{"id":644320,"date":"2026-03-26T10:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/644320\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:52:17","slug":"heres-who-will-make-mlb-playoffs-win-big-awards-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/644320\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s who will make MLB playoffs, win big awards in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once is luck. Twice is skill. Three times? That\u2019s \u2026 a dynasty.<\/p>\n

Yes, MLB Opening Day 2026 is here and a Detroiter is going for a three-peat. No, we\u2019re not talking about Tarik Skubal \u2013 though he is going for his third American League Cy Young Award this season. And we\u2019re not talking about any of the Los Angeles Dodgers \u2013 though, yeah, they\u2019ve won two straight World Series.<\/p>\n

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No, we\u2019re talking about ourselves, who\u2019ve picked the World Series champs two \u2013 TWO \u2013 years in a row<\/a>. (And one of us is 2-for-2 in picking the AL Cy Young, too<\/a>. \u2026) OK, OK, picking the Dodgers to win every year isn\u2019t particularly tough, even with all the changes that come to baseball every offseason.<\/p>\n

\"Detroit<\/p>\n

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

6 BURNING QUESTIONS: Predicting the Detroit Tigers’ future<\/a><\/p>\n

Take this year, for example: The Automated Ball-Strike System is in. Labor peace is probably out. (But will that be before or after Skubal signs for $400 million?) Alex Bregman is a Tiger Red Sock Cub, Freddy Peralta is a Met, Pete Alonso is an Oriole, Marcus Semien is a Met, Ranger Su\u00e1rez is a Red Sox, Jorge Polanco is a Met (good news for Skubal!), Eugenio Su\u00e1rez is a Red, Luis Robert Jr. is a Met, Edwin D\u00edaz is a Dodger, Bo Bichette is a Met (at least it rhymes), Kyle Tucker is a Dodger, Devin Williams is a Met (are we sensing a theme?) and Framber Valdez, Kenley Jansen and, of course, Justin Verlander are all Tigers.<\/p>\n

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Got all that?<\/p>\n

Of course, Verlander was a Tiger before, too, which means everything comes around again, if you wait long enough. (No, Rockies, you have not waited long enough.) The Tigers, of course, have been waiting more than a decade to win the AL Central. Will they do it?<\/p>\n

READY TO WIN: Experienced Tigers eye World Series championship in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Read on as this pair of Free Press seamheads (and sports writers), Ryan Ford and Evan Petzold, make their picks for how the 2026 MLB season will play out (though we’ll note, only one of us can be right about the champs this fall \u2013 we picked different teams to win it all).<\/p>\n

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The regular seasonAL Central<\/p>\n

