Welcome to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic! Friday brings us the two first quarterfinal games. At 6:30 p.m. ET it's South Korea against the Dominican Republic. We must also welcome the Korean squad to the DFS space, because in group play it was playing late at night or early in the morning, and thus outside the DFS docket. Then, we have a matchup Olympic hockey primed us for: USA against Canada. The Americans had to sweat it out after losing to Italy, but the Italians vanquished Mexico to pave the way for the USA. And, of course, many joke that the Italian team is just the American "B" team, but that's not true. I'll have you know reserve outfielder Dante Nori was born in Toronto…and raised in Michigan. Seriously, though, shout out to Sam Aldegheri, who was born and raised in Italy.
Here are my World Baseball Classic DFS recommendations for Friday's two quarterfinal matchups.
Pitching
Cristopher Sanchez, DOM vs. KOR ($8,200): Sanchez was the runner-up for the NL Cy Young last year and his salary is $200 under Logan Webb, the American starter. The Korean roster is heavy in KBO players, with a couple MLB players like Jung Hoo Lee and Jahmai Jones in the mix. Canada did better than Korea in a tougher group as well. Thus, I like Sanchez. The question really is who is your second starter. I'd go with whoever Korea lands on as opposed to Michael Soroka. Then, just hope this game is low scoring and that maybe a starting pitcher is able to pick up a win for once in this tournament.
Top Target
Though Josh Naylor ($4,700) hasn't shown a lot of power in this tournament, he's slugged .464 since 2022. Last season he hit 20 homers and 29 doubles, and the first baseman stole 30 bases as well. Logan Webb doesn't allow homers at all, but he is a righty, and lefties hit .286 against him last year with the Giants. Plus, again, teams are getting into the bullpen early in the World Baseball Classic.
Bargain Bat
In terms of plate appearances for the American squad, we're talking Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and then Roman Anthony ($3,800). He has an 1.007 OPS in this tournament, and he had a .396 OBP with the Red Sox in 71 games as a rookie. The righty Soroka is starting for Canada, and since injuries derailed his career he's allowed 1.47 homers per nine innings.
Stack to Consider
Dominican Republic vs. South Korea (TBD): Vladimir Guerrero ($5,500), Ketel Marte ($5,200), Junior Caminero ($4,900)
Hyun Jin Ryu, who pitched in MLB for a decade, is now 38 and pitching in Korea. He would be in line to start based on rest, though. The other Korean pitcher you may have heard of (if you don't follow the KBO) is Dane Dunning, who is now in his thirties and signing minor league deals to try and hang on to his career. Yes, I suggested you may want to roster Korea's starter when named, but that's because you have to have two pitchers on your roster and if you go with Webb and Sanchez you are going to really be up against it for the rest of your roster. The Dominican squad has been tearing the cover off the ball, and this stack covers your bases. Just in case it is Ryu who starts, since he is a lefty it helps all three of these guys can hit right handed.
The Guerrero of the 2025 playoffs is still here. He has an 1.583 OPS and has hit two homers. Vladito is also a career .288 hitter in MLB, and he doesn't even turn 27 for another few days. Marte has missed significant time each of the last two seasons, but also posted a .913 OPS over the last two seasons while playing second base. Since 2023 the switch-hitting Marte has an .852 OPS against righties, but against lefties he has a .955 OPS. Caminero has an 1.089 OPS for the Dominican Republic team and is getting the "Look out for his this season!" articles written up about him. Of course, the 22-year-old hit 45 home runs for the Rays last year, so everybody should be looking out for him anyway. It appears Caminero is primed to be a preeminent righty slugger.
