Here’s Who’s (Maybe) Going to Win the 2025 World Series
After a thrilling end to the regular season that saw the final NL Wild Card spot and both the AL East and Central division crowns come down to the last day, the postseason is here. The field features returning powerhouses, upstart challengers, and many of the game’s brightest stars. And while the bracket’s top seeds could be poised for deep runs, a lot can happen in a short series. That makes it difficult to predict how October will unfold, but 25 of our writers from FanGraphs and RotoGraphs did their best.
Below are our predictions by league and round, as well as each writer’s full forecast (those tables are sortable). You can find our playoff odds here and the ZiPS postseason game-by-game odds here. Happy playoffs!
American League
Wild Card Series
Red Sox vs. Yankees Wild Card Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 14 |
| Boston Red Sox | 11 |
Tigers vs. Guardians Wild Card Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 13 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 12 |
Division Series
Red Sox/Yankees WC Winner vs. Blue Jays Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays | 11 |
| New York Yankees | 9 |
| Boston Red Sox | 5 |
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Tigers/Guardians WC Winner vs. Mariners Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | 23 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 2 |
League Championship Series
American League Championship Series Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners | 10 |
| New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners | 8 |
| Boston Red Sox vs. Seattle Mariners | 5 |
| Toronto Blue Jays vs. Cleveland Guardians | 1 |
| New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians | 1 |
American League Championship Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | 14 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 6 |
| New York Yankees | 4 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 1 |
National League
Wild Card Series
Padres vs. Cubs Wild Card Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| San Diego Padres | 18 |
| Chicago Cubs | 7 |
Reds vs. Dodgers Wild Card Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 23 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 2 |
Division Series
Padres/Cubs WC Winner vs. Brewers Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| San Diego Padres | 12 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 11 |
| Chicago Cubs | 2 |
Reds/Dodgers WC Winner vs. Phillies Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 18 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 7 |
League Championship Series
National League Championship Series Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies | 10 |
| San Diego Padres vs. Philadelphia Phillies | 6 |
| San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | 6 |
| Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies | 2 |
| Milwaukee Brewers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 |
National League Championship Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 15 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 6 |
| San Diego Padres | 4 |
World Series
World Series Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners vs. Philadelphia Phillies | 11 |
| Toronto Blue Jays vs. San Diego Padres | 3 |
| Toronto Blue Jays vs. Philadelphia Phillies | 2 |
| Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | 2 |
| New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies | 2 |
| New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | 2 |
| Toronto Blue Jays vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 |
| Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres | 1 |
| Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 |
World Series Champion
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | 8 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 7 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 3 |
| New York Yankees | 3 |
| San Diego Padres | 2 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 1 |
Writer Predictions
American League Wild Card and Division Series Predictions
| Writer | BOS/NYY WC | DET/CLE WC | BOS/NYY v. TOR DS | DET/CLE v. SEA DS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Chamberlain | NYY | CLE | NYY | CLE |
| Ariel Cohen | NYY | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Ben Clemens | BOS | CLE | BOS | SEA |
| Chad Young | BOS | CLE | BOS | SEA |
| Dan Szymborski | NYY | DET | TOR | SEA |
| David Laurila | BOS | DET | BOS | SEA |
| Davy Andrews | BOS | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Eric Longenhagen | BOS | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Esteban Rivera | NYY | CLE | NYY | SEA |
| Jake Mailhot | NYY | CLE | NYY | SEA |
| James Fegan | BOS | CLE | BOS | SEA |
| Jason Martinez | BOS | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Jay Jaffe | NYY | CLE | TOR | SEA |
| Jeff Zimmerman | NYY | CLE | NYY | SEA |
| Joe Orrico | BOS | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Jon Becker | BOS | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Keaton Arneson | NYY | DET | NYY | SEA |
| Kiri Oler | NYY | CLE | NYY | SEA |
| Matt Martell | NYY | CLE | NYY | SEA |
| Meg Rowley | NYY | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Michael Baumann | BOS | DET | TOR | SEA |
| Michael Rosen | NYY | CLE | NYY | SEA |
| Mike Podhorzer | NYY | DET | NYY | SEA |
| Niv Shah | NYY | CLE | TOR | CLE |
| Paul Sporer | BOS | DET | BOS | SEA |
National League Wild Card and Division Series Predictions
| Writer | SDP/CHC WC | CIN/LAD WC | SDP/CHC v. MIL DS | CIN/LAD v. PHI DS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Chamberlain | SDP | LAD | SDP | LAD |
