The World Baseball Classic pool play kicks off on March 4 with Chinese Taipei and Australia in Tokyo. The next game in Pool C play will be between Czechia and South Korea. It is now time to continue our World Baseball Classic odds series with a Czechia-Korea prediction and pick.
Czechia played in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Pool B, also playing in Tokyo. It was the team's first appearance in the World Baseball Classic. They opened that tournament with an 8-5 win over China, but would struggle the rest of the way. The Czech club lost 10-2 to Japan, 7-3 to Korea, and 8-3 to Australia. Still, a fourth-place finish in the group secured them a spot in the 2026 WBC. The team did compete inthe 2025 European Baseball Championship, defeating Spain 9-2 in the third-place game.
Meanwhile, Korea has had success at the WBC. They finished third in 2006, and they would finish as the runner-up in 2013. Still, they have not had as much success since then. In 2016, they finished 2-2 in pool play, defeating Czechi and China, but falling to Australia and Japan. That gave them a third-place finish, but also qualification for the 2026 games. South Korea played against Japan in friendly matches in November 2025, falling 11-4 and coming away with a 7-7 tie.
Now, the two teams will look to build on their finish from 2023, and it starts with facing each other on Thursday morning.
World Baseball Classic Odds provided by DraftKings.
Czechia vs. Korea Odds
Czechia: +6.5 (+105)
Korea: -6.5 (-130)
Over: 11.5 (-125)
Under: 11.5 (+105)
Czechia vs. Korea Key Injuries
Czechia- Czechia comes into this match-up fairly healthy. Pitcher Daniel Padysak missed the European Championship, but has recovered, and is expected to make the start in this game.
Korea- Pitcher Moon Dong-ju has been expeirence should inflamation, but he is expectedto be available. Catcher Choi Jae-hun will not play due to a fractured finger, while their other catcher, Park Dong-won, has been dealing with a wrist injury. Sung-Mun Song is also out due to having surgery.
Keys to Czechia vs. Korea Matchup
So Hyeong-jun is expected to get the start in his first game of the World Baseball Classic. He was not great in the 2023 WBC, pitching in two games and giving up two runs over 3.1 innings of work. Both appearances were in relief. Still, the 24-year old has found his stride in recent years. In 2025, pitching in the KBO, he pitched in 26 games, making 24 starts. He had a 3.30 ERA over 147.1 innings and a WHIP of 1.249. Hyeong-jun has become a solid strikeout pitcher, striking out 7.5 batters per nine innings, but he will get into trouble when counts are worked. He does not give up the longball, but will give up baserunners, which Czechia needs to take advantage of.
The man who will be in charge of that for the Czech side will be Martin Cervenka. Cervenka signed with the Cleveland Indians at just 17-years old. He would spend time in the minor leagues with the Indians, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Mets, making it to the Triple-A level. He hit well with the Norfolk Tides in 2019, hitting .372. Still, he has been streaky in his career. Cervenka is a contact-style hitter with not much power, but when he is not making contact, strikeouts become an issue.
For Czechia, it is expected to be Daniel Padysak on the mound. The Ameircan born pitcher is currently playing in Japan, and previously pitched at Charleston Southern and Georgia. He has never had dominant stuff and gave up over a hit per inning in his last year at Georgia. Still, when he has been on, he has shown to be a quality reliever in his previous starts. Now, he is expected to make the start here. That is something he has done just five times since 2022. If Korea can get to him early, it will be a short outing for Padysak.
Meanwhile, Korea has the offense to make it a short outing. Jung Ho Lee has shown to be a quality player in MLB and also has previous KBO experience to back it up. He played in the KBO from 2017 through 2023, hitting .340 with 65 home runs and 515 RBIs. In his two seasons in the majors, he has hit .265 with 10 home runs and 63 RBIs. He has the ability to get on base, but also break the game open for the Korean team.
Czechia vs. Korea Prediction and Pick
Korea has much more talent than Czechia. Korea has six players on their roster who are in MLB, while Czechia does not have a single one. Their top player topped out at the Triple-A level. Czechia has been solid on the European stage as of late, but the level of play in Asia is better. Beyond So Hyeong-jun starting for Korea, they are also expected to send Jeong Woo-joo to the mound after their starter leaves. Meanwhile, the pitching for Czechia does not have much depth beyond their top starter. The lineup can produce some exciting moments, though, and will score some runs. Regardless, Korea is going to win this game easily and put up plenty of their own runs in the process.
Final Czechia vs. Korea Prediction and Pick: Korea -6.5 (-130) and Over 11.5 (-125)
