2026 MLB playoff predictions: Expert picks for entire postseason bracket, including World Series champion

The 2026 MLB postseason gets started Tuesday with all four Wild Card Series. Who's winning it all this year?

Sep 27, 2026 at 7:46 pm ET • 3 min read

The 2026 MLB playoff field is set and by Halloween, we'll have a new World Series champion. The Wild Card Series begin on Tuesday afternoon with four best-of-three matchups. From there, those four winners will move on to the League Division Series, where the top two teams in each league will join the mix after a first-round bye. 

The winners of the best-of-five Division Series move on to the best-of-seven League Championship Series, and, of course, the best-of-seven World Series.

Here's a look at how the playoffs are laid out:

American League

First-round byes
No. 1 Rays, No. 2 Guardians

Wild Card Series
No. 3 Astros vs. No. 6 White Sox
No. 4 Yankees vs. No. 5 Red Sox

National League

First-round byes
No. 1 Brewers, No. 2 Dodgers

Wild Card Series
No. 3 Braves vs. No. 6 Phillies
No. 4 Padres vs. No. 5 Cubs

And now here are our staff picks for the 2026 postseason from your CBS Sports MLB writers. We're predicting every round of the bracket from the Wild Card Series through the World Series.

Mike Axisa's bracket

World Series pick: Dodgers over Yankees

Explanation: I don't feel strongly about my bracket at all, so I'm sticking with the "just pick who you think are the best teams, stupid" approach. Even without Aaron Judge, the Yankees have enough firepower to come out of the American League, and their pitching is tremendous. My only concern is an overworked bullpen, but guys always seem to find an extra gear in the postseason. The Dodgers are more vulnerable than the last two years, I think, especially since Shohei Ohtani clearly isn't 100% physically (or close to it). That rotation is so good though -- Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow is about as good as it gets -- and there's enough on offense to pick up Ohtani. I feel like Josue De Paula is going to play a huge role in October. He'll force his way into the everyday lineup at some point and make a big impact.

Dayn Perry's bracket

World Series pick: Brewers over Rays

Explanation: I never predict the MLB postseason with much conviction because so much randomness is involved. That's especially the case this year, as the NL has a lot of World Series worthies and the AL has at most two. I'm tempted to fade the Brewers for their lack of power, but I think they have the deepest and most balanced roster and are especially adept on the run-prevention front. The Dodgers are still very good, obviously, but their core seems a good bit older and a good bit more injured than this time last year. If Aaron Judge were 100% a go for the playoffs and 100% healthy, I'd pick the Yankees and their loaded rotation to come out of the AL. Since that's not the case, though, I'll go with the Rays to make it an all-small-market World Series. Brewers in seven thanks in part to their superior bullpen depth. 

Matt Snyder's bracket

World Series pick: Brewers over Rays

Explanation: The AL is weak, but the Rays are a legitimately great team and get through the competition on that side. That said, an NL team is winning it all this season.  The Dodgers remain the most likely team to win the World Series, but so much stuff has to break right in order to win the World Series and there's a reason we very rarely see a threepeat. I'll say the Brewers get the job done after being swept last year and they carry that momentum over for a World Series win. Jackson Chourio has a national breakout party this postseason and introduce himself under the brightest lights. He wins World Series MVP and the Brewers hang their first-ever banner.