| Ariel Cohen | CHC | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Ben Clemens | CHC | LAD | MIL | LAD |
| Chad Young | CHC | LAD | CHC | PHI |
| Dan Szymborski | SDP | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| David Laurila | CHC | CIN | CHC | PHI |
| Davy Andrews | SDP | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Eric Longenhagen | SDP | LAD | SDP | PHI |
| Esteban Rivera | SDP | LAD | SDP | LAD |
| Jake Mailhot | SDP | LAD | SDP | LAD |
| James Fegan | SDP | LAD | SDP | PHI |
| Jason Martinez | SDP | LAD | SDP | PHI |
| Jay Jaffe | SDP | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Jeff Zimmerman | CHC | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Joe Orrico | CHC | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Jon Becker | CHC | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Keaton Arneson | SDP | CIN | MIL | PHI |
| Kiri Oler | SDP | LAD | SDP | PHI |
| Matt Martell | SDP | LAD | SDP | PHI |
| Meg Rowley | SDP | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Michael Baumann | SDP | LAD | SDP | LAD |
| Michael Rosen | SDP | LAD | SDP | LAD |
| Mike Podhorzer | SDP | LAD | SD | LAD |
| Niv Shah | SDP | LAD | MIL | PHI |
| Paul Sporer | SDP | LAD | SDP | PHI |
League Championship Series and World Series
| Writer | ALCS | NLCS | World Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Chamberlain | CLE | LAD | CLE |
| Ariel Cohen | SEA | PHI | SEA |
| Ben Clemens | TOR | LAD | TOR |
| Chad Young | SEA | PHI | PHI |
| Dan Szymborski | SEA | PHI | PHI |
| David Laurila | SEA | PHI | PHI |
| Davy Andrews | TOR | PHI | TOR |
| Eric Longenhagen | TOR | SDP | SDP |
| Esteban Rivera | NYY | LAD | NYY |
| Jake Mailhot | SEA | LAD | SEA |
| James Fegan | SEA | PHI | SEA |
| Jason Martinez | TOR | SDP | SDP |
| Jay Jaffe | SEA | PHI | PHI |
| Jeff Zimmerman | SEA | PHI | PHI |
| Joe Orrico | SEA | PHI | SEA |
| Jon Becker | SEA | PHI | SEA |
| Keaton Arneson | NYY | PHI | NYY |
| Kiri Oler | SEA | PHI | SEA |
| Matt Martell | NYY | PHI | NYY |
| Meg Rowley | SEA | PHI | PHI |
| Michael Baumann | TOR | SDP | TOR |
| Michael Rosen | NYY | LAD | LAD |
| Mike Podhorzer | SEA | LAD | SEA |
| Niv Shah | TOR | PHI | PHI |
| Paul Sporer | SEA | SDP | SEA |
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.
In the spirit of going against the grain I’ll go with the Padres to win it all.
I understand why the Mariners or Phillies are the popular picks. It’s kind of hard to pick someone other than Mariners or Phillies to win it all because they have the bye and the Dodgers and Yankees don’t, which means that there’s a decent chance one of them doesn’t get out of the first round. But if you forced me to go series by series just picking the best team I think I might wind up with one of those two. Those four teams all look pretty strong to me.
Which means I’m going with the Padres. Deep lineup with some underperforming stars, rotation isn’t super-elite but Nick Pivetta, Cease, and King are all playoff-worthy starter. And if they get a lead they can throw four elite relievers at you (Miller, Suarez, Morejon, Adam) plus Jeremiah Estrada. If they make it to a 7-game series they’re going to get so many breaks they can just keep throwing the same guys at you.
Slugging wins championships, and I just can’t see it with this Padres offense, especially with no Laureano. 28th in home runs and 25th in SLG is not gonna cut it.
It’s not great, but Tatis and Machado have a track record of hitting for more power than they did this year. Losing Laureano hurts a lot, he was hitting for a lot of power this year.
I’d say the bigger concern is just the offense in general. It’s not a bad offense like the Reds or Guardians, but it’s pretty average. That’s probably more damaging than how one gets there. If you asked me to pick either the Angels’ offense (226 HR, wRC+ 92) versus the Padres’ (152 HR, 102 wRC+) to go with in the playoffs I would pick the the Padres’ offense for certain.
I’m livid work prevented me from staking this flag before the game: THE ABSOLUTE DISRESPECT TO THE CUBS GOING ON IN THIS WHOLE ARTICLE IS RIDICULOUS!
Cubs probably have one of the worst rotations out of all the playoff teams. It’s not surprising that people don’t like them.
I believe the Cubs do 2 things well-1 better than anyone else.
1-I believe Counsell has learned through his stints in Milwaukee how to play leverage. You saw yesterday in moving Palencia into a spot with clear leverage. Schildt, to no real fault, wanted to imagine Pivetta getting through to Swanson-when you imagine success, you lose that edge.
2-The Cubs defend. They took at least 2 runs away from the Padres on defense alone. Due to an 8th inning Wild Pitch, the Cubs scored an insurance run that made the ninth a little more comfortable.
Does this take the Cubs to the World Series? Probably not, but I look at fan favorites like Seattle and Philly and wonder: when will their weaknesses show? The defense both of them exhibit are glaring-I suspect they will find their way to the sunlight sometime this autumn.
Mariners, Brewers, Padres – none have ever won a World Series, so it would be nice if one of those 3 finally did. Cleveland hasn’t won since, I think, 1948.
Jason Adam had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his knee and is out. But, yeah, that’s still one heck of a bullpen. Their backs are against the wall with today’s loss, though.
I don’t hate this prediction. They have wily veterans. A talented youngster or two. And pitching that just might be good enough for it all to click. It’s not hard to envision the Friars firing fiercely on all cylinders
The curse of feeling like I can’t pick the same one as everyone else means it already looks like it is wrong! I would have gone with Mariners over Dodgers in six but there were two writers with that exact matchup!