Dominican Republic’s Best World Baseball Classic Lineup: ‘Plátano Power’ Is Back

Talk about an embarrassment of riches. The Dominican Republic’s roster for this year’s World Baseball Classic is fully-loaded with a “Plátano Power” version of the Avengers’ superhero cast. From Juan Soto to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Ketel Marte to Fernando Tatis Jr. to Manny Machado to Julio Rodriguez to Sandy Alcantara to Carlos Estevez, the ample amount of star power on this roster is dizzying. It’s clear that this high-octane team, managed by future first-ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, has redemption on its mind. In the 2023 WBC, an almost-as-stacked Dominican Republic team did not even advance to the knockout stage. They went 2-2 in the group round, picking up wins over basement dwellers like Israel and Nicaragua before falling to Venezuela and Puerto Rico and getting eliminated from the tournament. It was an unacceptable result for a bona fide baseball nation that’s celebrated for being the top international pipeline for major-league talent. Since the tournament’s inaugural 2006 season, the Dominican Republic has one WBC title, which was won in 2013, and one semifinal appearance. WBC Rosters: Team-By-Team SquadsWBC Power Rankings: Stacking Japan, USA and All 20 Squads The widespread expectations match the country’s talent level. Everyone expects them to be better. So this time, it sure looks like Pujols and his general manager, seven-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Nelson Cruz, were only interested in recruiting the most elite players for every position. There are reinforcements throughout the roster, and this year’s Dominican Republic squad outclasses the 2023 WBC team on every level, which means expectations are once again skyrocketing. So, good luck to opposing pitchers attempting to game plan against this comic-book offense. There is no other way to put it. This Dominican Republic lineup is nuts. Lineup And how would that look defensively? Outfield LF: Juan Soto CF: Julio Rodriguez RF: Fernando Tatis Jr. This will be the everyday outfield alignment, and it is absolutely unmatched. Being able to slot Soto, Rodriguez and Tatis into the same outfield is the stuff movies are made of. There are 10 Silver Slugger awards and 10 All-Star honors between the three of them. And the accolades of this potent team continue climbing in the infield. Infield 1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2B: Ketel Marte SS: Geraldo Perdomo 3B: Manny Machado C: Augustin Ramirez DH: Junior Caminero Most of these positions are mainstays, except for shortstop and catcher. Pujols can swap Perdomo (led the National League with a 7.0 WAR, per Baseball-Reference, last year) for shortstop Jeremy Peña (bounced back after a couple of down years and batted .304 with an .840 OPS for the Astros last season). The D.R. is also rostering catcher Austin Wells behind Ramirez. Wells was inconsistent last year in his sophomore season after finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024, but he still crushed 21 home runs in 126 games. And with Guerrero, Marte, Machacho, Caminero, Soto, Tatis and Rodriguez carrying the offense, Pujols can’t go wrong with however he chooses to fill out the rest of the lineup. Rotation RHP Sandy Alcántara LHP Cristopher Sanchez RHP Luis Severino RHP Brayan Bello Alcántara, the 2022 National League Cy Young award winner, will get the nod against Venezuela in the final matchup of Pool D. Sanchez, who led all major-league pitchers with an 8.0 WAR for the Phillies last season and was snubbed out of an All-Star appearance, will kick off the group stage with his start against Nicaragua. Severino, who was vocally upset about his extreme home/road splits pitching in his first season at the Athletics’ hitter-friendly ballpark, will take the hill against the Netherlands. Bello will take on Israel before the much-anticipated finale of pool play in Miami. Bullpen RHP Carlos Estevez RHP Abner Uribe RHP Dennis Santana LHP Gregory Soto RHP Camilo Doval RHP Huascar Brazoban LHP Wandy Peralta The bullpen, too, is exceptionally strong, led by the 2025 MLB saves leader in Estevez. Behind him, Uribe’s 1.67 ERA ranked third among all major-league relievers last season. Santana turned in his career-best season for the Pirates last year, recording a 2.15 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 70 innings pitched. Consider it a fool’s errand to try and find a weakness on this roster.