MLB Playoffs 2026 Wild Card and Round-by-Round Bracket Picks and Predictions

Ready or not, the MLB postseason will begin Tuesday with the NLWCS and ALWCS. Given the labor uncertainty in the sport, it's important to savor this final month of baseball.

With that in mind, let's get to full predictions for the 2026 MLB postseason, starting with the Wild Card Series and going all the way to selecting a World Series champion.

AL Wild Card Series A: No. 5 Boston Red Sox at No. 4 New York Yankees

Schedule: 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock Tuesday-Thursday

Regular-Season Series: Yankees 7, Red Sox 6

Matchup to Watch: Aroldis Chapman vs. Yankees

Aroldis Chapman spent parts of seven seasons across two stints with the Yankees, recording 153 saves, the most of any team in his likely Cooperstown-bound career. But it's fair to say things didn't end well in the Bronx, with Chapman saying earlier this year that he thinks Brian Cashman owes him an apology.

So it would be quite a turn of events if Chapman—still one of the league's most dominant relievers at 38—had the chance to end the Yankees' season in New York.

When Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked Sunday—via Greg Joyce of The New York Post—what Aaron Judge (right calf strain) is doing with the postseason looming, he said, "not a whole lot yet."

It goes without saying that the three-time AL MVP's availability and effectiveness, if he can play, will go a long way toward determining the outcome of this series.

Prediction: Red Sox over Yankees in three

The Yankees and Red Sox will split Games 1 and 2 before Ranger Suárez—the pitcher with a 1.48 career postseason ERA—turns in a dominant outing in Game 3 to give Boston a series win.

AL Wild Card Series B: No. 6 Chicago White Sox at No. 3 Houston Astros

Schedule: 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBC Sports Network Tuesday-Thursday

Regular-Season Series: Astros 5, White Sox 2

Matchup to Watch : Munetaka Murakami vs. Astros

Munetaka Murakami hit .232 with 20 homers and a .911 OPS in the first half. After the All-Star Break, he hit .184 with 15 homers and a .750 OPS. If the White Sox can get Murakami to rediscover his first-half form, they won't just win this series; they could go pretty far in a wide-open AL.

X-Factor: The greatness of Yordan Alvarez

In a series this short, if one superstar gets hot, that can be all it takes to win. Alvarez is the likely AL MVP and has a .944 OPS in 60 career postseason games. The White Sox absolutely cannot let the former ALCS MVP beat them.

As great as Alvarez is, the Astros are one of the worst regular-season teams ever to reach the postseason, winning a weak AL West at 81-81. We'll give them a game at home, but this series will be about the national emergence of Miguel Vargas, one of the best players in baseball this season, who could wear out the Crawford boxes.

NL Wild Card Series A: No. 6 Philadelphia Phillies at No. 3 Atlanta Braves

Schedule: 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock Tuesday-Thursday

Regular-Season Series: Braves 9, Phillies 4

Matchup to Watch: Bryce Harper vs. Braves

While Ronald Acuña Jr. loves to play the heel at Citizens Bank Park, Bryce Harper does at Truist Park as well. A weekend after Acuña did quite a bit of celebrating at Citizens Bank Park earlier this September, Harper returned the favor with a slow home run trot in Atlanta:

Harper has been around long enough to have played at Turner Field. Since Truist Park opened in 2017, he's got 18 home runs and a .916 OPS in road games against the Braves.

For the Phillies to upset the Braves, they'll likely need a big series from the two-time NL MVP.

The Braves won the NL East in both 2022 and 2023, but the Phillies upset them in the NLDS in back-to-back seasons. Granted, that came after a first-round bye, but both teams have much of their core in place. If the Braves get down early in Game 1, will they start to feel like here we going again ?

The Phillies have had the Braves number in the postseason in this era, but before winning on the final day of the season to clinch a playoff spot, they looked on the verge of collapsing. Chris Sale (3-0, 2.48 ERA in four starts) and Tyler Mahle (1-1, 2.48 ERA in four starts) both pitched well against the Phillies this season and expect that to continue. With Zack Wheeler needing to be used the final day of the regular season and Jesús Luzardo's status uncertain, the Braves will beat the Phillies.

NL Wild Card Series B: No. 5 Chicago Cubs at No. 4 San Diego Padres

Schedule: 10 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN

Matchup to Watch: Pete Crow-Armstrong vs. Padres pitching

Pete Crow-Armstrong is the likely NL MVP. The Cubs don't have great starting pitching, but between PCA, Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki, they have the bats to outhit some of their pitching concerns. Slowing down Crow-Armstrong is probably easier said than done, but he homered four times and drove in 10 runs in six games against the Friars this year. If he hits anything like that, the Padres will be heading home.

For as imposing as the Cubs' offensive stars can be, the Padres have by far the best bullpen in baseball. If Craig Stammen's club has the lead after six innings, there's a pretty good chance that a group led by Mason Miller, Adrián Morejón, Bradgley Rodriguez, Jason Adam and Yuki Matsui won't be giving up the league.

Fernando Tatis Jr. and the Padres have been baseball's best team in September, but there's been a magic with the Cubs in 2026. Alex Bregman looked good to go Sunday, and his playoff experience will help guide the Cubs to a road-series victory despite a shaky bullpen.

