Blue Jays predicted by ESPN to pull off incredible postseason comeback

The Toronto Blue Jays came into the 2026 MLB season looking like one of the top teams in all of baseball. But a rough first half had them as trade-deadline sellers. They shipped off Daulton Varsho and Kevin Gausman at the deadline.

But now, with under a month to go in the MLB regular season, they're actually in the fight for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. Sitting just 1.0 game back, they may make the postseason.

ESPN polled 15 MLB experts for their prediction of which AL team will make the third wild card spot. Of those 15 votes, 10 predicted that the Blue Jays would wind up making the playoffs as that third wild card team.

Blue Jays predicted to make MLB postseason by 10-out-of-15 ESPN analysts

The results of this ESPN poll had the Blue Jays receiving 10 votes, the Cleveland Guardians receiving four votes, and the Texas Rangers the last remaining vote.

While the Guardians might have a 1.0 game lead over the Blue Jays entering play on Labor Day, Toronto is predicted by two-thirds of ESPN's MLB analysts, experts, and insiders to make up the difference in the final weeks of the year.

It would not be a surprise at all if the Blue Jays wound up securing this spot, as they're playing well lately and were just in the postseason one year ago.

Sure, the 2026 season hasn't gone well for the most part, but this current Blue Jays squad has what it takes to sneak into the postseason.

The Blue Jays have a .748 OPS in the last few weeks, which is 12th-best in MLB in that span, and is much better than the Guardians at 22nd place with a .685 OPS.

While their pitching might be similar, with Dylan Cease and Parker Messick being among the best pitchers in MLB this season, the offense is the big difference.

So long as the Blue Jays can hang around in the AL wild card, with a relatively easy schedule against the Athletics , Baltimore Orioles , Detroit Tigers , Rangers, Orioles again, and Cincinnati Reds , securing that third Wild Card spot is very possible.

This 10-out-of-15 prediction from ESPN is not a huge surprise, as the Blue Jays are well set up to sneak into October after a rough start to their 2026 MLB season.