World Classic: Three things that could prevent the United States from winning

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is now underway, having kicked off with two games: one won by Australia over Chinese Taipei and the other won by South Korea over the Czech Republic.

However, all eyes will be on the United States in this international tournament, which features stars such as Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, and Bobby Witt Jr., as well as the two reigning Cy Young Award winners, Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes, to name a few.

At first glance, one might think that the Americans are unbeatable. And that's almost true. But three factors could tip the scales for the US team.

Starting with the pitchers, not because they aren't elite, but rather because they won't be able to pitch at full capacity.

In fact, the pitchers' appearances are limited by rules governing the number of pitches and rest periods, as well as by instructions from their MLB teams. Skubal is therefore expected to make only one start, while Skenes, along with all the other pitchers, is limited to 65 pitches in the group stage.

Moreover, although Skenes will make two starts, he will not be able to pitch in the final if the Americans make it there, as the Pittsburgh Pirates do not want his appearances to be too far apart.

It's going to affect the show. https://t.co/fCy2teth03

— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) March 4, 2026

Then there's the fact that the United States is built more on power than contact, which means strikeouts could hurt them. They lost the 2023 WBC final to Japan 3–2, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and striking out eight times. Only two solo home runs made it onto the scoreboard.

Finally, Japan. It's true that the Japanese are less well-equipped than in the last edition of the Classic, but with Shohei Ohtani leading the way and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is a much better pitcher and more experienced than in 2023, they should never be underestimated.

All this to say that the United States is clearly the favorite to win the competition, but they could also stumble along the way.

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