The 2026 MLB playoff field was nearly cut in half Wednesday night. The Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres were all eliminated. The Cleveland Guardians were the only team that had been trailing and still lived to play another day.

The crowning of the next World Series champion is getting closer, but fans who want to know the winner sooner rather than later can turn to the latest expert predictions for a glimpse at what’s ahead.

A First-Time Title in Milwaukee?

Five MLB franchises have never won a World Series. A few experts at ESPN think the Milwaukee Brewers could remove themselves from that group.

In a recent batch of bold playoff predictions, three of ESPN’s experts built their forecasts around the Brewers winning it all. Tristan Cockcroft predicted that Milwaukee’s breakout star, Jackson Chourio, would “become the 10th player to win LCS and World Series MVPs.” Eric Karabell predicted a combined no-hitter from Jacob Misiorowski, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill in Game 1 of the World Series. AJ Mass had predicted that the Brewers would “trail in every playoff game en route to a championship,” but Milwaukee already broke that prediction, as it never trailed in Wednesday’s win.

That is considerable support for a team that has never won a championship, and it is hard to argue the backing is undeserved. The Brewers won an MLB-best and franchise-record 103 games this season. They also have this postseason’s highest OPS (.688) and second-lowest ERA (1.80).

Two-Time Defending Champs Aren’t the Favorites?

Before the postseason, The Athletic asked “more than 20” of its MLB experts to make World Series predictions. That group did not pick the Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of the past two World Series, as the most popular choice.

The Brewers led the poll with 56 percent of the vote. The Tampa Bay Rays finished second with 24 percent, while the Dodgers received just 16 percent. The Brewers and Rays are both reasonable picks, but the Dodgers’ support is still lower than you would expect from a club with this much star power and this level of recent dominance.

“No team carries as much October hype as Los Angeles,” Katie Woo wrote. “There are rightful concerns over the drop-off in production from Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, but their rotation of aces should carry them through any qualms on the offense. It’s the Dodgers’ title to lose, and they know it.”

Oddsmakers agree with that assessment. But if the majority of Woo’s colleagues are right, this year’s championship won’t be coming back to Los Angeles.