The 2026 MLB Postseason is here, so of course it’s time for my postseason predictions. I’ve been thinking about this a lot since the field was finalized. So, with the first Wild Card game just a few hours away, let’s jump right in.

NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies vs Alanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves should be thrilled that they are playing their division rivals in the first round. It came down to game 162 to decide whether Philadelphia or Arizona would make the trip to Truist Park. In the last few years, Atlanta hasn’t matched up well against the Diamondbacks, so the cards fell in Atlanta’s favor.

Philadelphia is relieved to be in the postseason after a turbulent September that nearly saw them fall out of playoff field altogether. October is a different animal, and all teams start at 0-0, but Philadelphia DID back into the playoffs. Plus, the Braves and Phillies have basically already played a full playoff series this month as they faced off seven times in September. Atlanta won that sample size 4-3. In a best-of-three Wild Card series, the Phillies have their work cut out for them.

Zack Wheeler pitched on Sunday, so he’s out for Game 1, meaning that Philly will likely hand the ball to Jesus Luzardo fresh off of an injury against Chris Sale. Give me the Braves there. to me, this series will hinge on Atlanta’s Tyler Mahle against Cristopher Sanchez. The last regular season start was the roughest one for Mahle in an Atlanta uniform, but before that, he was excellent. If Mahle can match zeros with Sanchez and give the Braves an opportunity to get the lackluster Philadelphia bullpen, I think Atlanta will sweep, BUT if Philadelphia forces a Game 3, I think the momentum swings to them, as they may hand the ball to Wheeler on short rest in Game 3, who’s had very good numbers in his career versus Atlanta.

In short, if the Braves let the Phillies force a deciding third game, they’ll win it, but for now I’ll say it never reaches that point and Atlanta takes both. Braves in 2.

AL Wild Card: Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros

This one’s tough, but I’ll keep it short. The Chicago White Sox have been my favorite story of the season. No one expected them to be here, but this young team defied the odds.

There’s the rub: they’re young and inexperienced…and their opponent is the most experienced in the field. Add onto that the fact that, like the Phillies, the White Sox limped to the finish, while the Houston Astros had to battle to the bitter end to secure their spot. That matters.

I don’t think the Astros are strong enough to make a deep run, but I think they have enough to win a favorable Wild Card matchup. Probable AL MVP Yordon Alvarez and the Astros lead all of baseball in home runs, and the Sox don’t have a true ace who can shut them down.

Houston’s pitching is a huge question mark. Hunter Brown is down with injury and Hayden Wesneski pitched on Sunday, so that severely limits them. I think both teams’ weaknesses will allow this series to go all three games, and if the White Sox can find that thing that made them baseball’s best watch over the summer, they have a shot, but ultimately, I think this comes down to experience. Astros in 3.

AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees

Personally, I think it’s a bit of a tragedy for the Yankees and Red Sox to face off in October with anything less than a trip to the World Series on the line, but here we are.

Simply put, the Red Sox have been one of the most dangerous teams in baseball for months. When they are hot, they simply look unstoppable. The Yankees are without Aaron Judge this October, so that is a big loss. As good as these offenses are, I think pitching will tell the story. Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle, just to name a few. Plus, Garrett Crochet is in New York with the team, just waiting on team approval to join the Postseason roster. I’m personally hoping this series goes the distance (again, that number just being three is a crime) just to see what kind of fireworks we get.

The two things I mentioned at the top make my decision easier. No Aaron Judge plus a Red Sox team that I wouldn’t bet against. Because of that I’m taking the Red Sox in 3.

NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres

This is probably the most even matchup in the Wild Card round. On one side, the soon-to-be NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong. On the other, Slam Diego and the one-man wrecking crew in the bullpen known as Mason Miller.

My head tells me to choose the Chicago Cubs. PCA is a gamechanger and the Cubs offense has the potential to bury any opponent. But their rotation has been a question mark all season, and in a best-of-three series, you need to offer your best punch. The Padres have Michael King. The Cubs have Matthew Boyd or Shota Imanaga. Imanaga pitched Sunday, but only went one inning, so he should be good if called upon.

The Padres come into October scorching hot. The offense finally woke up. The team is 43-23 since the All-Star Break and 18-6 in September. Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. combined for 55 homers and 174 RBIs, Ty France finished a few ticks shy of .300 for the season, and Jackson Merrill has been on a heater for the last month, hitting .320 over the last 30 days.

The Padres are coming in on a better run, and I think that makes the difference. Give the Padres in 3.

NLDS: Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Atlanta Braves are 5-1 against their bitterest rival of the decade, which includes winning the last five. The latter three-game sweep came at the end of August when the Dodgers were banged up and reeling. Los Angeles went 13-14 in August but has responded by going 18-7 in September.

Mookie Betts is back, Andy Pages is back, Tyler Glasnow is back, Blake Snell is back. Tarik Skubal has settled into being a Dodger, Kyle Tucker FINALLY showed up. Shohei Ohtani is still a question mark, but I have a sneaking suspicion he’ll be perfectly fine when it matters most.

