Here we go! A fun World Baseball Classic comes to its conclusion Tuesday. The United States did something that seemed nigh impossible in keeping the Dominican Republic bats in check. Venezuela came from behind to take down Italy. Now, in a game with zero geopolitical reverberation, the Americans and the Venezuelans will square off to name the WBC champion for 2026.
One last time, we have single-game competitions on DraftKings. You have $50,000 in salary for six players. That includes your Captain, who nets 1.5 times the points, but with an elevated salary. You can roster a starting pitcher if you want. Fittingly for St. Patrick's Day, the United States is expected to start Nolan McLean. Venezuela is primed to tap Eduardo Rodriguez. Of course, Michael Lorenzen was primed to start for Italy on Monday but was yoinked out of the lineup at the last minute, so we shall see.
First pitch in the WBC title game is at 8 p.m. ET. Here is the lineup I landed on.
Captain
Bobby Witt, USA vs. VEN ($14,100): The lefty Rodriguez has an ERA over 5.00 and an HR/9 rate over 1.4 the last couple seasons with the Diamondbacks. Witt hasn't shown a ton of power in this tournament, but he has a .423 OBP with two doubles and three stolen bases. We know the Royals shortstop has power, though. He's slugged .504 in his MLB career and has two 30-homer seasons to his name. I wanted a righty from the United states for my Captain, and I'm going with Witt.
Utility
Ronald Acuna, VEN vs. USA ($9,800): A healthy Acuna is a wonderful thing for baseball, and it's certainly been a benefit to Venezuela to have the one-time MVP in fine form. Leading off for his country, the outfielder has slashed .261/.414/.565 with two homers and two stolen bases. Let's not forget what Acuna did at his peak (to date): 41 home runs, 73 stolen bases. McLean is a promising pitcher for the Mets, but he flubbed his one start in this tournament, so we shall see how things go with the stakes even higher here.
Maikel Garcia, VEN vs. USA ($8,000): One of the Royals' two best hitters is going to leave this game a champion (apologies Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, the latter of who is Venezuelan as well). Garcia has actually outperformed Acuna, having batted .435 and slugged .652. Sure, he's not that good, but nobody is. Players do hit like that for six-or-seven games at a stretch, though. One of the strengths of the American squad is the bullpen, which has been valuable in a tournament where starters haven't been going deep. However, the fact Padres manager Craig Stammen has said that Mason Miller's availability for this game is up in the air is a reminder that, with the MLB season approaching, priorities are now getting complicated.
Gunnar Henderson, USA vs. VEN ($7,200): Henderson has played himself into the USA's lineup. He's hit .429 and slugged .929. This is a guy who, in a down year, hit .274 with 17 homers, 34 doubles, and 30 stolen bases in 2025. Henderson is a lefty, as is Rodriguez. However, interestingly lefties hit .303 against Rodriguez in 2025. Second, as previously noted, starters aren't going terribly deep in these games. At most, Henderson would see Rodriguez twice.
Alex Bregman, USA vs. VEN ($6,400): As a righty, I think Bregman has a role Tuesday. He's not having a strong tournament, but he has a .421 OBP, and he's scored three runs and picked up four RBI. The newly-minted Cub has a career .365 OBP and had an .855 OPS against lefties with the Red Sox in 2025. This far down the salary listings, the possibility of Bregman facing a below-average southpaw is worth taking a shot on.
Ezequiel Tovar, VEN vs. USA ($3,800): In MLB, Tovar's home park being Coors Field leads to some tamping down of enthusiasm. It's fair, given his allergy to walks and affinity for striking out. However, the shortstop does deliver counting stats. In 2024, his last healthy season, Tovar had 26 homers, four triples, and 45 doubles. For Venezuela, Tovar has batted .462 and slugged .692. He's had a remarkable tournament, and if you can get a guy with a .462 batting average at this salary, well, why wouldn't you?
