World Baseball Classic 2013: Underdog Countries That Can Make a Run

We got a taste of baseball with spring training, and now we have the World Baseball Classic to hold us over until Opening Day.

The Classic presents the chance for players of 16 countries to represent their homeland on the global stage. While usual powerhouses like the United States, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic headline the tournament in 2013, two underdogs are sleeping out there, waiting for their chance.

Netherlands

When baseball comes to mind, you don’t normally think of the Netherlands, but the nation has a few notable names and upcoming studs who can make some noise.

The most prominent Dutch figure is outfielder Andruw Jones. At 35 years of age, Jones has been out of the MLB for a year and is currently playing baseball in Japan. He isn’t the bat or athlete he used to be, but he brings veteran leadership to good, young players like SS Andrelton Simmons of the Atlanta Braves.

The Netherlands has a poor pitching staff—and that’d be the case even if Jair Jurrjens were participating. The bats are going to have to carry the rotation when the team faces a bad offense in Australia and a Korean squad that is overhyped after finishing runner-up in 2009 and will be without Shin-Soo Choo.

Unfortunately, Chinese Taipei will essentially have home-field advantage, so the Dutch may need a little help there, but just like the other two games, it is winnable. The Netherlands is in one of the weaker groups and has a decent shot against all three countries, making the team a strong underdog pick to make it out of this round.

Mexico

Another country with similar aspirations is Mexico—I know, not as big as a shock as the Netherlands, but Mexico is certainly inferior to the other Hispanic nations like Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Mexico is also the little brother in North American baseball behind the United States and Canada, which both happen to be in the same group, along with Italy.

The United States is the heavy favorite to win Pool D, but it seems that Mexico and Canada will be fighting for that second spot. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez leads an average lineup that includes Luis Cruz and Jorge Cantu, but Mexico's pitching will be its savior. The rotation features Yovani Gallardo, Cesar Ramos and Oliver Perez, and waiting in the bullpen to close games is San Francisco’s Sergio Romo.

Although Canada has some big bats in Joey Votto and Justin Morneau, the rest of the lineup leaves much to be desired. The same thing can be said about Canada's starting rotation. The bullpen is full of MLB relievers, but they do not make up for the lack of talent that Canada will be putting out to start the game.

If Gonzalez and company get a few big hits against this rotation and the Mexican starters throw as good their reputations, then Mexico has a shot to take down Canada and advance to the next round.

The Netherlands and Mexico are definitely not the biggest underdogs in this tournament, but with the juggernauts out there, these two nations have the best shot to do some damage in the World Baseball Classic.