We are down to MLB’s final 12 as the postseason begins Tuesday with four games on the slate:
- Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians (1 p.m. ET on ESPN)
- San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs (3 p.m. ET on ABC)
- Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees (6 p.m. ET on ESPN)
- Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (9 p.m. on ESPN)
While those eight teams battle it out, the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers enjoy a first-round bye.
Who will advance through October and claim the World Series title? We predict every round and crown a champion.
AL Wild Card Series: No. 5 Boston Red Sox vs. No. 4 New York Yankees
For the sixth time, the Red Sox and Yankees will meet in the postseason. Despite the Red Sox dominating the Yankees 9-4 during the regular season — including 5-2 at Yankee Stadium — the best-of-three Wild Card series will be held in the Bronx.
The Yankees played some of the best baseball of the year heading into the playoffs, winning 14 of their last 17 games, while the Red Sox finished September with a 13-11 record.
While Boston has the best pitcher in the series in Garrett Crochet, the Yankees have the better pitching staff overall, led by Max Fried and Carlos Rodon. Boston holds the bullpen edge, however: 3.41 ERA to New York’s 4.37.
Boston won’t have rookie sensation Roman Anthony as he’s still out with an oblique strain, a massive blow to a Red Sox lineup that will need all the firepower it can get. The Yankees averaged 5.2 runs per game in September with a .785 team OPS.
Prediction: Yankees in three
AL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Detroit Tigers vs. No. 3 Cleveland Guardians
At the beginning of the month, the Tigers had a 99.8% chance of winning the AL Central as they held a 9.5-game lead, while the Guardians had a minuscule 0.2% shot of capturing the division crown. But the Tigers absolutely collapsed, going 7-17, while the Guardians went white hot at 20-7, stealing the title away from Detroit by a game.
Now, the two rivals meet in the Wild Card after Cleveland took the season series 8-5.
With momentum playing such a huge factor in October, it’s hard to imagine Cleveland falling in the Wild Card with the run they’ve been on, especially given how the Tigers have stumbled. Even though Detroit has one of the best pitchers on the planet in Tarik Skubal, the Tigers still need their other starters, offense and bullpen to step up, which they haven’t lately.
The Guardians have an average offense at best, but they are led by all-world third baseman Jose Ramirez, who finished the year with 30 home runs, 34 doubles, 44 stolen bases, an .863 OPS and 137 OPS+.
Prediction: Guardians in three
NL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Cincinnati Reds vs. No. 3 Los Angeles Dodgers
While it may look like a David vs. Goliath matchup on paper, don’t sleep on the Reds. They have a strong rotation led by Hunter Greene, who dominated in September with a 2.64 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings.
However, the Dodgers also boast an incredibly strong rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani in the Wild Card, with arms like Emmet Sheehan, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki available to upgrade a beleaguered bullpen.
LA’s offense is far superior. The Dodgers finished the year second in baseball in runs scored (825) and home runs (244), while the Reds were 14th (716) and 21st (167), respectively.
The Dodgers also took five of six from the Reds in 2025.
Prediction: Dodgers in two
NL Wild Card Series: No. 5 San Diego Padres vs. No. 4 Chicago Cubs
The Padres and Cubs square off at Wrigley Field this week after splitting their season series 3-3.
The Padres struggled on the road in 2025, going 38-43, while the Cubs reigned supreme at the “Friendly Confines” with a 50-31 record.
Chicago will have All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker back in the lineup while San Diego will be without trade-deadline acquisition Ramon Laureano. The Cubs will be down rookie starter Cade Horton, who most likely would’ve started Game 2. The Padres will have Nick Pivetta take the mound in Game 1, but it’s unclear who follows, while Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd will start the first two games for Chicago.
The Padres do boast the better bullpen between the two clubs. San Diego’s relievers had the best ERA in baseball at 3.06 while Chicago came in at No. 11 at 3.78.
With the Padres floundering away from home, expect the Cubs to sweep the series.
Prediction: Cubs in two
ALDS: No. 4 New York Yankees vs. No. 2 Toronto Blue Jays
After dispatching the Red Sox, the Yankees draw the AL East champion Blue Jays, who won the division for the first time since 2015. Toronto was 8-5 against New York in the regular season.
But things will be different in October, as the status of two-time All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette is uncertain due to a knee injury that kept him out of the final week of the season. He rebounded from a dreadful 2024 with a .311/.357/.483 slash line to go along with 18 home runs and 44 doubles. The Blue Jays are in deep trouble if Bichette can’t go.
Toronto also lacks a No. 1 ace and their bullpen has been inconsistent, same as the Yankees, though David Bednar has emerged as their lockdown closer since coming over from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Yankees also have the better lineup, and Aaron Judge can erase some postseason demons with a good series.
