After Canada’s sloppy loss to Panama on Sunday evening, it was fair for fans to think that they may have missed a golden opportunity to advance in Pool A. With the Panamanians bowing out of the tournament after their loss to Colombia on Monday morning, things are still very much in play for Canada to advance to the knockout round for the first time in WBC history.

Puerto Rico’s 4-1 win over Cuba last night guarantees their advancement to the next round, making Canada’s matchup with Cuba on Wednesday a winner-take-all game. Regardless of whether they win or lose against Puerto Rico today, the Cuban matchup will dictate who advances. However, winning against both Puerto Rico and Cuba would give Canada the #1 seed, setting them up with a more desirable knockout round matchup.

Despite always being a competitive team with a handful of major leaguers, Canada has never truly been a threat in the WBC. Things have changed over the last few years, with more and more Canadian players making it up to the major leagues and emerging as top prospects.

Despite several big names not appearing in the tournament – namely Freddie Freeman, Nick Pivetta, Cade Smith, and Jonah Tong – the Canucks still sport a solid roster that, for my money, is the best in Pool A. This is aided by Puerto Rico and Cuba also having some notable names missing, but Canada sports more depth than we’ve seen in past iterations of the tournament.

Back in the 2023 classic, Canada had to rely on a 19-year-old Mitch Bratt to start a game – a player who has developed nicely, but hadn’t pitched above A-ball at the time. This year, they can fire out four starters with major league experience, with Jordan Balazovic and Cal Quantrill set to pitch in the last two pool games. Should they advance to the knockout round, Michael Soroka and Jameson Taillon offer them the big game experience that they’ve lacked in past tournaments.

For this year’s squad, captain Josh Naylor offers the most when it comes to production at the highest level of the sport, as well as the leadership to go along with it. He’s locked in the two-hole of the lineup and will be a big factor the rest of the way.

However, by the time we get to the next WBC in 2029 – or perhaps the Olympics in 2028 – Owen Caissie may just be the best hitter that Canada has to offer. After hitting a home run as a 20-year-old back at the 2023 Classic, the left-handed-hitting outfielder has made a mark in both games so far, blasting a home run against Colombia before a deep double to centerfield against Panama. He also contributed defensively against Panama, teaming up with Otto Lopez for an electric relay:

Despite hitting 8th in Ernie Whitt’s lineup, he has proved to be one of Canada’s best hitters and could be poised to move up in the lineup against Puerto Rico today. The twice-traded prospect will play alongside Lopez in Miami this year, and could be ready for a breakout first major league season.

Canada has a great chance to put their loss against Panama behind them over the next two days. There is no doubt that they have the talent to get it done, but for this group, it’s more about getting over the hump. The excitement over the Blue Jays’ World Series run, combined with Canada making some noise in this tournament, would be a great thing for the health of the sport in this country moving forward.

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