There's some more business to attend to for the World Baseball Classic teams before we more on to the next stage of this tournament. Some expectations have been met. Brazil is terrible. The Dominican Republic is crushing it. Neither of those teams are on the Tuesday slate, though. We have three games. Israel faces the Netherlands, Canada takes on Puerto Rico, and the United States faces Italy (a roster almost exclusively comprised of Americans with Italian heritage). First pitch it as 7 p.m. ET. Here are my WBC DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Ryjeteri Merite, NED vs. ISR ($6,500): Pitching has been the trickiest element to nail down in the World Baseball Classic, so when a starter is tapped early, the matchup is reasonable, and the salary is workable, I am essentially interested already before even getting to the pitcher in question. Israel and the Netherlands are both mid-tier teams in this tournament, the kind who get beaten by the best but can beat the worst. Merite is in the Reds' system, and he's only 20. However, he may someday be an MLB pitcher, and Israel only has a few MLBers or guys with MLB potential.
Jordan Balazovic, CAN at PRO ($6,200): It might be time for Seth Lugo to start again for Puerto Rico, so from a salary perspective given the nature of this tournament I'm going Balazovic. Lugo has the highest salary of any pitcher Tuesday. Balazovic pitched in Triple-A last year and has previously pitched in Korea, but he's 27 and does have major-league experience (for one start in 2023). Puerto Rico is not an easy lineup to face, but it's not one of the tournament's top lineups, so Balazovic is worth a shot.
Top Target
Maybe the fact Alex Bregman ($4,600) has been a staple of the American lineup means he'll get some time off against Italy, but he's been out there getting on base, and he is a right-handed hitter who has an .818 OPS versus righties since 2023. He's also good against lefties, which makes him "matchup-proof" in a way. This could be Aaron Nola's turn to start for Italy, but even if it is, he had a 6.01 ERA for Philadelphia in 2025.
Bargain Bat
In terms of your catcher, Canada's Bo Naylor ($3,200) has been behind the plate for both of his country's games thus far, and he's picked up three hits. Like his brother Josh, Bo is a lefty, but Puerto Rico is not stocked with southpaw pitchers. Jovani Moran is probably the best left-handed pitcher the country's roster has, and he has a career 4.26 ERA in MLB.
Stack to Consider
Netherlands vs. Israel (TBD): Ozzie Albies ($5,400), Xander Bogaerts ($4,200), Druw Jones ($2,800)
The Israeli pitching staff was just rocked by the Dominican Republic on Monday, and Dean Kremer pitched Sunday, so the cupboard is bare. Thanks to the power of imperialism, the Netherlands can tap into the Caribbean for some talent, and for a change of pace I figured stacking a lineup that isn't American makes sense.
Albies has the sole home run for the Netherlands' squad thus far. He's a good microcosm of the perspective shift the WBS offers. In MLB, you look at his 2025 season with Atlanta wherein he hit .240 with 16 home runs and 14 stolen bases and it looks solid, but doesn't live up to what he did in the past, and it doesn't make him one of the best second baseman in MLB. In this tournament, though, he's a switch-hitting middle infielder who had double-digit homers and stolen bases in a league many of these players have never played in, so he stands out as a top option. Bogaerts has eligibility at second base and shortstop, so you can roster both him and Albies. He doesn't have a lot of power, but he hit 30 doubles in 2025 and hasn't hit under .263 in a decade. The Padre has pitched up three hits in this tournament. Jones, the son of newly-minted Hall of Famer Andruw Jones, was the second-overall pick in 2022. He played in High-A last season and had 25 doubles and five triples. Jones is hitting .500 in this tournament, and while that's in the course of six at-bats, it shows he has not been overmatched.
