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 that trailed in its game and still lived to play another day.
The crowning of the next World Series champion moves closer with each game. Impatient fans may want to know who it will be sooner rather than later, so here is a look at the latest expert predictions and oddsmakers’ lines.
A First-Time Title in Milwaukee?
Five MLB franchises remain without a World Series title, and a few experts from ESPN think the Milwaukee Brewers could be about to leave that group.
In a recent batch of bold playoff predictions, three of ESPN’s experts built their forecasts around the Brewers winning it all. 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 had predicted that the Brewers would “trail in every playoff game en route to a championship,” but Milwaukee already broke that forecast, never trailing in Wednesday’s win.
That is considerable support for a team that has never won a championship, and the backing is not hard to understand. The Brewers won an MLB-best and franchise-record 103 games this season. They also own this postseason’s highest OPS at .688 and the second-lowest ERA at 1.80.
Two-Time Defending Champs Aren’t the Favorites?
Before the postseason began, The Athletic surveyed “more than 20” of its MLB experts on their World Series picks. The Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of the past two World Series, were not the most popular choice.
The Brewers led the poll with 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 is still less support than one might 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. Still, if most of Woo’s colleagues are right, this year’s championship will not return to Los Angeles.