The 2026 World Baseball Classic begins tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET in Tokyo, Japan.
Surprisingly, the festivities won’t involve the defending tournament champion Samurai Japan. Instead, we’ll see a Pool C matchup between dark horse Chinese Taipei and Australia. Chinese Taipei finished 2-2 in pool play at the 2023 WBC, beating the Netherlands and Italy, yet did not advance to the knockout stage due to the run differential tiebreaker. This time around, it’ll be looking to make that next step.
Let’s preview this tilt with the help of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Chinese Taipei vs. Australia prediction, preview
To find itself at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Chinese Taipei had to beat out nations like South Africa, China, Spain and Germany at a qualifying tournament last year. Chinese Taipei had little trouble generating runs at that event, slashing .271/.401/.407 across four contests. As you would expect, the club was once again led by former major leaguer Yu Chang, who hit a pair of home runs and a pair of doubles in the 2023 WBC, finishing with a team-best 1.438 OPS. In the qualifying tournament, Chang hit .389 with a 1.228 OPS over 20 plate appearances. Another former MLB player, Tzu-Wei Lin, also led the way for Chinese Taipei in qualifying, registering an eye-popping .588 OBP.
Still, the main name to know is Jo-Hsi Hsu. The right-hander isn’t simply important because he’ll be starting this evening’s contest for Chinese Taipei, but because he’s a rising star in Asian baseball. Hsu pitched to a 2.05 ERA in 2025 in the CPBL — the lowest mark in the league of any non foreign-born pitcher with at least 100 innings thrown. Hsu’s 9.5 strikeouts per nine also led all qualified starters, as the 5’9, 25-year-old has the ability to touch the upper 90s with his fastball. In fact, Hsu’s campaign was noteworthy enough to earn a three-year, $9.6 million deal from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the NPB, where Hsu will debut later in 2026.
On the other side of this matchup, there’s a few more familiar faces. Alex Wells will toe the rubber for Australia, and while the lefty is currently toiling away in the Geelong Baseball Association back home, he was once an MLB pitcher — if you consider the 2021 Orioles to be a functioning MLB team, that is. Wells threw 42.2 innings that season, surrendering a ghastly 2.11 opponent home runs per nine and managing an equally ugly 6.82 xERA. Wells then strained his UCL in 2022 and was subsequently out-righted to Triple-A. He never appeared at the big league level again, yet the fact that the 29-year-old even has MLB experience is notable on this particular roster, as reliever Jack O’Loughlin is the only other pitcher on Australia’s staff who can make the same claim.
However, there’s some legitimate excitement when it comes to the Aussies’ infield. One-time top prospect, and current White Sox infielder, Curtis Mead will be in the middle of this Australian lineup, along with 2024 first-overall pick Travis Bazzana. For many people, this will be the first real opportunity to watch Bazzana, who posted a 137 wRC+ across Double-A and Triple-A in 2025. The 23-year-old Oregon State product is the No. 20 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, and he will almost assuredly debut for the Guardians at some point in 2026.
Chinese Taipei vs. Australia pick, best bet
Best Bet: Australia +2.5 (+100)
Chinese Taipei is rightfully favored in this contest, as they have superior pitching depth, but I’m having a hard time backing the team at its price on the moneyline. Meanwhile, Australia is throwing its best starter, and it definitely has the two most-potent hitters in this game in its lineup in Bazzana and Mead. Remember, Australia reached the knockout stage in 2023 after upsetting Korea. There’s a track record for Aussie success at the WBC. It’ll keep this close.
