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Team to beat? Sleeper pick? MLB insiders predict playoff favorites, toughest contenders

In a survey of 16 unaffiliated baseball front-office members and scouts assessing the 2026 postseason landscape, the Milwaukee Brewers emerged as the National League frontrunner, collecting six total votes. The Los Angeles Dodgers closely trailed with five selections, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies with four and the Chicago Cubs with one.

Despite being eliminated by Los Angeles during the previous year's NLCS, Milwaukee earned top status primarily due to its fortified pitching rotation and bullpen strength.

Insiders specifically highlighted the mound duo of Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson as a decisive factor giving Milwaukee an edge against elite competition, while also noting the lineup's productive home-field offense. The Dodgers remain a formidable threat contingent on Shohei Ohtani's pitching health, while the Phillies are providing Bryce Harper another postseason opportunity following their 2022 pennant run.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners, who served as the consensus surprise pick a year ago before falling one win short of the Fall Classic, failed to garner votes this cycle as they face postseason elimination.