La Mejor Selección Japonesa (Nippon) para el Clásico Mundial (WBC) 2026🔥
In this video, I’ll show you the best Japanese national team for the 2026 World Cup Classic. Can the Samurai take home that coveted 4th crown? Hi, I’m Erick. And this is part of a series where I bring you the best national team picks for the 2026 World Cup Classic. In this one, we’ll see the possible roster for the Japanese champion. Remember to stay until the end, where I’ll reveal the keys to this team winning for the 4th time. The Japanese national team has, without a doubt, historically been the best team in this tournament. In the 5 events since 2006, Japan has won 3, and has finished as a semifinalist on the other two occasions. Proving that there’s simply no comparison with their national team when it comes to winning. And as if they needed to prove more, in 2023, they became only the second team to complete an undefeated tournament by winning a historic match against the United States, where we witnessed a confrontation of the best from each country, when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout in the 9th inning of a 3-2 game to take the crown in dramatic fashion. So, let’s see what kind of roster the Samurai will bring to the 2026 tournament: As a leadoff hitter and designated hitter, possibly the best player in the major leagues right now: Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani as a leadoff hitter can provide a high on-base percentage, he can steal bases, and he can also start the game with a home run. The three-time MVP is the perfect leadoff hitter for this Japanese lineup that must give him as many at-bats as possible each game. As a second hitter and in right field, Seiya Suzuki. Cubs fans know Seiya very well as he has been one of the best Japanese hitters to transfer to the MLB from Japan. In 2025, at the time of recording this video, he is in second place in the National League in RBIs. Batting third and in left field is Kensuke Kondoh. Kondoh is one of the best Japanese players right now. In 2024, he won the MVP of the Pacific League in Japan and an award as the best fielder at his position, having accumulated 21 defensive runs saved. To put that in context, the leader in defensive runs saved in the MLB was Brice Turang of Milwaukee with 22. And Andres Gimenez, who we know has been one of the best defensive players in his career, accumulated 20 in 2024. One less than Kensuke Kondoh. Batting fourth and at third base is Munetaka Murakami. Some of you may have heard of Murakami because he’s been talked about a lot in recent years, due to his interest in exploring a major league contract. And it’s very possible he could play in the major leagues in 2026 for a team looking for a power hitter. In 2022, Murakami broke the J-League record for most home runs in a season by a Japanese-born player when he hit 56 home runs. He surpassed Sudaharu Oh’s record, who had hit 55 in 1964 and who is also the all-time home run leader in Japan with 868 home runs. Batting fifth is Kazuma Okamoto at first base. Another of the best hitters in the J-League, Okamoto had six consecutive years hitting more than 30 home runs per season. Including 41 home runs in 2023. And he’s another Gold Glove Award winner at first base in 2024. Batting 6th and at second base, Shugo Maki. Another excellent hitter who hit 23hr, 33 doubles, and .837 OPS in Japan. Batting 7th and in CF, Lars Nootbar. Nootbar has Japanese roots on his mother’s side and has represented Japan in the previous tournament. And he’s a player who provides solid defense in the outfield and an excellent on-base percentage. Batting 8th and at catcher, Yuddai Yamamoto. Who won the Gold Glove Award at catcher with Japan in 2024. In addition to accumulating a high on-base percentage with a .340 OBP. And batting 9th and at shortstop, Naoki Yoshikawa. Who won the Gold Glove award at 2nd base in Japan and can also play shortstop. On the bench, he would have Masataka Yoshida, Seiya Hosokawa, and Koji Shikamoto as backup outfielders. Yuhei Nakamura and Shogo Sasakura as backup catchers. Hotaka Yamakawa, who finished second in the MVP in Japan behind Kensuke Kondoh, and Ryoya Kurihara, who is A Gold Glove winner in the corners of the infield. And Sosuke Genda as a backup shortstop. The rotation is probably the second-best in the tournament, after the United States. As the first starter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Who everyone knows very well since he commanded a huge contract with the Dodgers two years ago and has had a lot of success in the major leagues. As the second starter, Shota Imanaga. Another who came to MLB at the same time as Yamamoto but not with the same fame. Despite that, he has established himself as one of the best starters in the league with the Cubs. As the third starter, the rookie phenomenon, Roki Sasaki. Who unfortunately has suffered injuries in his first season in the big leagues. But he is a proven player both in Japan and in the World Baseball Classic in 2023. As the fourth starter, Kodai Senga. Someone who isn’t talked about enough, but Mets fans know him well. He’s one of the best Japanese pitchers and the leader in ERA in the major leagues at the time of this video. As the fifth