MLB’s version of the World Cup, the World Baseball Classic (WBC), is about to start in two days.
Four venues, 20 teams, and one champion: we are about to witness a truly entertaining event with some of the best players on the planet.
One of those teams is Venezuela, a country with a sizable contingent of big leaguers on their roster.
Traditionally, Venezuela has been among the strongest teams when it comes to roster quality.
Unfortunately, they haven’t yet shown what they can do on the field in any of the previous four editions of the tournament.
Their only top-three finish came in 2009, when they were third.
They were seventh in the inaugural 2006 edition, 10th in 2013, and eighth in 2017.
According to a WBC specialist and enthusiast, things could be about to change in a positive way.
“I love how people are finally realizing how stacked this team is. Ever since I put out my power rankings at the beginning of the year, they’ve been my #4 ranked team. Once you have it all in front of you, it’s pretty clear this Venezuela team is incredibly underrated,” Shawn Spradling tweeted.
I love how people are finally realizing how stacked this team is. Ever since I put out my power rankings at the beginning of the year, they’ve been my #4 ranked team.
Once you have it all in front of you, it’s pretty clear this Venezuela team is incredibly underrated. 🇻🇪 https://t.co/GhGwIyIYQM
— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) March 6, 2023
The lineup is truly loaded and has a bit of everything: power with Ronald Acuna Jr., Jose Altuve, Salvador Perez, Eugenio Suarez, Anthony Santander and Gleyber Torres; and contact with Luis Arraez, David Peralta and Andres Gimenez.
They also have quality hurlers like Pablo Lopez, Martin Perez, Jesus Luzardo, Ranger Suarez, Luis Garcia, and many others.
They will be captained by future first-ballot Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera.
They may not have as many stars as they did in the past, but the roster looks deep and good enough to make a deep run to the final stages.
NEXT:
Phillies Fans Continue To Wait For An Update On Top Prospect
