The following is Scott Pianowski’s take on a recent series of predictions made by the Yahoo Sports MLB team for the 2026 MLB season — and of course, some fantasy baseball takes along the way. You can check out that story here; think of this as a natural companion piece to that set of predictions.
Which teams will make the playoffs in 2026? Who will win the World Series?
— AL Playoff Teams: The AL East was the only division to get three different nominees for the title. The AL Central was a 4-2 verdict for the Tigers over the Royals; no one even had the Guardians (who stole the division last year) making the playoffs. The Mariners were a clean sweep in the AL West, after coming one game from their first World Series.
Advertisement
Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season
Two other pundits had Kansas City with a Wild Card spot, which means 4-of-6 writers put them in the playoffs. It’s a fun time to be Royals-invested for fantasy, with the fences coming in (and down) and staff ace Cole Ragans presumably healthy. I tried to draft Vinnie Pasquantino everywhere I could (though I’ve been mostly left with FOMO).
Half the poll put the Mariners in the World Series, while the other half picked an AL East team. Seattle remains the safest place to grab fantasy pitchers, with a roomy park and a plus defense. I like Brendan Donovan as a late rover pick, too.
Advertisement
— NL Playoff Teams: The divisional picks were pretty clean — a 50-50 split between the Mets and Phillies, a 50-50 split between the Brewers and Cubs, and all six pundits picking the heavily-favored Dodgers. Later in the poll, we learned the Dodgers will win 99.7 games this year, and Shohei Ohtani will conk 47.5 home runs.
Do not question these staff predictions — they are very scientific.
— World Series: Like in the AL, the NL Central teams didn’t get any World Series love. The Dodgers take another pennant according to half the panel, with the other votes going to the Mets (two picks) and Phillies (one pick).
Opinions were split on the Braves and Padres. Two writers have the Braves going to the playoffs, while another pundit named them as the team most likely to disappoint. It’s even more polarizing in San Diego — two votes put them in the playoffs, but three other voters called for them to be the most surprising playoff miss.
Advertisement
The top award-winner predictions feature plenty of fantasy talent
— MVP Picks: The writers were happy to play the hits here. Shohei Ohtani got five votes, Aaron Judge received four votes, Bobby Witt Jr. had two votes and Juan Soto grabbed one vote. This mirrors fantasy baseball perfectly, as Ohtani/Judge form the 1/2 debate in most leagues, usually followed by Witt and Soto in some order. The Fab Four lives.
— MVP Sleepers: These are fun names to peruse, because anyone who checks this box is probably a major target for fantasy. Roman Anthony (Yahoo ADP: 45.9) scored two votes, while Julio Rodríguez, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Chourio and Yordan Alvarez picked up one each. I didn’t pick Chourio but it’s close to my heart — I think the Brewers are the smartest organization in baseball, and I want to backline them whenever I can.
— Cy Young Picks: Once again the hits were played, with plenty of nods for Tarik Skubal (four votes) and Paul Skenes (four votes) to duplicate their 2025 wins. They’re both first-round fantasy picks for obvious reasons. Garrett Crochet (another first-round pick) scored the two votes that Skubal didn’t get; Cristopher Sánchez and World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto are on Skenes’s tail in the NL.
Advertisement
The Dodgers often handle their pitchers carefully with respect to workload, but maybe Yamamoto is an exception to that rule. He worked 173.2 innings last year, well ahead of teammates Clayton Kershaw (112.2) and Dustin May (104). Tyler Glasgow (90.1) and Blake Snell (61.1) are tricky risk-reward picks for fantasy managers to consider.
— Cy Young Sleepers: Jacob Misiorowski leads the way with two votes; I didn’t pick him, but again, I’m ordering off the Milwaukee menu. MacKenzie Gore is a fun pick, moving to a pitcher park and a Texas team that should support him better than Washington did.
— Rookies of the Year: Kevin McGonigle (three votes) and Nolan McLean (three votes) hold the yellow jerseys. McGonigle has shown power, speed, and patience all spring, and McLean almost feels like a cheating pick, since he excelled in eight starts last year. (Note, I was happy to cheat, though it was hard to pass over JJ Wetherholt and top prospect Konnor Griffin.)
Advertisement
Last-minute fantasy drafts? Make sure to get some of these guys
— Comeback Players of the Year: I struggled with the AL pick, considering Gerrit Cole and Adley Rutschman before finally settling on Yordan Alvarez. I didn’t want to play the waiting game on Cole, and Rutschman is starting to give me some anxious Matt Wieters vibes. Pitchers on the mend carried the NL vote: Zack Wheeler scored three picks, and Sandy Alcantara, Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele all earned one. Imanaga and Steele will enjoy working in front of an excellent Chicago defense.
— Home Run Champion: We love home runs in fantasy; as my old friend Gene McCaffrey likes to say, they’re four-category events. All four of our picks (Ohtani, Judge, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso) should be gone by the end of your second round.
— Batting Champion: Throwback contact master Luis Arráez took half the ballot, no big surprise, but the singleton votes all interest me, too. I took Witt, backing up my MVP pick, but I also love the nods to Jacob Wilson (a fun fantasy value at ADP 161.4) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Advertisement
— Innings Champion: If I knew which star pitchers would stay healthy this year, I’d probably draft all of them above slot for my teams. Logan Webb picked up three votes, Garrett Crochet two. One pundit isn’t worried about Paul Skenes being limited in Pittsburgh.
— ERA Champion: The three first-round aces (Skubal, Skenes, Crochet) were all heard from, but the fantasy values might lie with Bryan Woo and Hunter Brown (my choice). Ever since Brown retooled his pitch mix early in 2024, he’s been dominant.
— Star who Disappoints: Injury concerns could explain the picks of Corbin Carroll and Spencer Strider (my pick; though I named him before the injury news). Chris Sale steps into his age-37 season and has qualified for just one ERA title since 2017. Regression is the big question with Cal Raleigh and Nick Kurtz; both are top 25 picks on Yahoo.
Advertisement
— Veteran who’s still got it: We went around the horn with this question, covering the infield, the outfield, two starters and one reliever. Nolan Arenado and Max Scherzer both land around Pick 190, offering the most bang for buck.
Read the full article here