Here’s Who Is Going to Win the 2020 World Series (Maybe)
Asking baseball writers to predict the postseason is unkind under the best of circumstances. Throw in a 16-team field and a best-of-three Wild Card Series where the higher seed’s only real advantage is playing at home, and something is bound to go sideways. Still, our readers demand their answer, so I asked my colleagues to predict which team will emerge from the postseason gauntlet with a trophy, and which squads are bound for early exits. Twenty of us answered the call. Below are the results by league and round, as well as each writer’s complete forecast in a sortable table. Happy playoffs!
American League Wild Card Series
Blue Jays (8) vs. Rays (1)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Rays | 19 |
| Blue Jays | 1 |
White Sox (7) vs. Athletics (2)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| White Sox | 14 |
| Athletics | 6 |
Astros (6) vs. Twins (3)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Twins | 17 |
| Astros | 3 |
Yankees (5) vs. Indians (4)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Yankees | 10 |
| Indians | 10 |
National League Wild Card Series
Brewers (8) vs. Dodgers (1)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 20 |
| Brewers | 0 |
Reds (7) vs. Braves (2)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Reds | 16 |
| Braves | 4 |
Marlins (6) vs. Cubs (3)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Cubs | 13 |
| Marlins | 7 |
Cardinals (5) vs. Padres (4)
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Padres | 16 |
| Cardinals | 4 |
American League Division Series
ALDS Rays/Blue Jays vs. Indians/Yankees Winners Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Yankees vs. Rays | 11 |
| Indians vs. Rays | 8 |
| Indians vs. Blue Jays | 1 |
ALDS Rays/Blue Jays vs. Indians/Yankees Series Winner
| Series Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Rays | 12 |
| Indians | 4 |
| Yankees | 3 |
| Blue Jays | 1 |
ALDS Athletics/White Sox vs. Twins/Astros Winners Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Twins vs. White Sox | 12 |
| Twins vs. Athletics | 5 |
| Astros vs. White Sox | 2 |
| Astros vs. Athletics | 1 |
ALDS Athletics/White Sox vs. Twins/Astros Series Winner
| Series Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Twins | 11 |
| White Sox | 7 |
| Astros | 1 |
| Athletics | 1 |
National League Division Series
NLDS Dodgers/Brewers vs. Padres/Cardinals Winners Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Padres vs. Dodgers | 16 |
| Cardinals vs. Dodgers | 4 |
NLDS Dodgers/Brewers vs. Padres/Cardinals Series Winner
| Series Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 15 |
| Padres | 5 |
NLDS Braves/Reds vs. Cubs/Marlins Winners Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Cubs vs. Reds | 10 |
| Marlins vs. Reds | 6 |
| Cubs vs. Braves | 3 |
| Marlins vs. Braves | 1 |
NLDS Braves/Reds vs. Cubs/Marlins Series Winner
| Series Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Reds | 13 |
| Braves | 4 |
| Cubs | 3 |
American League Championship Series
ALCS Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Rays vs. Twins | 8 |
| Rays vs. White Sox | 3 |
| Indians vs. Twins | 2 |
| Yankees vs. White Sox | 2 |
| Blue Jays vs. White Sox | 1 |
| Indians vs. Astros | 1 |
| Indians vs. White Sox | 1 |
| Rays vs. Athletics | 1 |
| Yankees vs. Twins | 1 |
ALCS Winner
| Series Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Rays | 9 |
| Yankees | 3 |
| Indians | 3 |
| Twins | 2 |
| White Sox | 2 |
| Athletics | 1 |
National League Championship Series
NLCS Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers vs. Reds | 9 |
| Padres vs. Reds | 4 |
| Dodgers vs. Braves | 3 |
| Dodgers vs. Cubs | 3 |
| Padres vs. Braves | 1 |
NLCS Winner
| Series Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 14 |
| Padres | 3 |
| Reds | 3 |
World Series
World Series Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers vs. Rays | 8 |
| Dodgers vs. Yankees | 3 |
| Dodgers vs. Twins | 2 |
| Dodgers vs. Indians | 1 |
| Padres vs. Athletics | 1 |
| Padres vs. Indians | 1 |
| Padres vs. White Sox | 1 |
| Reds vs. Indians | 1 |
