MLB Bracketology: Predicting every playoff seed, plus how the 2026 bracket will play out

We're just more than two weeks away from finalizing the Major League Baseball playoff field for the 2026 season, but we're starting to get a pretty good idea. Even though no berths have been formally clinched yet, we're smart enough to see the NL Central and NL West, for example, and do the math.

Let's have a little fun here and not only predict how the playoff field will look, but take it a step further and predict each round as well.

By no means do I think the AL East race is over — the Rays visit the Yankees for four games later this month — but I do think the Rays hold on to that title. I'll keep the White Sox and Astros as division winners, too, even though those races are not over. The Yankees and Red Sox are the easy and obvious top two wild-card teams, and I'll take the Blue Jays and their easy remaining schedule to leap over the Guardians for the final American League spot. That means the junior circuit lines up like so:

1. Rays2. White Sox3. Astros4. Yankees5. Red Sox6. Blue Jays

Not only do we get four AL East teams…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/