The SeedSing 2026 MLB Preview

Today I'm going to do my best to give you all a 2026 MLB preview. As I say every year, RD knows this stuff better than I do. He's the expert when it comes to baseball. But my son has grown fond of the MLB and he has gotten me to watch more games the past two years than I did the previous ten. I may have little knowledge, but I have some. I'll go through the divisions, pick a winner, the seven playoff teams and then predict the playoffs. Let's get to it.

I'll start with the American League.

The AL East figures to be the best division in the AL this year. The Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees and Blue Jays all have a legit case to be in the playoffs. And the Rays aren't all that bad either. I'm going to go with the Red Sox to win the division. I'd love to pick the Blue Jays. They were so close to winning the World Series last year, and they only had to replace a few guys. They also still have Vlad Guerrero Jr, who is only getting better. But the Red Sox are the more complete team here. That doesn't mean this division won't house three, maybe four playoff teams.

The AL Central is the opposite of the East. This division will most likely only get the winner in the playoffs. I'm sure the Guardians will be better than most expect. They always seem to do that. And the Royals have been getting a ton of love from the media. The White Sox are getting better and the Twins are constructed to be bad. The central is all about the Tigers. Tarik Skubal is back and pitching on a one year prove type of deal. They signed Framber Valdez. They have a solid and effective lineup. This feels like a year that the Tigers could push for a bid in the World Series. The Tigers, barring major injuries, should coast to the division title.

The final division in the AL, the West, should also be a one team race. The Athletics are good, but they still don't have a home city and that has to mess with their players. The Angels still have Mike Trout, and not much else. The Astros look to be on the back end of their winning. And the Rangers, only a few years removed from being World Series champs, are rebuilding. This is the Mariners time to shine. They pushed the Blue Jays last year. They have all the main pieces back. They will make moves to keep winning during the season. They, on paper, may be the best team in the AL. The Mariners have been preseason favorites before and did not live up to expectations. I feel like they're too good to do that again.

So, my playoff teams in the AL are, first the division winners, the Red Sox, Tigers and Mariners. That leaves me with the three wild card spots, and I'm going to go with the Blue Jays, Yankees and Royals. The Orioles will just miss out, as will the Guardians. But this feels like a solid six team playoff race in the AL. As far as who will play in the ALCS, give me the Tigers and Mariners and the Mariners winning in six games to make it to the franchise's first World Series.

On to the NL, the senior circuit of you will.

I'll start with the East here as well. We have some big spenders and some old teams here. The Phillies are really good and consistent. But they have died in the playoff as of late and they are only getting older. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber can't hit home runs forever. And Trae Turner will one day get slower. The Mets are spending big and made some deals to get much needed pitching help this offseason. But they didn't even make the playoffs last year. The Braves have all the talent in the world everywhere on this roster, and it cannot seem to stay healthy at all. And then there's the Nationals, who look to be building back a competitive team, and the Marlins who are as bad as it gets in the NL. I like the Phillies in the East here, but that's only because the Mets cannot seem to win when it matters most. They spend a ton, but the Phillies product on the field has proven to be better.

The NL Central is better, and it is a three team race here. The Cardinals are going to be bad, but maybe a little fun to watch. They have young talent everywhere that they're trying to develop, which will be fun to watch at times, and then abysmal at other times. The Pirates have some solid dudes on their roster and one of the best pitchers in the game. But this is the Pirates and they don't, or won't pay anyone and then that person leaves and they're back to square one. It feels like more of the same from them. The Central is a race between the Cubs, who are as talented as it gets in baseball, the Brewers, who won the most games in all of baseball last year and seem to churn out competitive teams season after season, and the Reds, who are finally loaded with pitching and hitting talent. I'm going to go with the Cubs to win this division, but it would not shock me at all if the Reds are right there with them all the way to the end. I could see Ely de la Cruz being a possible MVP caliber player this season.

The final division is the West, and I think we all know who is going to win here. The Dodgers are the best team money can buy and I have zero issue with that. They have gained the system and they will keep doing this until there are rules put in place to stop them. The Diamondbacks have some good players and they get some guys back this year that are finally healthy. They could make a little noise. The Giants will be feisty and maybe win 85 games. The Padres have some good hitters, but their pitching staff needs work. And the Rockies get to play next to some beautiful mountains. The Dodgers are the cream of the crop not only in this division, but in all of baseball.

So my NL playoff division winners are the Phillies, Cubs and Dodgers. My three wild card teams are the Reds, Mets and Diamondbacks. As for the NLCS, give me the Dodgers and Cubs, and the Dodgers sweeping them to play in another World Series. As for my World Series winner, give me the Dodgers beating the Mariners in six games. It won't be as epic as last season, but should still be a fun series. As for my award winner, I'll take Aaron Judge as the AL MVP and Tarik Skubal as the AL Cy Young winner. In the NL, give me Paul Skenes as the NL Cy Young winner and Shohei Ohtani as the NL MVP.

There you have it, my best shot at a 2026 MLB preview. Enjoy the season.

Another view

Let’s get it out of the way, the Dodgers will win their third straight World Series. They are the best team by a long shot, they are still hungry, and everyone knows there wilol be no season next year so LA will do whatever it takes to win. Now, lets predict division winners.

AL East - Toronto Blue Jays, they got a taste last year, they want it all now.

AL Central - Detroit Tigers, the best team, and pitcher, that no one is talking about.

AL West - Seattle Mariners, hungry and ready to make their first World Series.

AL Wild Cards - Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals

NL East - Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets will Mets again. Same as it ever was.

NL Central - Chicago Cubs, the North Siders will final put the Brewers to bed.

NL West - LA Dodgers, obviously

NL Wild Cards - Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks

The ALCS will have another Toronto/Mariners seven game classic with Seattle winning. The NLCS will have a hot Reds team meeting up with the Dodgers. Cincinnati will take the first game, then lose the next four sending LA to their third straight World Series. The Dodgers will sweep the Mariners and poor Seattle will have to wait for their first World Series game victory. Then we wait as the 2027 season will be wiped out by a strike. I hope I’m wrong about that last sentence.

Play Ball

RD

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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