starter, Tomoyuki Sugano. Who, despite that pitcher, had such an excellent season in Japan that he won the MVP in 2024. He now pitches for Baltimore and is having a solid season at the major league level. To this rotation, I would add a sixth starter. And that would be Yu Darvish, who although injured at the moment, is historically one of the best Japanese pitchers in the major leagues and had an excellent season in 2024 before his injury. But that’s not all, in a multi-purpose role, I would have Shohei Ohtani. What do I mean by multi-purpose? Basically, pitch wherever needed. Is he needed as a starter? Pitching as a starter. Or is he needed as an important reliever in a decisive game? Pitching as a closer or coming in at key moments to quell any rally. As the official closer, I would have Taisei Ota. He struck out 62 batters in 46 innings in 2024 in Japan with a 0.78 ERA. He only allowed four runs against him all year. And the rest of the bullpen, Japan could have Kohei Morihara, Shota Suzuki, Yuki Matsui, Sora Suzuki, Koyo Aoyagi, Kenta Maeda, and Yusei Kikuchi. This is a team where we know superstar players like Ohtani and Yamamoto, but other elite players are not well-known in the Western Hemisphere, like Kensuke Kondoh, for example. This led many people to underestimate them when this tournament originated in 2006. But we have already seen that the reality is that the lack of fame on this side of the world does not mean that they do not have immense talent and cannot compete at a high level in international tournaments. Despite that, many people still underestimate them when it comes to designating a favorite for the 2026 tournament. So let’s analyze what those three key factors are for Japan to continue its dominance of this tournament and take home its fourth crown: 1. Maintain discipline. If there’s a team that applies all the fundamentals of baseball year after year, it’s this one. This isn’t a team full of players looking to hit a home run every at-bat, although we know that’s something Ohtani can do. Generally, his case is the opposite. Japan is characterized by looking for ways to generate runs playing small ball. They look for contact, sacrifice bunt, hit-and-run, and overall strategy. This is something that sets them apart when compared to other teams full of superstars with a lot of power, whose goal is generally to hit it out of the park every at-bat. 2. Respect for the opponent. This goes hand in hand with the number 1 seed. But Japan is a team that plays hard regardless of the opponent and never assumes an easy game. From the first strike, this team has a plan of attack and gives 100% intensity from start to finish. This is something we’ve seen other top teams fail at in key games. 3. The unknown factor. The best national teams in the world are located in the Americas, except for Japan and, arguably, Korea. This is something that gives Japan a key advantage. Because the superstars of the top national teams usually play in the MLB and have faced each other before, which eliminates that unknown factor. But, although there are players like Ohtani and other Japanese players in the MLB, at least 50% of the teams are in the Americas. plays in Japan, and they don’t have the same scouting report as a major league player. This could work for or against the Japanese team, but as we’ve seen in previous tournaments, it definitely seems to be working in their favor and is something they must embrace to become champions once again. What do you think? Could another team dethrone the three-time champions, or is it inevitable that, once again, Japan will prove they’re the best in the sport? Let me know what you think in the comments. And see you in the next video!
En este video analizamos la mejor selección de Japan (Nippon) para el World Baseball Classic 2026 (WBC 2026), incluyendo su posible lineup, rotación de lanzadores y bullpen ⚾
この動画では、2026年のワールド・ベースボール・クラシック（WBC 2026）に向けた日本（ニッポン）の最強メンバーを分析します。予想されるラインアップ、先発ローテーション、そしてブルペンを紹介します⚾
Este video menciona jugadores como Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki, Kensuke Kondoh, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga, Yu Darvish, Lars Nootbar, y Munetaka Murakami.
Despues de este video, mira este: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJKnmXkEcHA&t=393s
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All video footage used in this video was sourced from MLB Film Room (https://www.mlb.com/filmroom). Credit to Major League Baseball for making these highlights available to the public. The clips are used for commentary, analysis, and educational purposes under fair use.
Sobre este video:
⚾ En este video analizamos la mejor selección de Japon para el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol 2026 (WBC 2026).
Te presentamos su posible lineup titular, rotación de lanzadores, bullpen y jugadores clave que podrían llevar a Japon a ganar el torneo.
Esta serie cubre las selecciones más fuertes del torneo: República Dominicana, Venezuela, México, Puerto Rico, Japón, Estados Unidos y más.
El playlist completo puede ser accesado aqui: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3ENYbFwKd1u8zXrhfy1SCP-h_ZgUJFcq
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