2026 Division Series Preview

The Wild Card Series is over, and now it's on to the Division Series! It's been 15 years and I'm still getting used to the fact that this is actually the second round of the postseason; it had been the first round for 17 seasons between 1995 and 2011. The current format that's been in MLB since 2022 creates an atmosphere that forces teams to earn an increase in the room for error, as the best-of-three Wild Card series winners now get to play in a best-of-five format.

Of course, this is where it gets serious, as the Division Series winners will play for their respective pennants. With that said, here's a look at the four series:

ALDS: Rays vs Yankees

I am very happy with how the Yankees are doing so far. We swept the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, and did so in dominant fashion! We only had to use Cam Schlittler and Max Fried to get the job done, and that allowed us an extra day off to plan for this series. We broke the news on Friday: Gerrit Cole will start for the Yankees in Game One. We did not have Cole last postseason. No we have him for Game One, and we can start Schlittler on good rest in Game Two!

And we need this because the Rays are quite dangerous this year. Even with Judge and Stanton both out for the most part, the Yankees still had a chance at the East, but there was one problem: the Rays weren't losing. TB showed no signs of slippage, and they've been led by players such as Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, and especially Junior Caminero all season. Those three propelled the Rays not only to the postseason, but to a vast improvement that took them to the #1 seed in the Junior Circuit.

This is the second overall postseason meeting between the two division foes; the only other meeting came in the 2020 ALDS, which the Rays won in five games as part of their road to their second pennant in franchise history.

ALDS: Guardians vs White Sox

It seems like yesterday when I wrote my piece about how bad this team was. It was a disaster. 2024 saw them lose 121 games! They lost 324 games in just three seasons. This year, the Chicago White Sox not only reached the postseason, they marched on, sweeping the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series; the White Sox's first postseason series victory since defeating those same Astros in the World Series in 2005.

The White Sox will go up against the Cleveland Guardians, who scratched and clawed their way to another American League Central title. Of course, Cleveland has a bigger itch; one that's been around for 77 seasons. It's also been a full decade since they won a pennant, and 2024 was their best chance to get back to the World Series. Last year was Cleveland's big comeback--from down 10.5 games to winning the Central, but they fizzled in the Wild Card Series. This year, they got a bye by default because as bad as the Central was, the West was worse.

Unless you count the climax of Major League II, this is the very first postseason meeting between the two clubs. You won't see Roger Dorn taking one for the team in a pinch hit situation, and we definitely won't get the heated Vaughn vs Parkman showdown. But I sense a very amazing series between these two teams.

NLDS: Brewers vs Padres

Something has to give in this one. Out of the eight remaining teams, three of them are looking for their first title. Two of the three are in this series: the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres. They have two common bonds. One, they both debuted in 1969, and two, they've never won the big one. The Padres haven't come really close since their last pennant in 1998, and they've spent the last few seasons being quite the tease. Remember when they beat the Dodgers out in 2022? That was the year they peaked. They haven't come close to that level since, and they need to prove themselves this year.

But the Padres aren't the biggest "fool ya team" in MLB. That title belongs to the Brewers. They're doing it again, folks. They not only have baseball's best record, but for the first time in their near six decade history, they won 100+ games. But remember the last time Milwaukee had baseball's best record. It was last year. And what happened? They barely beat the Cubs out, and when it came to the Dodgers, oh boy. Swept--including Ohtani winning Game Four by himself. And this is the latest of a few times where they've had good chances to do something, but blown it. The Brewers are the MLB equivalent of the Buffalo Bills and the Edmonton Oilers, though at least the Oilers reached the Cup Final twice in the last three years.

This is the first postseason meeting between these two clubs.

NLDS: Dodgers vs Braves

This is the marquee matchup of the four; the only series pitting teams who won the World Series in this decade. The Braves are looking for that magic they had five years ago, when they won the World Series. So far, they have it. For the first time since that Fall Classic, the Braves won a postseason series, going the maximum three games against the Phillies. The Braves did it with the long ball, which is good. They'll need it for their next test.

The Los Angeles Dodgers. Won it all in 2024. Won it all last year. This year, well, they're not looking so invincible, though we've been fooled like that before in sports. The 2026 Dodgers do look like they're on the beatable side. Yes, they won the NL West, but they were running unopposed. They lost this year's season series to Atlanta. Shohei Ohtani's come down to earth, or close to it. Yoshinobu Yamamoto isn't exactly in Cy Young form. But all that matters is how the game is played.

The Braves and Dodgers are meeting for the sixth time in the postseason, and that stretch includes the NLCS in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, the Dodgers won after trailing 3-1, went on to win the World Series. In 2021, the Braves led 3-1, learned from the previous year, and won in six, went on to win the World Series. Based on that alone, this series is the true NLCS.

Regarding telecasts, because it's an even-numbered year, the ALDS will air on TBS and TruTV, while the NLDS will air on Fox and FS1. I do love the Division Series, because it's the only best-of-five series left, though I've carried a belief that MLB will eventually extend the Wild Card to a best-of-five and/or possibly extend the Division Series to a best-of-seven. But if it comes to that, that will be way down the line. Right now, I'm definitely ready for the week-long sprint that determines who will play for the pennant!