The World Baseball Classic continues Monday. There are three games on the evening DFS slate, including two particularly enticing matchups. We have Puerto Rico versus Cuba, Nicaragua against Venezuela, and the headliner, Mexico against the United States. It's been an interesting tournament, but of course these games do have stakes, and as we get closer to the next round of things, those stakes become even higher. First pitch is at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my DFS recommendations.
Pitching
Yoendrys Gomez, VEN vs. NCA ($7,000): Yes, Gomez had a 5.17 ERA in MLB last season, but he had a 2.12 ERA in Triple-A. With all due respect to the Nicaragua roster, it would be charitable to call it even Triple-A quality. Nicaragua has yet to score more than three runs in a game, and they were just completely held in check by Dean Kremer and the Israel bullpen.
Julio Robaina, CUB vs. PRO ($5,500); Robaina pitches in Mexico, but I thought I'd save some salary and go with the projected starter for Cuba. The matchup with Puerto Rico isn't easy, but it isn't as formidable as, say, what Mexico or Nicaragua's starters have in store for themselves. Starts in this tournament, when they have gone well, have still tended to top out at roughly four innings. If Robaina can handle a short-handed Puerto Rico for a few innings, he'll be worth it from a DFS perspective in this tournament.
Top Target
We may be looking ahead to the 2026 MLB season, but let's not forget what Maikel Garcia ($4,400) did in 2025. Already an astute base stealer for the Royals, the third baseman also hit .286 with 16 homers and 39 doubles last season. I noted that Nicaragua has a relatively poor roster. It would be fair to point out that Brewers hurler Carlos Rodriguez is on the team, but Rodriguez pitched four innings Sunday so won't be pitching in this contest. Garcia and company should be able to tee off on whoever is taking the mound.
Bargain Bat
Instead of defecting to the United States and signing with an MLB team, Ariel Martinez ($3,400) opted to head to Japan instead. He was an NPB all-star in both 2023 and 2024, which isn't quite as impressive as being an MLB all-star but is impressive nonetheless. While it's only been two games, Martinez has slashed .429/.500/.857 for Cuba in the WBC. Puerto Rico has Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz, but they can't rely on going from Lugo to Diaz every game. To that end, Elmer Rodriguez is starting Monday, and he's pitched in one game above Double-A.
Stack to Consider
United States vs. Mexico (Manny Barreda): Kyle Schwarber ($5,500), Alex Bregman ($4,700), Roman Anthony ($3,900)
If the United States has been willing to tee off on Brazil and Great Britain, imagines what level of locked in the team might be against neighboring rivals Mexico. Javier Assad and Taijuan Walker have started for Mexico thus far, but for this matchup, Mexico will turn to Manny Barreda, a 37-year-old righty whose only major-league experience consists of a trio of relief appearances for the Orioles back in 2021. He most recently pitched for the Wei Chuan Dragons in Taiwan.
Schwarber blasted a homer into the upper deck against Great Britain, to the surprise of no one I'm sure. After all, the lefty hit 56 home runs last season, and he's slugged .500 in his career. Bregman hit 18 homers last year, but in 114 games. Since 2023 the righty has slugged .468 against his fellow right-handers. As a 21-year-old rookie, Anthony showed that he's already an above-average hitter. He averaged .282 with 27 extra-base hits in 71 games. The lefty posted a .903 OPS against righties as well.
