2023 World Baseball Classic: Colombia Team Preview

The 2023 World Baseball Classic kicks off on March 7, the first edition of this tournament since 2017. Colombia looks to improve on its 2017 11th-place finish, which was its first year competing in the Classic. The 2023 WBC is must-watch TV for all baseball lovers with the most talent-packed rosters to date. 

It will be tough to top what happened in 2017 when USA’s center fielder Adam Jones robbed his former Orioles teammate Manny Machado of a HR in an elimination game versus the Dominican Republic with the world watching. But I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something that we’ll remember for years. 

Colombia Team Preview: WBC 2023

Colombia opens its 2023 WBC tournament against Mexico on March 11 in Phoenix. Colombia is part of the Pool C group along with the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Great Britain. The Colombian club will get a day off before Game 2 when they face Trayce Thompson and team Great Britain. (Check out the entire World Baseball Classic schedule.)

Here’s the WBC bracket (via MLB.com), with the WBC Championship being played March 21 in Miami. 

WBC: Colombia Roster

Colombia has a handful of solid major league players on their roster, most of them on the hitting side. Their pitching rotation is a little thin, but it’s led by MLB veteran and current New York Mets starter, José Quintana. We could see manager Jolbert Cabrera roll out a lineup that looks like this: 

• Oscar Mercado 
• Harold Ramírez
• Gio Urshela
• Jorge Alfaro
• Jordan Díaz
• Donovan Solano
• Tito Polo
• Gustavo Campero
• Fabian Pertuz

WBC: Colombia Pitchers

Despite the lack of players from the show, Colombia’s pitching is solid, and their talent might surprise some people. The Team Colombia starting rotation should look something like this. 

• José Quintana
• Julio Teheran 
• Nabil Crismatt
• Reiver Sanmartin

The bullpen has plenty of firepower with closer Elkin Alcala and plenty of other flamethrowers. Colombia will also rely on Jhon Romero, Danis Correa and Guillermo Zuniga among others out of the pen. 

Colombia WBC History

• 2006: N/A
• 2009: N/A
• 2013: N/A
• 2017: 11th 

Team Colombia Betting Odds 

via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Colombia to Win WBC: +12000
• Colombia to Win Group – Pool C: +2500 

Be sure to check out the rest of our World Baseball Classic team previews at FTNBets.