Ryan Ford:<\/p>\n

Evan Petzold: <\/p>\n

AL East<\/p>\n

Ford:<\/p>\n

Petzold: <\/p>\n

AL West<\/p>\n

Ford:<\/p>\n

Petzold: <\/p>\n

NL Central<\/p>\n

Ford:<\/p>\n

Petzold: <\/p>\n

NL East<\/p>\n

Ford:<\/p>\n

Petzold: <\/p>\n

NL West<\/p>\n

Ford:<\/p>\n

Petzold: <\/p>\n

The playoffs<\/p>\n

Ford:<\/p>\n

ALWC: 3. Mariners over 6. Royals; 4. Yankees over 5. Astros.<\/p>\n

ALDS: 1. Blue Jays over 4. Yankees; 2. Tigers over 3. Mariners.<\/p>\n

ALCS: 1. Blue Jays over 2. Tigers.<\/p>\n

NLWC: 3. Brewers over 6. Phillies; 5. Padres over 4. Cubs.<\/p>\n

NLDS: 1. Dodgers over 5. Padres; 2. Mets over 3. Brewers.<\/p>\n

NLCS: 2. Mets over 1. Dodgers<\/p>\n

World Series: 1. Blue Jays over 2. Mets<\/p>\n

Petzold: <\/p>\n

ALWC: 3. Mariners over 6. Orioles; 5. Royals over 4. Blue Jays.<\/p>\n

ALDS: 1. Red Sox over 5. Royals; 2. Tigers over 3. Mariners.<\/p>\n

ALCS: 1. Red Sox over 2. Tigers.<\/p>\n

NLWC: 6. Mets over 3. Cubs; 4. Padres over 5. Brewers.<\/p>\n

NLDS: 1. Dodgers over 4. Padres; 2. Phillies over 6. Mets.<\/p>\n

NLCS: 1. Dodgers over 2. Phillies<\/p>\n

World Series: 1. Dodgers over 1. Red Sox<\/p>\n

The awards<\/p>\n

Ford:<\/p>\n

AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays.<\/p>\n

AL Cy Young: Tarik Skubal, Tigers.<\/p>\n

AL Rookie of the Year: Samuel Basallo, Orioles.<\/p>\n

AL Manager of the Year: Skip Schumaker, Rangers.<\/p>\n

NL MVP: Alex Bregman, Cubs.<\/p>\n

NL Cy Young: Paul Skenes, Pirates.<\/p>\n

NL Rookie of the Year: Nolan McLean, Mets.<\/p>\n

NL Manager of the Year: Craig Stammen, Padres.<\/p>\n

Petzold:<\/p>\n

AL MVP: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals.<\/p>\n

AL Cy Young: Cole Ragans, Royals.<\/p>\n

AL Rookie of the Year: Tatsuya Imai, Astros.<\/p>\n

AL Manager of the Year: Craig Albernaz, Orioles.<\/p>\n

NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers.<\/p>\n

NL Cy Young: Christopher S\u00e1nchez, Phillies.<\/p>\n

NL Rookie of the Year: Nolan McLean, Mets.<\/p>\n

NL Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell, Cubs.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2026 MLB picks: Tarik Skubal a shoo-in for third AL Cy Young?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once is luck. Twice is skill. Three times? That\u2019s \u2026 a dynasty. Yes, MLB Opening Day 2026 is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2288],"tags":[44651,72,5,377,88,1351,136,160,230,54201,161,6259,53,83,38,39,1087,92,33874,79,753,120,388,132,29,999,2328,2304,386,620,9493,101,4,2305,2303,2517,125,877,74,40,90,297,89,536,168,82463,7326,468,382,4658,93,396,142],"class_list":{"0":"post-644320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-postseason","8":"tag-al-cy-young","9":"tag-alex-bregman","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-blue-jays","12":"tag-bo-bichette","13":"tag-bobby-witt-jr","14":"tag-brewers","15":"tag-cardinals","16":"tag-cole-ragans","17":"tag-craig-stammen","18":"tag-cubs","19":"tag-cy-young","20":"tag-detroit-tigers","21":"tag-devin-williams","22":"tag-diamondbacks","23":"tag-dodgers","24":"tag-edwin-diaz","25":"tag-eugenio-suarez","26":"tag-evan-petzold","27":"tag-framber-valdez","28":"tag-freddy-peralta","29":"tag-jorge-polanco","30":"tag-justin-verlander","31":"tag-kenley-jansen","32":"tag-kyle-tucker","33":"tag-luis-robert-jr","34":"tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","35":"tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","36":"tag-marcus-semien","37":"tag-mariners","38":"tag-met","39":"tag-mets","40":"tag-mlb","41":"tag-mlb-playoffs","42":"tag-mlb-postseason","43":"tag-nolan-mclean","44":"tag-orioles","45":"tag-paul-skenes","46":"tag-pete-alonso","47":"tag-phillies","48":"tag-ranger-suarez","49":"tag-rays","50":"tag-red-sox","51":"tag-reds","52":"tag-rockies","53":"tag-ryan-ford","54":"tag-samuel-basallo","55":"tag-shohei-ohtani","56":"tag-tarik-skubal","57":"tag-tatsuya-imai","58":"tag-vladimir-guerrero-jr","59":"tag-white-sox","60":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}