Here’s Who Is Going to Win the 2020 World Series (Maybe)

September 29, 2020

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

ATL	CHC*	ARI
MIA	CIN	COL
WSN	MIL	LAD
NYM*	PIT	SDP*
PHI	STL	SFG