World Baseball Classic 2013 Bracket: Complete Forecast for Every Region

The top two teams of Pool A and Pool B have advanced to the second round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic through Tuesday.

There's still plenty of WBC action on the schedule, though. The top two teams of Pool C and Pool D have yet to be determined in the first round.

But why wait for the 2013 WBC to play out when you can predict it all? 

Well, that's at least what I'm attempting to do with this piece. Here's a look at how I see the rest of the 2013 World Baseball Classic going down.

Check out WorldBaseballClassic.com for the complete bracket.

Pool C: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Teams: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, Venezuela

Prediction: Dominican Republic and Venezuela Advance

The Dominican Republic is certainly a title contender this year. While the club finished fourth and ninth in the 2006 and 2009 WBC, respectively, the talent is definitely there.

The Dominicans sport an astounding 21 Major League Baseball players.

They boast such players as outfielder Nelson Cruz, young catcher Carlos Santana and infielders Robinson Cano, Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion and Erick Aybar.

On the mound, they have left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, right-hander Edinson Volquez and relievers Fernando Rodney, Santiago Casilla and veteran Octavio Dotel.

This team is stacked.

As for Venezuela, the club has 16 Major League Baseball players.

The Venezuelans have Miguel Montero at catcher, Elvis Andrus, Asdrubal Cabrera, Miguel Cabrera, Omar Infante, Pablo Sandoval and Marco Scutaro in the infield, and Carlos Gonzalez, Martin Prado and Gerardo Parra in the outfield.

On the mound, Venezuela has right-handers Anibal Sanchez and Jhoulys Chacin and relievers Ronald Belisario and Jose Mijares.

Pool D: Phoenix, Ariz.

Teams: Canada, Italy, Mexico, USA

Prediction: USA and Mexico Advance

USA has failed to capitalize in its last two WBC appearances, but the squad has never lost in the first round. That doesn't figure to change in 2013.

The Americans boast 16 All-Stars, three MVPs and one Cy Young Award winner. At catcher, they have 2009 American League MVP Joe Mauer. In the infield, they have David Wright, Mark Teixeira, Brandon Phillips, 2007 National League MVP Jimmy Rollins and the underrated Ben Zobrist.

In the outfield, they feature 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun, Giancarlo Stanton, Adam Jones and veteran Shane Victorino.

On the mound, USA has 2012 Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, starting pitchers Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Vogelsong and Ross Detwiler and relievers Craig Kimbrel, Chris Perez and left-hander Jeremy Affeldt.

That is a load of talent.

It's going to be interesting who else advances in Pool D, though. It's between Mexico and Canada for me, but I ultimately see Mexico advancing.

Mexico not only has four-time All-Star Adrian Gonzalez and speedy second baseman Danny Espinosa, it also sports right-handers Yovani Gallardo and Miguel Gonzalez and relievers Sergio Romo, David Hernandez and Oliver Perez. 

It may be tough for this team to score a lot of runs (although having Gonzalez helps), but the pitching doesn't figure to give up a lot of runs, either.

Pool 1 (Second Round): Tokyo

Teams: Cuba, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Netherlands

Prediction: Cuba and Japan Advance

Japan may be without Ichiro Suzuki, right-hander Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka this year, but the defending champion has still shown promise, playing small-ball on offense and pitching well.

Japan scored 10 runs in two games in the first round despite batting .220. That's because the Japanese had 12 walks and three stolen bases in those games, while using sacrifices to get runners in scoring position.

The defending champs also posted a 2.00 ERA and 0.78 WHIP in those games, posting 23 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched.

Cuba—led by phenom Jose Dariel Abreu—has looked scary so far. The team batted .333 in two games with 17 runs and seven extra-base hits (two home runs) in the first round.

Cuba also gave up just two runs (zero earned) to Brazil and China in the first round. That includes 19 strikeouts in 16 innings.

The offense figures to carry Cuba to the championship round.

Pool 2 (Second Round): Miami, Fla.

Teams: Dominican Republic, Venezuela, USA, Mexico

Prediction: USA and Venezuela Advance

Based on talent, you would think the USA would get to the championship round again this year after finishing fourth in 2009. The Americans also have the pitching. When it comes to talent, nobody comes close to the Americans in the batter's box or on the mound.

Venezuela, which finished third in 2009, is my other choice to advance. The Dominican Republic has an outstanding offense, but Venezuela boasts plenty of All-Stars itself. Plus, Venezuela has a couple relievers to get the job done.

Championship Round: San Francisco, Calif.

Teams: Cuba, Japan, USA, Venezuela

Prediction: USA

I see Cuba (the Pool 1 winner) facing Venezuela (the Pool 2 runner-up) in the championship round. I also see Japan (the Pool 1 runner-up) facing USA (the Pool 2 winner).

In that scenario, I like Venezuela over Cuba based on its overall talent on offense and its pitching. I like USA over Japan because I believe the losses of Ichiro, Darvish and Matsuzaka will ultimately make a difference this year.

In the final, USA beats Venezuela. The Venezuelans will surely make life difficult on the Americans, but R.A. Dickey isn't a bad pitcher himself, and the Americans still can outhit the Venezuelans. 

This will be the year USA's talent finally shows up.