World Baseball Classic 2013: Dominance vs. Germany Highlights Canada's Potential

This is a far different team for Canada than the one that left the 2009 World Baseball Classic without a win. 

This team has some exciting young talent and a powerful lineup. Both were on display in their qualifying-round, 16-7 rout over Germany. 

As a result of their winless trip to the 2009 WBC, Canada has been forced to navigate through the 16-team qualifying process. 

The 16 teams are broken up into four groups, with the winner of each group advancing to next year's tournament. 

With the win over Germany, Canada is 2-0 and just one more win away from earning their place in the tournament. On Monday, they will face the winner of the upcoming Germany-Great Britain contest. Canada beat Great Britain 11-1 in the opener. 

Not that the opponent for that one will matter much; this Canadian lineup will not be stopped. 

Canada is the defending Pan-American Games champions, and they are currently ranked No. 5 in the world. They looked every bit of that No. 5 ranking as they bashed five home runs against Germany. 

Canada doesn't feature names that fans of Major League Baseball will recognize, unless those fans also like to follow top prospects in the minors. 

The most notable of those young prospects is Tyson Gillies, a 23-year-old in the Phillies' minor league system.

Gillies was 3-for-5 with two RBI in the opening win over Great Britain and that included a triple and a double.

He followed that up with another 3-for-5 performance against Germany, and in this game, his three hits included a home run, and he hasn't even been their strongest contributor. 

Jimmy Van Ostrand, a 28-year-old first baseman in the Washington Nationals' farm system, belted two home runs against Germany to push his two-game home run total to three.

He finished the Germany game 4-for-6 with five RBI.  

Canada has put together a capable lineup from top to bottom, and if those guys are hot, this team can hang with anyone.