The Dominican Republic has the best all-time winning percentage among all of the teams participating in the World Baseball Classic this year with a 14-4 record. The national team will look to defend its 2013 title with another victory in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
World Baseball Classic 2017 odds: Dominican Republic trails USA on WBC betting lines
The United States, Dominican Republic, and Japan are the top three betting favorites for the 2017 World Baseball Classic, which gets underway on March 6.
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The Dominican Republic is going off at +250 to win the tournament at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Manny Machado, Nelson Cruz, and Adrian Beltre lead a loaded offense for the Dominicans that has more than enough power to overcome any potential weaknesses in pitching.
The United States is a +200 favorite to win the World Baseball Classic despite owning a 10-10 all-time record and never having medaled in this event. Like the Dominican Republic, the USA will need to rely heavily on a strong offense powered by hitters like Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt as the pitching staff is not a strength due to many elite veterans deciding not to participate.
The USA and the Dominican Republic will be heavy favorites to advance out of Group C over Canada (+6600 to win the tournament) and Colombia (+15000).
Japan (+300) has a 17-7 all-time record in World Baseball Classic play, and has medaled each of the three times this event has been run. The Japanese won gold in both 2006 and 2009, and settled for bronze in 2013.
Placed in a fairly soft Group B with Cuba (+1800), Australia (+15000), and China (+15000), Japan shouldn’t have much trouble advancing into the knockout round.
A pair of potential dark horse contenders will battle for the top spot in Group D in Venezuela (+900) and Puerto Rico (+1000). Puerto Rico finished in second place in this event last time, and has some talented young infielders to lead the way including Carlos Correa and Javier Baez.
Venezuela has one of the best starting pitchers in the world at its disposal in Felix Hernandez. Group D is rounded out by Mexico (+2500) and Italy (+15000).
Group A should be a pretty easy one for South Korea (+1000) to run through, facing off against Netherlands (+2500), Chinese Taipei (+8000), and Israel (+20000). South Korea finished in third place in this tournament in 2006 and in second place in 2009.
World Baseball Classic Odds (see the complete list at OddsShark)
USA (+200)
Dominican Republic (+250)
Japan (+300)
Venezuela (+900)
Puerto Rico (+1000)
South Korea (+1000)
Cuba (+1800)
Mexico (+2500)
Netherlands (+2500)
