The 2026 MLB playoff field was nearly cut in half Wednesday night. Amid the carnage, the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres were all eliminated. The Cleveland Guardians were the only team trailing in their series that managed to survive another day.
The coronation of the next World Series champion draws closer every day, but some fans may want the answer sooner. To satisfy that impatience, we turned to the latest expert predictions and oddsmakers’ lines for a glimpse at what the crystal ball shows.
A First-Time Title in Milwaukee?
Five MLB franchises remain without a World Series title, and a few experts at ESPN think the Milwaukee Brewers could soon leave that group.
In a recent batch of bold playoff predictions, three of ESPN’s experts built their forecasts around the Brewers winning big. Tristan Cockcroft called for Milwaukee’s breakout star, Jackson Chourio, to “become the 10th player to win LCS and World Series MVPs.” Eric Karabell predicted a combined no-hitter from Jacob Misiorowski, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill in Game 1 of the World Series. AJ Mass predicted the Brewers would “trail in every playoff game en route to a championship,” but Milwaukee already broke that prediction, never trailing in Wednesday’s win.
That is considerable support for a team that has never won a championship, and the case for it is strong. The Brewers won an MLB-best and franchise-record 103 games this season. They also own this postseason’s highest OPS (.688) and second-lowest ERA (1.80).
Two-Time Defending Champs Aren’t the Favorites?
Ahead of the postseason, The Athletic asked more than 20 of its MLB experts to make World Series predictions. The group did not make the Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of the past two World Series, the most popular pick.
The Brewers ran away with the poll, earning 56 percent of the vote. The Tampa Bay Rays finished second with 24 percent, while the Dodgers received just 16 percent. The Brewers and Rays are both reasonable picks, but the Dodgers’ support is still lower than you would expect for a club with this much star power and this level of recent dominance.
“No team carries as much October hype as Los Angeles,” Katie Woo wrote. “There are rightful concerns over the drop-off in production from Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, but their rotation of aces should carry them through any qualms on the offense. It’s the Dodgers’ title to lose, and they know it.”
Oddsmakers agree with that assessment. If the majority of Woo’s colleagues are right, however, this year’s title won’t return to Los Angeles.
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