MLB League Championship Series Picks, World Series Predictions

We’re down to baseball’s final four, and the matchups could hardly be more different.

In the National League, the Dodgers and Brewers make for a rematch of last year’s NLCS, with both teams having established themselves as consistent powers year after year. The American League, meanwhile, will have more of an underdog tone, with the No. 1 seed Rays back in the playoffs for the first time since 2023 and the similarly cost-effective Guardians representing potential for a wholly unexpected pennant winner.

Here’s how we see it playing out.

ALCS: Rays vs. Guardians

Tom Verducci: Rays in six. Tampa Bay’s Victor Mesa Jr. and Junior Caminero look built for the postseason and big moments. Manager Kevin Cash, having learned from 2020, is adept at knowing how to use his pitching staff.

Ryan Phillips: Rays in five. The Rays made quick work of the Yankees and are on a roll, led by an outstanding pitching staff that shut down New York’s offense. The Guardians survived a grueling five-game series to get here, while Tampa Bay is rested and ready. The Rays have been the AL’s most complete team all season and should cruise into the World Series.

Will Laws: Rays in five. Tampa Bay enters the ALCS well rested after dismantling the Yankees, while the Guardians had all hands on deck for much of the ALDS and could have trouble finding enough rested arms to successfully navigate a best-of-seven series.

Karl Rasmussen: Rays in five. The best team in the American League made quick work of the Yankees in the ALDS, and they’ll be feeling confident heading into an ALCS with a strong home-field advantage at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay boasts excellent pitching and strong defense, hist the ball well and wreaks havoc on the base paths. They’ll be hard to beat.

Nick Selbe: Rays in five. The Rays have an answer for everything—they have pitching depth, they can mix and match their lineup to best attack the opponents' starting pitcher, and they defend at an elite level. They've clearly been the most complete team in the AL all season long. Anything can happen in a best-of-seven series, but I'd be most shocked if Cleveland knocks off Tampa Bay than I'd be at any other outcome for the rest of October.

NLCS: Brewers vs. Dodgers

TV: Brewers in seven. Expect this to be like the Padres-Brewers NLDS: a high-velocity, low-scoring series competed at a high level. First team to four runs wins. If Shohei Ohtani still isn’t right, the Brewers have more ways to create runs. And they have home-field advantage. Milwaukee at home is particularly stingy on the mound, with the lowest home slug allowed in MLB.

RP: Dodgers in six. The Brewers emerged from the NLDS after four tense, back-and-forth games against the Padres in the postseason's best series so far. Milwaukee was baseball’s best team during the regular season, but a lack of rotation depth will spell doom against the Dodgers. L.A. has the starting pitching to exploit that weakness and is peaking at the right time after a midseason swoon.

WL: Brewers in seven. I’m expecting a big breakout series for Jacob Misiorowski, something in the neighborhood of two wins as a starter and a heroic bullpen outing in Game 7. Milwaukee’s lineup is filled with tough outs that can drive up pitch counts on L.A.’s star-studded rotation and gain the advantage in the late innings.

KR: Dodgers in seven. The two best teams in MLB will clash in the NLCS, pitting the experienced Dodgers against a young and exciting Brewers team. Experience will be a big factor in this one, and that heavily favors L.A., which is seeking the NL’s first-ever three-peat.

NS: Brewers in seven. This is the matchup we've all been waiting for—the two-time defending champs against a 103-win Brewers squad that's been 2026's best during the regular season. The Brewers have made the playoffs eight times in the past nine years. Three of those seasons featured runs to the NLCS. The previous two ended with defeats to the Dodgers (last year and in '18). This is Milwaukee's best chance at taking down its version of Goliath. It won't be easy, but at the moment, the Brewers have fewer question marks than Los Angeles. Add in home-field advantage, and Milwaukee gets the slightest of edges.

World Series

TV: Brewers over Rays in seven. Please don’t make this a narrative about the labor talks. Those have been and will be on their own trajectory. But it is about welcoming back a retro style of baseball. Including Toronto last year, this would make it three of the past four World Series teams that led the majors in batting average (remember that?) without hitting 200 homers. Fun stuff. Milwaukee at home makes the difference.

RP: Dodgers over Rays in six. I picked Dodgers vs. Rays to open the playoffs, and I’m sticking to it. This rematch of the 2020 COVID World Series will go down the same way, with L.A.’s depth and rotation ultimately outlasting Tampa Bay. The Rays have the pitching to make this series interesting, but the Dodgers have too much talent. Los Angeles will complete its historic three-peat.

WL: Brewers over Rays in seven. Sticking with my pick from last round (please ignore my original AL pennant pick of the Red Sox). Milwaukee’s offense features more consistency up and down the lineup to gain the title-deciding edge.

KR: Dodgers over Rays in six. There was no other goal in mind when the Dodgers stockpiled talent and built one of baseball’s rosters in recent memory. The Rays are an excellent, scrappy team, but their contact-first approach may struggle to yield many runs against such elite pitching on the side of L.A. Give me the Dodgers in six, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto win his second straight World Series MVP.

NS: Brewers over Rays in seven. These two teams are perfect for each other. They do much of the same things well—pitch, defend, and generally play clean baseball. It won't be a ratings bonanza, but this would be a baseball purist's dream matchup. In a battle of two teams looking for their franchise's first championship, give me Milwaukee by a hair.

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