The 2026 World Baseball Classic is nearly upon us, featuring four pools: A, B, C and D. Each pool sees five teams battling in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each pool advance to the quarterfinals, followed by a single-elimination tournament.
Pool A Overview
Pool A may be the most balanced of the four in the 2026 Classic. Colombia and Panama have improved dramatically over the last decade. Both may be boasting their best teams ever, with veteran pitching and Major League hitting. Even without Freddie Freeman, Canada have added young MLBers to give them the most exciting outfield in Pool A.
Cuba boasts star pitchers from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and tournament-experienced stalwarts. Puerto Rico lost some stars due to health issues. Despite that, as an island overflowing with big league talent, they have a very good shot at advancing.
Key Players in Pool A
Looking at the rosters for Pool A, there aren’t really too many superstars who jump out. Maybe that’s why it’ll be such an evenly matched first round. Puerto Rico probably still has the most well-known names, like Edwin Díaz coming out of the bullpen and Nolan Arenado at third base. There’s also Seth Lugo on the mound and Heliot Ramos cruising around the outfield. Canada has the Naylor brothers (Josh and Bo), Tyler O’Neill and defensive magician Denzel Clarke, plus Jameson Taillon as an ace starter.
Colombia has two veteran names at the top of its rotation in Jose Quintana and Julio Teheran, with Gio Urshela defending at the hot corner. Panama features defensive whiz José Caballero in its infield and Edmundo Sosa in the outfield. Cuba … well … do you remember Alexei Ramirez? The 44-year-old former MLB All-Star is back playing for his home country.
Ones to Watch
Canada features the top-ranked prospect in Pool A (No. 42 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100) in the Marlins’ Owen Caissie. He homered in the ‘23 WBC and had a superb year in Triple-A in 2025. Puerto Rico’s Elmer Rodríguez is the No. 3 prospect in the Yankees’ system, and his arm has looked fantastic in early Spring.
With the 2026 tournament getting underway this week, fans can look forward to seeing how these players perform on the international stage.