The 2026 MLB playoff field was nearly cut in half Wednesday night. Amid the wipeout, the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres were all eliminated. The Cleveland Guardians were the only team that had trailed in its game and still survived to play another day.
The crowning of the next World Series champion is getting closer, but it may not be moving fast enough for impatient fans. To get a glimpse of the likely winner, we turned to the latest expert predictions and oddsmakers’ lines.
A First-Time Title in Milwaukee?
Five MLB franchises still have never won a World Series title, and a few experts from ESPN think the Milwaukee Brewers could take themselves off that list.
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 that the Brewers would “trail in every playoff game en route to a championship,” but Milwaukee has already undercut that forecast, since it never trailed in Wednesday’s win.
That is a lot of support for a team that has never won a championship, and it is hard to call the backing undeserved. 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 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 that is still less support 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 championship won’t be coming back to Los Angeles.