The 2026 MLB playoff field was nearly halved on Wednesday night. The Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres were all eliminated, while the Cleveland Guardians were the only team trailing in their series that survived to play another day.
The race to crown the next World Series champion is still wide open, but impatient fans may want an early answer. Several experts and oddsmakers have already offered their predictions.
A First-Time Title in Milwaukee?
Five MLB franchises remain without a World Series title, and a few experts at ESPN believe the Milwaukee Brewers could soon join the list of champions.
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 has already disproved that forecast, as it never trailed in Wednesday’s win.
That is a strong endorsement for a club that has never won a championship, and it is hard to call it undeserved. The Brewers won an MLB-best and franchise-record 103 games this season. They also boast this postseason’s highest OPS (.688) and the second-lowest ERA (1.80).
Two-Time Defending Champs Aren’t the Favourites?
Ahead of the postseason, 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 led the poll with 56 percent of the vote. The Tampa Bay Rays placed second with 24 percent, while the Dodgers received just 16 percent. The Brewers and Rays are both credible picks, but that is still less support 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 offence. It’s the Dodgers’ title to lose, and they know it.”
Oddsmakers agree with that assessment and still list the Dodgers as the favourites. If the majority of Woo’s colleagues are right, however, this year’s title will not return to Los Angeles.