The 2026 MLB playoff field was nearly cut in half Wednesday night. The Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres were all eliminated during the wipeout. The Cleveland Guardians were the only team that trailed in its series and still survived to play another day.
The next World Series champion will not be crowned for weeks, but impatient fans can get a early look at who might win. Experts and oddsmakers have already offered their predictions.
A First-Time Title in Milwaukee?
Five MLB franchises have never won a World Series. A few experts from ESPN think the Milwaukee Brewers could end that drought.
In a recent batch of bold playoff predictions, three of ESPN’s experts built their forecasts around the Brewers winning big. Tristan Cockcroft predicted that Milwaukee’s breakout star, Jackson Chourio, would “become the 10th player to win LCS and World Series MVPs.” Eric Karabell foresaw a combined no-hitter from Jacob Misiorowski, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill in Game 1 of the World Series. AJ Mass predicted that the Brewers would “trail in every playoff game en route to a championship.” Milwaukee has already broken that prediction, because it never trailed in Wednesday’s win.
That is a strong vote of confidence for a franchise that has never tasted championship glory, and the support is easy to understand. The Brewers won an MLB-best and franchise-record 103 games this season. They also boast this postseason’s highest OPS (.688) and second-lowest ERA (1.80).
Two-Time Defending Champs Aren’t the Favorites?
Before the postseason began, The Athletic asked “more than 20” of its MLB experts to make World Series predictions. The group did not pick the Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of the past two World Series, as the most popular choice.
The Brewers dominated 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 that support is still lower than many 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 share that view and still favor the Dodgers. However, if most of Woo’s colleagues are right, this year’s championship will not return to Los Angeles.