Here’s Who Is Going to Win the World Series (Maybe)
Forcing baseball writers to make predictions isn’t particularly nice. People tend to remember the bad picks more than the good ones, and a lot of flukiness can reveal itself in a short stretch of games. Still, I’m a scamp, so I asked my colleagues for their postseason winners. Thirty-two writers from across our family of blogs answered the call. Many of them proved to be Astros and Dodgers believers but some went in less well-worn directions. Below are the results by league and round, as well as each writer’s complete forecast. Happy playoffs!
National League
Wild Card and Divisional Series
National League Wild Card
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Nationals | 21 |
| Brewers | 11 |
Braves vs. Cardinals Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Braves | 23 |
| Cardinals | 9 |
Dodgers vs. Wild Card Winner Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 21 |
| Nationals | 10 |
| Brewers | 1 |
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Championship Series
NL Championship Series Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers vs. Braves | 17 |
| Braves vs. Nationals | 6 |
| Dodgers vs. Cardinals | 4 |
| Cardinals vs. Nationals | 4 |
| Cardinals vs. Brewers | 1 |
NL Championship Series Winner
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 19 |
| Nationals | 7 |
| Braves | 4 |
| Cardinals | 2 |
American League
Wild Card and Divisional Series
American League Wild Card
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Rays | 20 |
| Athletics | 12 |
Yankees vs. Twins Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Yankees | 21 |
| Twins | 11 |
Astros vs. Wild Card Winner Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Astros | 30 |
| Athletics | 1 |
| Rays | 1 |
Championship Series
AL Championship Series Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Astros vs. Yankees | 20 |
| Astros vs. Twins | 10 |
| Yankees vs. Athletics | 1 |
| Twins vs. Rays | 1 |
AL Championship Series Winner
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Astros | 26 |
| Yankees | 5 |
| Rays | 1 |
World Series
World Series Matchups
| Matchup | Votes |
|---|---|
| Astros vs. Dodgers | 16 |
| Astros vs. Nationals | 7 |
| Dodgers vs. Yankees | 3 |
| Astros vs. Braves | 2 |
| Yankees vs. Cardinals | 1 |
| Astros vs. Cardinals | 1 |
| Yankees vs. Braves | 1 |
| Braves vs. Rays | 1 |
World Series Champion
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Astros | 15 |
| Dodgers | 8 |
| Nationals | 4 |
| Yankees | 3 |
| Cardinals | 1 |
| Braves | 1 |
Full Writer Predictions
FanGraphs 2019 Staff Playoff Predictions
| Writer | NL WC | AL WC | ATL/STL DS | LAD/WC DS | NYY/MIN DS | HOU/WC DS | NLCS | ALCS | World Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Wolfe | MIL | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | ATL | HOU | HOU |
| Justin Mason | WSN | OAK | ATL | WSN | NYY | HOU | ATL | HOU | HOU |
| Dylan Higgins | MIL | TBR | ATL | LAD | MIN | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Shelly Verougstraete | MIL | OAK | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Jake Mailhot | MIL | OAK | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Josh Herzenberg | WSN | OAK | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Dan Szymborski | WSN | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Benjamin Pasinkoff | WSN | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Shane Tourtellotte | MIL | OAK | ATL | LAD | MIN | HOU | LAD | HOU | LAD |
| Birchwood Brothers | WSN | TBR | ATL | LAD | MIN | HOU | LAD | HOU | LAD |
| Kiley McDaniel | MIL | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | LAD |
| Brendan Gawlowski | MIL | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | LAD |
| Ben Kaspick | WSN | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | LAD |
| Rachael McDaniel | WSN | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | LAD |
| David Laurila | WSN | TBR | ATL | WSN | MIN | HOU | WSN | HOU | HOU |
| Nick Dika | WSN | TBR | ATL | WSN | NYY | HOU | WSN | HOU | HOU |
| Devan Fink | WSN | OAK | ATL | WSN | NYY | HOU | WSN | HOU | WSN |
| Brad Johnson | WSN | OAK | ATL | WSN | MIN | HOU | WSN | HOU | WSN |
| Paul Sporer | WSN | TBR | ATL | WSN | MIN | TBR | ATL | TBR | ATL |
| Brice Russ | WSN | TBR | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | ATL | NYY | NYY |
| Dustin Nosler | WSN | OAK | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | NYY | LAD |
| Nick Pollack | WSN | OAK | ATL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | NYY | NYY |
| Rian Watt | MIL | OAK | ATL | LAD | NYY | OAK | LAD | NYY | NYY |
| Eric Longenhagen | WSN | TBR | STL | WSN | MIN | HOU | STL | HOU | HOU |
| Craig Edwards | WSN | TBR | STL | LAD | MIN | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Jay Jaffe | MIL | OAK | STL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Jeff Zimmerman | WSN | TBR | STL | LAD | NYY | HOU | LAD | HOU | HOU |
| Justin Klugh | MIL | TBR | STL | LAD | MIN | HOU | LAD | HOU | LAD |
| Meg Rowley | WSN | TBR | STL | WSN | MIN | HOU | WSN | HOU | HOU |
| Ben Clemens | WSN | TBR | STL | WSN | MIN | HOU | WSN | HOU | WSN |
| Jason Martinez | WSN | TBR | STL | WSN | NYY | HOU | WSN | HOU | WSN |
| Audrey Stark | MIL | OAK | STL | MIL | NYY | HOU | STL | NYY | STL |
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.
I did MLB.com’s bracket and came out with the exact same as Nick Dika. It’s a shame I’m ineligible as a non-US resident. Nick, if you’re happy to sign up and take part, I’ll gladly accept half the winnings.
Non-US residents are ineligible?! I think I’ve got the same bracket as Nick Pollack, and that’s clearly the winner. I offer 50% of the $250k prize to anyone who will let me use their New York state address (since I registered as a New Yorker) when I win.
I believe you have to be a resident in the US or Canada-except-Quebec. Same for Beat the Streak.