| Reds vs. Rays | 1 |
| Reds vs. White Sox | 1 |
World Series Champion
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 13 |
| Padres | 2 |
| Athletics | 1 |
| Rays | 1 |
| Reds | 1 |
| Twins | 1 |
| White Sox | 1 |
Full Staff Predictions
FanGraphs 2020 Staff Wild Card Series Predictions
| Writer | TBR/TOR | OAK/CHW | MIN/HOU | CLE/NYY | LAD/MIL | ATL/CIN | CHC/MIA | SDP/STL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Chamberlain | TOR | CHW | MIN | CLE | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Ariel Cohen | TBR | CHW | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Ben Clemens | TBR | OAK | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Brendan Gawlowski | TBR | CHW | MIN | NYY | LAD | ATL | CHC | SDP |
| Craig Edwards | TBR | CHW | HOU | NYY | LAD | ATL | CHC | STL |
| Dan Szymborski | TBR | OAK | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| David Laurila | TBR | OAK | MIN | CLE | LAD | ATL | MIA | SDP |
| Dylan Higgins | TBR | OAK | MIN | CLE | LAD | CIN | MIA | SDP |
| Eric Longenhagen | TBR | CHW | MIN | CLE | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Jake Mailhot | TBR | CHW | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Jason Martinez | TBR | CHW | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Jay Jaffe | TBR | OAK | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Jeff Zimmerman | TBR | CHW | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | MIA | SDP |
| Jon Tayler | TBR | CHW | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Meg Rowley | TBR | CHW | MIN | CLE | LAD | CIN | MIA | STL |
| Michael Simione | TBR | CHW | MIN | NYY | LAD | CIN | MIA | STL |
| Paul Sporer | TBR | OAK | HOU | CLE | LAD | CIN | MIA | SDP |
| Rachael McDaniel | TBR | CHW | MIN | CLE | LAD | CIN | CHC | SDP |
| Shelly Verougstraete | TBR | CHW | MIN | CLE | LAD | CIN | MIA | STL |
| Tony Wolfe | TBR | CHW | HOU | CLE | LAD | ATL | CHC | SDP |
FanGraphs 2020 Staff DS, CS, and World Series Predictions
| Writer | ALDS Series A | ALDS Series B | NLDS Series A | NLDS Series B | NLCS Winner | ALCS Winner | World Series Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Chamberlain | TOR | CHW | SDP | CIN | SDP | CHW | SDP |
| Ariel Cohen | TBR | CHW | LAD | CIN | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Ben Clemens | NYY | MIN | LAD | CIN | LAD | NYY | LAD |
| Brendan Gawlowski | TBR | MIN | LAD | ATL | LAD | NYY | LAD |
| Craig Edwards | TBR | CHW | LAD | ATL | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Dan Szymborski | NYY | CHW | LAD | CIN | LAD | NYY | LAD |
| David Laurila | CLE | MIN | LAD | ATL | LAD | MIN | MIN |
| Dylan Higgins | TBR | OAK | SDP | CIN | SDP | OAK | OAK |
| Eric Longenhagen | TBR | MIN | LAD | CIN | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Jake Mailhot | TBR | MIN | LAD | CIN | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Jason Martinez | TBR | MIN | LAD | CIN | LAD | MIN | LAD |
| Jay Jaffe | TBR | MIN | LAD | CHC | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Jeff Zimmerman | NYY | CHW | SDP | CIN | CIN | CHW | CHW |
| Jon Tayler | TBR | MIN | LAD | CHC | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Meg Rowley | TBR | MIN | LAD | CIN | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Michael Simione | TBR | CHW | LAD | CIN | CIN | TBR | TBR |
| Paul Sporer | CLE | HOU | SDP | CIN | CIN | CLE | CIN |
| Rachael McDaniel | TBR | MIN | LAD | CHC | LAD | TBR | LAD |
| Shelly Verougstraete | CLE | MIN | LAD | CIN | LAD | CLE | LAD |
| Tony Wolfe | CLE | CHW | SDP | ATL | SDP | CLE | SDP |
ALDS Series A: TB/TOR vs. CLE/NYY winners; ALDS Series B: OAK/CHW vs. MIN/HOU winners; NLDS Series A: LAD/MIL vs. SDP/STL winners; NLDS Series B : ATL/CIN vs. CHC/MIA winners
Meg is the editor-in-chief of FanGraphs and the co-host of Effectively Wild. Prior to joining FanGraphs, her work appeared at Baseball Prospectus, Lookout Landing, and Just A Bit Outside. You can follow her on Bluesky @megrowler.fangraphs.com.
Everybody’s gonna feel pretty silly when the Astros sweep the playoffs! *ducks*
They’re off to a good start, already sweeping away the Twins.