Finding an edge in the Dominican Republic’s opening World Baseball Classic against Nicaragua takes some creativity considering they are favored by 4.5 runs at DraftKings on Friday.
The Dominicans opened with the second-shortest odds to win the tournament behind the Americans at +330 and their roster muscle showcases why.
They posted 16 runs across their two exhibition games against the Detroit Tigers this week.
Juan Soto connected for a home run in both of those outings, going 4-for-7 with 3 RBIs.
The Mets’ superstar brings one of the game’s most discerning set of eyes for the strike zone to the Dominican clubhouse; no player in the big leagues chased pitches outside the zone less than Soto’s 15.9 percent clip last year.
Of course, this leads to a bounty of walks (he led MLB with 127 in 160 games in 2025), but the upside for long balls makes him a consistent threat.
World Baseball Classic: Dominican Republic vs. Nicaragua odds, prediction
Soto finished with 43 home runs in his first year in Queens, a career-high that ranked seventh in MLB.
His Statcast profile is beaming with fire-engine red, finishing in the 99th percentile in some of the game’s most important advanced hitting metrics: batting run value, xwOBA and xSLG.
All of this translated in the 2023 WBC when he hit two home runs and slashed a preposterous .400/.500/1.000 in 15 AB.
Now, he carries this rhythm into Friday’s game against Nicaragua, who is tied with the worst odds in the field at 400/1. Their manager, Marvin Benard, expressed how they want to represent their country just by avoiding blowouts.
Right-hander Ronald Medrano, a former St. Louis Cardinals prospect, takes the bump after having tossed five innings of one-run ball against South Africa in the WBC qualifiers.
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Medrano struggled in the Mexican League last year, giving up six home runs in 38 innings and a 7.34 ERA.
Soto mashed righties to the tune of 32 home runs and a .276 average for the Mets in 2025.
Even if Medrano is yanked after a few innings, this staff isn’t nearly strong enough to contain Soto’s power.
THE PLAY: Juan Soto to Hit a Home Run (+170, DraftKings)
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Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.