March 18th, the semifinals on the 20th and the final on the 22nd. Alcantara will share the crucial game with second starter Christian Javier (Houston Astros). Javier was the team’s no-hitter starter in Game 4 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies last year.

The bullpen to support the strongest one-two punch of the Dominican Republic is evaluated to be powerful, including Rafael Montero, Hector Neris (above Houston), Gregory Soto (Philadelphia), and Camilo Dobal (San Francisco Giants).

The next line-up is Juan Soto, Manny Machado (San Diego Padres), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays), Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox), Wander Franco (Tampa Bay Rays), Teosca Hernandez, Julio Rodriguez (Seattle Mariners). , and Jeremy Pena (Houston).

The Dominican Republic is the winner of the 3rd competition in 2013. It is natural to aim for supremacy after 10 years. In August of last year, Alcantara expressed its will to participate in the WBC and said, “All players will try to win as much as they represent the country.”

Alcantara, who left his country at the age of 17 in 2013 and joined the St. Louis Cardinals with a contract of only $125,000, made his major league debut in September 2017 after four years of minor league play. After being traded to Miami at the end of that year, he started to see the light, spending his first full-time season in 2019, rising to a top pitcher, and finally winning the Cy Young Award last year.

Alcantara signed a five-year, $56 million long-term contract in November 2021, and cannot leave Miami until 2027, including a team option. Although the situation at the time of the contract was very different from now, the Miami club can hold the major league’s strongest ace for another five years at an annual average of $11.2 million at a “cheap price.”

Alcantara is the only one among 13 active Cy Young Young pitchers to participate in this WBC. Justin Verlander (New York Yankees), Robbie Ray (Seattle), Corbin Burns (Milwaukee Brewers), Shane Bieber (Cleveland Guardians), Trevor Bauer (FA) ), Jacob deGrom (Texas Rangers), Blake Snell (San Diego), Max Scherzer (New York Mets), Corey Kluber (Boston), Dallas Keuchel (FA), and Jack Greinke (Kansas City) are all voluntary. I decided to protect the team belonging to the other team.