ALDS 1: Cleveland Guardians over White Sox

The White Sox's magical run— two seasons after losing 121 games—will end at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians, the team that swiped the division from under them in September.

Cleveland is back in the postseason for the third time in as many years under Stephen Vogt. It is concerning that José Ramírez hit just .195 in September, but Steven Kwan rediscovered his stroke after the All-Star Break, hitting .353 with an .875 OPS following the Midsummer Classic. With Kwan and excellent pitching, the Guardians will advance to the ALCS for the second time in three years. Guardians in four .

The three best teams in the American League this year were all in the AL East. The Red Sox were dispatched by the Yankees in the first round, but they'll face a Rays team that might be the best in franchise history.

Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda are a tremendous trio to lead your lineup, and while the Rays' approach to pitching isn't everyone's cup of tea, it works for them. We'll go Rays in four games.

It's hard to win the World Series two years in a row, which the Dodgers found out last year. Doing it three seasons in a row is nearly impossible. Even with a star-studded roster—which has added two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal since we last saw them in October—the bet here is that this is the year the Dodgers are knocked off.

History shows this is the best round to catch the Dodgers, as they were upset by the San Diego Padres in 2022 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 after a first-round bye. Granted, that was before they employed Shohei Ohtani. But Sale pitched a complete-game shutout against the Dodgers in August, and if he can set the tone early in the series, it could get late for Dave Roberts' squad fast. We'll go Braves in four .

This should be a great matchup between two NL Central rivals with World Series aspirations. Few storylines are better than Craig Counsell squaring off against his former team, led by his college coach, Pat Murphy.

Perhaps more than any other team in the postseason, the Brewers need to win Game 1. Jacob Misiorowski—who will likely win the NL Cy Young unanimously—has little margin for error this postseason, but his pitching this year suggests he can handle it.

In a best-of-five series where Misiorowski will likely start two games, the Brew Crew will probably need to win just one game started by someone other than their ace. Whether it's Logan Henderson or Shane Drohan, Milwaukee will have enough pitching to defeat the Cubs. Brewers in five .

In a couple of months, owners will lock the players out, suggesting that Major League Baseball's competitive integrity needs a salary cap. Those same owners would likely cringe at an ALCS matchup between the Guardians and Rays, teams that rank 30th and 23rd in payroll.

Granted, this is the worst American League playoff field in at least a generation, but both teams have the pitching to make a deep October run.

In Cleveland, Parker Messick, Gavin Williams and Joey Cantillo are a strong rotation trio. Imagine if they can get Foster Griffin—who posted a 5.19 ERA after being acquired from the Washington Nationals—back on track. Cleveland's bullpen might not be as dominant as two years ago, but Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski and Tim Herrin are a quartet that's not going to blow many leads.

Unfortunately for the Guardians, the Rays have a strong starting rotation of their own. It would obviously help if Shane McClanahan made an impact at some point in the postseason, but Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen, Griffin Jax and a resurgent Freddy Peralta are pretty tough. Oh, and Bryan Baker and Kevin Kelly were two of the best relievers in baseball this season.

Rays in six , as Tampa will win its third AL pennant in franchise history.

Five years ago, the Braves won the World Series, but did so without Acuña, who sustained a torn right ACL that August. This time around, Acuña will be in the lineup for a Braves team that wins the pennant.

It may not have been a great season for Acuña, but he hit .307 with a .950 OPS in September. At his best, he's as good as anyone in baseball. If he hits his stride, a lineup that also includes Matt Olson, Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris II will be a problem. Heck, imagine what they'll look like if either Ozzie Albies or Austin Riley shows signs of life.

That's not to take away from the Brewers, who won a franchise-record 103 games, the most in baseball this year. Brice Turang is the most underappreciated star in baseball, and between Jackson Chourio, William Contreras and Jake Bauers, there's a lot of really good here.

But for the second season in a row, we're predicting that the Brewers will fall just shy of reaching the World Series for the first time since 1982. They won't be swept this time, but they just don't have enough starting pitching after Misiorowski to sustain a deep playoff run.

Atlanta doesn't have the best rotation either, but Mahle has been a revelation since being acquired, while Grant Holmes has posted a 3.44 ERA over 151.2 innings. We're predicting that Martín Pérez returns from a back injury in this series, and the Braves win in six games .

MLB owners, hell-bent on getting a salary cap, would probably love nothing more than the Dodgers winning a third consecutive World Series title as the lead-in to a prolonged labor battle.

Instead, they'll have to figure out how to make their case after the Rays—a perennial success despite ownership not spending much—win their franchise's first World Series title. They've previously been to the Fall Classic in 2008 and 2020, but lost both.

This time, Caminero will grab the attention of even the most casual baseball fans with his prodigious power. By hitting 42 home runs, Caminero has himself in the AL MVP race. He'll probably come up short, but a World Series MVP would be a hell of a consolation prize.

The Braves may make it this far with Sale and Mahle leading their rotation, but ultimately they're a starting pitcher or two short of winding up on a parade float. Rays in six games , with Tampa clinching in their first season back at Tropicana Field.

To celebrate their World Series title, the Rays will announce they are returning to being the Devil Rays in 2027. (OK, we're trying to speak that last part into existence a bit.)