Will all of the above reinforcements returning to the rotation, the Dodgers’ strength is also one of Atlanta’s weaknesses: starting pitching depth. The Dodger offense is lethal, and the Braves are inconsistent in that category. Lethal one minute, absent the next. Atlanta is too good not to win one game in the series, maybe even two, but in the kind of postseason environment that the Dodger machine is built for, I don’t think this Braves team is strong enough. Dodgers in 4.

ALDS: Houston Astros vs. Cleveland Guardians

I’ll make this one quick. The Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians are mirror images of each other. Houston led the Majors in homers during the regular season. Cleveland was 27th. Cleveland is a pitching factory focused on stability. Houston’s pitching is a mess. The Guardians roster is full of star rookies. Houston is built on grizzled veterans.

One is focused on power, the other on pitching and defense. A popular baseball idiom says, “good pitching beats good hitting, and with guys like Parker Messick, Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee on the mound gives Cleveland the heavy advantage. Cleveland in 4.

NLDS: San Diego Padres vs. Milwaukee Brewers

The only question I have with the Milwaukee Brewers is their starting pitching depth after Jacob Misiorowski. Beyond that, it’s clear why the Brew Crew won a franchise-record 103 games. Despite being next-to-last in the entire league in home runs, they ranked first in hits, second in runs and they draw for walks than anyone in baseball besides the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers have an ability to beat teams to death – not with the big blow that is the home run, but more like death by 1000 cuts.

As good as San Diego has been down the stretch, I honestly don’t think they’ll be able to keep up with Milwaukee. They flood you with baserunners, put the pressure on, then they strike. This one should be quick and painless. Brewers in 3.

ALDS: Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

This one is interesting. Despite Tampa Bay being the best team in the American League from start to finish this season, my gut is screaming at me: DO NOT BET AGAINST THE RED SOX.

This is another instance where the Red Sox will find themselves in a well-pitched series. All the numbers say that the Rays should win this one easily. One of the best starting rotations, one of the best closers, an offense that is second in hits (behind Milwaukee) and doesn’t strike out. They will certainly be a tough out. But Garrett Crochet will almost certainly be on the roster for the ALDS if he’s not already, and it’ll be a dogfight.

The Rays won the season series against the Red Sox 7-6, but the caveat is that the Red Sox won five of the last seven, including a four-game sweep to start the second half when Boston was in the middle of their historic 15-game win streak that facilitated their incredible turnaround.

It could be the best series of the entire postseason, and I hope it’s a long one, but I have to go with my gut on this one and say the Red Sox fans travel well, and Boston pulls off the upset. Boston in 5.

NLCS: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Some might say that this is where Milwaukee’s pitching depth could be their undoing, because that’s the Dodgers’ specialty, but depending on the timing of the series and if it goes the distance, Los Angeles could potentially have to face Misiorowski three times.

The Miz has only faced the Dodgers twice in his young career, but he’s been dominant, holding a perfect 2-0 record, and ERA of just 1.50 and striking out 18 in 12 innings. The Dodgers have a knack for doing the small things necessary to win games, but so do the Brewers. This series will probably come down to which team does the big things better.

Milwaukee holds a 4-3 edge in the season series, and that feels like a good mirror for the October version. Brewers in 7.

ALCS: Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians

Boston is the first team the Guardians will face that can match their starting pitching, and that will be their downfall. Cleveland is one of the worst offensive teams in the league, so if Boston jumps on them early, the Guardians may not be able to keep up.

When it comes to the playoffs in any sport, teams that come in playing well are to be feared, regardless of record or position. Let’s not forget about the 2007 Colorado Rockies, who wone 21 of their final 22 games, including a tiebreaker in game 163 just to get into the playoffs, then didn’t lose a game until they reached their only World Series in franchise history. That’s how I feel about the Red Sox in 2026. Back then, the Postseason run was referred to as “Rocktober”. This year could go down as “Socktober”. Red Sox in 6.

World Series: Boston Red Sox vs Milwaukee Brewers

The ironic thing about this post is that I didn’t want to type all of these matchup headings from scratch, so I borrowed from an old 2018 MLB playoff predictions post, changed the matchups and went from there. My World Series prediction from back then, and my prediction now happen to be the same. You can’t make this stuff up…

By this point in the post, my pick should be pretty clear. This is where I think Milwaukee’s pitching will catch up with them. If Misiorowski faces the Dodgers three times in a seven-game series against the Dodgers, it’ll probably be game 3 or 4 before we see him in this series. This would put more of the weight on Dustin May or Kyle Harrison to step up against the Boston lineup.

I just don’t think the Brewers’ rotation can matchup pound-for-pound with Boston’s behind The Miz, and it’s hard for a team to ride a single pitcher all the way to a World Series title. Boston’s offense is also capable of more big moments than Milwaukee. When all is said and done, I think the Boston Red Sox will be hoisting their fifth World Series trophy since 2004.

If you’re a rabid baseball fan like I am, you may consider October baseball the unofficial beginning of the holidays, and we’ve finally made it! If your team is in the dance, good luck to you. If they’re not, just sit back, grab a cold drink and get ready to watch the fireworks.

Happy Postseason everybody!