After a 13-year hiatus Baseball is back at the Summer Olympic games in Tokyo. Despite the MLB not allowing players to participate in the games, the tournament will be exciting to watch for possible future MLB players. The six national teams will be divided into two groups of three, then each team will play in the knockout round, the two group winners advance to the second round, while the remaining teams will play each other depending on seeding until the losers of these games are eliminated.
Then the remaining rounds are double elimination where the winners and losers play each other until the gold medal contest. The oddsmakers at FanDuel have put out the odds as to which team has the most chance at capturing Olympic gold in Baseball.
The host nation, Japan comes in as the favorite, but Team USA and Mexico will have something to say about who will claim the top prize in Tokyo. Below are the odds for the Men’s Olympic Baseball competition.
Japan (-105)
Tetsuto Yamada (Getty)
The host country has a long-standing baseball tradition. Japan will rely on their local talents such as former Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Tetsuto Yamada is considered one of the best hitters of the Japanese league and could lead the team to glory.
Team USA (+290)
Triston Casas (Getty)
Team USA is hindered by not being able to have any MLB players on their roster. Team USA will have many future MLB prospects on a grand stage to display what they can do. Todd Frazier and Triston Casas will be key leaders of the United States medal hopes.
South Korea (+550)
Lee Yong-kyu (Getty)
The 2008 Gold Medalists are still in the top three 13 years later. South Korea has been the top baseball nation in Asia over the last few years and despite not having their MLB crop they still have a talented enough side to win a medal.
Mexico (+900)
Adrian Gonzalez (Getty)
Mexico will be bringing in a veteran squad with former MLB players such as Adrian Gonzalez and Oliver Perez. The best players from Mexico are in the MLB and that hurts their chances of winning a medal.
Dominican Republic (+900)
Jose Bautista (Getty)
If the Dominican Republic had their MLB crop, they could seriously fight for gold medal contention. Nonetheless former MLB stars like Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera, and Emilio Bonifacio may help the team make a run, it’s their pitching that is suspect.
