These rankings are purely subjective and reflect Extra Innings’ thoughts. Only teams that have played will factor into the power rankings. We will update them regularly. Check previous editions here.
- Cuba (4-1): Took their first loss out on Chinese Taipei
- Dominican Republic (2-0): Did everything right against a scrappy Spain. Showdown coming with Puerto Rico.
- Japan (3-1): A day of rest and the Tokyo Dome might give them an advantage against the Netherlands.
- Netherlands (3-1): Will need to keep doing all the little things right and make a few big plays.
- Puerto Rico (2-0): Eliminated the loaded Venezuelan team and may be better than anticipated
- Italy (2-1): An even bigger surprise than the Dutch, Italy crushed Canada and beat México’s Sergio Romo in the ninth.
- Chinese Taipei (2-3): Unlucky versus Japan and fell apart against Cuba. Hard to tell how good they could be.
- USA (1-1): Righted the ship against Italy, but the Azurri had already qualified. Still not guaranteed a round two appearance.
- Canada (1-1): Beat México, but it was a lot closer than it looked. Brawl soured their appearance.
- Mexico (1-2): Eliminated, and probably will need to qualify, which is a huge upset and not deserved for a team that looked dominant at times.
- Korea (2-1): Still smarting from their tiebreaker elimination.
- Venezuela (0-2): Easily the biggest disappointment of the WBC. Where are those bats?
- Spain (0-2): Hanging tough with some very good teams.
- Brazil (0-3): Came awfully close to going 3-0, but bullpen did not have the depth.
- Australia (0-3): Very poor showing for a ragtag group of minor leaguers with international experience.
- China (1-2): Could not hit at all (.146 average) and only had a couple serviceable arms, but got really lucky.
How would you rank the teams?
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