After a thrilling conclusion to the regular season, the 2026 MLB playoff field is set! Will Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers pull off a historic three-peat? Is this the year the Milwaukee Brewers or Tampa Bay Rays finally win it all as No. 1 seeds? Will the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox go from a wild-card meeting to the World Series? MLB experts Jorge Castillo, Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez, Jeff Passan and David Schoenfield get you ready with odds for every round, why every team could win it all -- or go home early -- and a name to watch for from all 12 World Series hopefuls.

Doolittle's World Series and matchup odds come from a formula that uses power ratings as the basis for 10,000 simulations to determine the most likely outcomes. Team temperatures are based on Bill James' formula for determining how "hot" or "cold" a team is at any given point; the average is 72°.

Tampa Bay Rays, the No. 1 seed at 98-64, have a 13.3% chance to win the World Series according to Doolittle, with DraftKings odds at +800. Their team temperature is 84°, reflecting their strong finish. The Rays excel in almost every facet: they strike out infrequently (18.7% of plate appearances), hit .283 with runners in scoring position, and lead the AL in stolen bases. Drew Rasmussen anchors the rotation, supported by Nick Martinez and Freddy Peralta, while the bullpen features Kevin Kelly, Ian Seymour, Bryan Baker, and Cam Booser.

If they win it all, the World Series MVP could be Junior Caminero or Liam Hicks, a high-contact trade deadline pickup. However, their lack of power — with Caminero (42 HR), Jonathan Aranda (22), and Yandy Diaz (22) combining for over half of the team's 168 home runs — could hinder their October run. Caminero, a two-time All-Star and potential AL MVP, thrives in big moments, as shown in his dramatic LIDOM Game 7 home run in January 2025.