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Korea places seventh in World Baseball Classic power rankings by MLB.com

Published: 03 Mar. 2026, 15:30

Korean national baseball team captain Lee Jung-hoo is seen during an evaluation match between the Korean national team and the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's professional baseball league at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, on March 2. [YONHAP]

Korea may not be a favorite to win, but it’s firmly in the fight. The national team was ranked seventh among the 20 nations set to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), according to power rankings released by MLB.com on Monday.

Japan and the United States — the two finalists in the previous tournament — ranked first and second, respectively. Taiwan, which will compete with Korea for a quarterfinal berth in Group C, was ranked 11th.

MLB.com highlighted several key players for Korea, including major leaguers Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Korean American infielder Shay Whitcomb of the Houston Astros.

“After finishing second back in 2009, they haven't made it out of the group stage since,” MLB.com wrote of the Korean national team. “But there is a lot of talent here, some of which MLB fans are not yet familiar with and some that will bring back fond memories (Hyun Jin Ryu),” referring to the Korean baseball legend Ryu Hyun-jin, who currently plays for the Hanwha Eagles.

Defending champion Japan, ranked No. 1, features active MLB stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of the LA Dodgers, as well as Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs.

The United States, ranked second, boasts Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers as key players.

Korean national baseball team players Kim Hye-seong, left, and Shay Whitcomb are seen in the dugout during training camp at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, on March 1. [YONHAP]

“We all remember how close they came last time, and that was when they didn’t have anything close to the pitching staff they do now,” MLB.com said of the U.S. team.

Taiwan, which the Korean national team manager Ryu Ji-hyun’s squad must defeat in the first round, ranked three spots below Korea at No. 11. MLB.com named Stuart Fairchild of the Tampa Bay Rays and Cheng Tsung-che of Pittsburgh as key players.

Baseball powerhouses from Latin America — the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico — were ranked third through fifth, respectively.

Korea will compete in Group C in the first round of the WBC, which begins on Thursday, facing Japan, Taiwan, Australia and the Czech Republic. The top two teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinal round in Miami.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]