The 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) will be loaded with superstars, including the USA's Aaron Judge, Japan's Shohei Ohtani, the Dominican Republic's Juan Soto, and Venezuela's Ronald Acuna Jr. However, Venezuela's Salvador Perez might be the most important one to his team.

Perez is past his prime, but he's still a power-hitting threat. The 35-year-old slashed .236/.284/.446 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs over 155 games in 2025, his second straight season with 27-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs. 

While Perez's talent will be key for Venezuela, his leadership and experience may be his most crucial qualities. The Kansas City Royals catcher has been in the big leagues since 2011 and is a former World Series MVP, so he knows how to be consistent and win at the highest level.

That's why Perez was named the team's captain in December. Manager Omar Lopez talked about how important the team's leaders are to its mission, via MLB.com's David Venn.

“Very important,” López said. “I think that’s going to be one of the keys for the generation of young guys that will be participating in the Classic for the first time. We have an agenda for the players to be able to come in and hear what the guys with a lot of years in the tournament have to say.”

Fellow veteran star Jose Altuve is also expected to be in the fold along with an experienced coaching staff led by hitting coach Miguel Cabrera. Venezuela will have stiff competition for the WBC crown, but having leadership both on the roster and on the coaching staff that has driven winning at the highest level will help its chances.

Venezuela has a mix of veteran and young talent that puts it on par with any other nation in the WBC, as long as most of its best players participate. Players like Luis Arraez, Anthony Santander, William Contreras, Eugenerio Suarez, Ezequiel Tover, and Jackson Chourio all have the skill to help the nation win its first title in the competition. Pitchers Pablo Lopez and Ranger Suarez would also give the squad firepower on the mound if they participated.

While Venezuela has the talent to succeed on paper, the nation must finalize its roster in the coming weeks to stand a chance. For example, USA stars like Judge, Cal Raleigh, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Kyle Schwarber, and others have already committed, which gives the coaching staff more time to strategize. It's harder for Lopez and company to create gameplans without knowing most of the team's players yet.

However, there's still time for Venezuelan stars to commit to the squad over the next few weeks.