Prediction: Yankees in four
ALDS: No. 3 Cleveland Guardians vs. No. 1 Seattle Mariners
The Mariners were on a tear in September, going 17-8 and overtaking the Houston Astros for the AL West crown to eventually earn the No. 1 seed. Now, all of America will finally get to watch and experience Cal Raleigh — the only catcher in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a season.
Outfielder Julio Rodriguez enjoyed his third All-Star season and really turned it on in the second half, hitting 18 of his 32 home runs while slugging .560 with a .900 OPS after the All-Star break.
The Mariners also put together one of the better rotations in baseball even though they faded the last couple months of the season.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, their magic carpet ride ends here.
Prediction: Mariners in three
NLDS: No. 3 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies
Two juggernauts clash for the right to advance to the NLCS. The Phillies went 4-2 against the Dodgers in 2025.
The Phillies earned the bye by securing the No. 2 seed and will have their ace Cristopher Sanchez start Game 1 on Saturday. However, they’ll be without Zack Wheeler for the postseason due to a blood clot near his pitching shoulder discovered in August.
MVP candidates square off in Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber, who smacked 55 and 56 home runs, respectively. Ohtani went 5-for-19 with two home runs against the Phillies, while Schwarber went 3-for-19 with a bomb facing LA.
The Phillies will have Trea Turner leading off as he returned in the regular season finale from a mild hamstring strain. Harrison Bader helped solidify the outfield’s offense as manager Rob Thomson went with a platoon of Brandon Marsh, Max Kepler, Nick Castellanos, and Weston Wilson.
The Dodgers have an edge in the rotation over the Phillies, but LA’s bullpen has been abysmal while the Phillies acquired lockdown closer Jhoan Duran for October moments. Don’t be surprised if the Dodgers bullpen costs them a game or two in the NLDS.
Prediction: Phillies in five
NLDS: No. 4 Chicago Cubs vs. No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers
The second NLDS features the Cubs facing their NL Central counterpart — and No. 1 seed — Brewers, who surprisingly had the best record in baseball at 97-65. The Brewers were 7-6 against the Cubs on the year.
The Brewers don’t slug you to death. They only had two players with over 20 home runs (Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio) and finished 22nd in baseball in home runs at 166. Despite the lack of a true power hitter, they finished third in the league in runs scored at 806 by playing smart, fundamental baseball.
Even though they will be without starter Brandon Woodruff and the status of southpaw Jose Quintana is unknown, the Brewers still have Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester to rely on. Their bullpen also ranked sixth in MLB in ERA at 3.63 and closer Trevor Megill and reliever DL Hall have returned in time for the playoffs.
The Cubs just don’t have the rotation to compete with the Brewers, especially with Imanaga’s struggles in September. With Tucker’s health an issue and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s second-half regression, it will be the end of the road for Chicago.
Prediction: Brewers in four
ALCS: No. 4 New York Yankees vs. No. 1 Seattle Mariners
The top two AL MVP candidates will meet to determine who advances to the World Series: Raleigh and Judge. It’s the matchup the baseball world wants to see.
When you look deeper into the numbers, the Yankees have the edge offensively (849 runs scored — first in baseball — to 766) and rotation ERA (3.61 to 3.97). They were also 5-1 against Seattle this year. But the Mariners have the better bullpen (3.72 ERA to 4.37 ERA).
But what about the vibes? Seattle is riding high while the Yankees finished the season strong. The Mariners are looking for their first ever World Series appearance while the Yankees want to avenge last year’s loss to the Dodgers.
The biggest question: can Judge finally come through in the postseason? He’s hitting just .205 with 86 strikeouts in 58 career playoff games.
Judge might win the AL MVP, but Raleigh will capture the AL pennant.
Prediction: Mariners in six
NLCS: No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies vs. No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers
In the NLCS, the Phillies and Brewers meet after Milwaukee won the season series 4-2, including sweeping the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park over the summer. Philadelphia took two of three from the Brewers in Milwaukee.
But October is a different beast. The Phillies have a better rotation than the Brewers, and if vintage Aaron Nola shows up — like he did in his final regular season start with nine strikeouts over eight innings against the Minnesota Twins — Philadelphia will be that much more dangerous.
Schwarber has 21 career postseason home runs with a .906 OPS while Harper has 17 bombs and a 1.016 OPS. They thrive when the lights shine brightest.
Stars carry teams in the postseason and the Phillies are filled with them. They will win their second NL pennant in four seasons.
Prediction: Phillies in six
World Series: No. 1 Seattle Mariners vs. No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies
The Mariners and Phillies meet in the World Series, but Philadelphia holds the all-important home-field advantage since they finished with a better record.
The Phillies have rallied after losing Wheeler, and have been a much different team since Duran and Bader came aboard at the trade deadline. Even when Turner went down with a strained hamstring in September, the offense didn’t miss a beat.
Seattle will have to wait at least another year for their first World Series title while Harper will finally celebrate the first championship of his career.
Prediction: Phillies in six
