MLB Opening Day 2026: Expert picks for World Series champion, division winners, surprise playoff teams, Cy Young, MVP and more

After another long, cold, dark winter, there’s good news: Baseball is back. The Yankees visit the Giants on Wednesday to kick off the MLB season. Twenty-two teams will be in action Thursday on Opening Day, starting with Pirates vs. Mets, and the final six teams will join the fun on Friday.

To get you ready for Opening Day and the season ahead, Yahoo Sports’ MLB experts — Jake Mintz, Jordan Shusterman, Jack Baer, Chris Cwik, Jason Owens and Scott Pianowski — made their predictions for the 2026 season, from the division winners and World Series champion to the Cy Young winners and MVPs to the first no-hitter thrown, the biggest name traded and everything in between. Plus, we’ve got some fantasy analysis from Pianowski sprinkled in.

Let’s dig in.

Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season

The AL East is the only division to get three different nominees for the title this season. The AL Central is a 4-2 verdict for the Tigers over the Royals; no one even has the Guardians (who stole the division last year) making the playoffs. The Mariners are a clean sweep in the AL West after coming within one game of their first World Series.

Two other experts have Kansas City with a wild-card spot, which means four of six writers put them in the playoffs. It’s a fun time to be Royals-invested for fantasy, with the fences coming in (and down) and staff ace Cole Ragans presumably healthy.

Half the poll put the Mariners in the World Series, while the other half picked an AL East team. Seattle remains the safest place to grab fantasy pitchers, with a roomy park and a plus defense. I like Brendan Donovan as a late rover pick, too.

On the NL side, the divisional picks are pretty clean: a 50-50 split between the Mets and Phillies, a 50-50 split between the Brewers and Cubs and a sweep for the heavily favored Dodgers. Like in the AL, the NL Central teams didn’t get any World Series love. The Dodgers will take another pennant, according to half our panel, with the other votes going to the Mets (two picks) and Phillies (one).

MLB previews by division: NL East | NL Central | NL West | AL East | AL Central | AL West

When it comes to MVPs, our experts are happy to play the hits. Shohei Ohtani got five votes, Aaron Judge received four, Bobby Witt Jr. had two, and Juan Soto grabbed one vote. This mirrors fantasy baseball perfectly, as Ohtani and Judge form the 1 vs. 2 debate in most leagues, usually followed by Witt and Soto in some order.

As for MVP sleepers, these are fun names to peruse because anyone who checks this box is probably a major target for fantasy. Roman Anthony (Yahoo ADP: 45.9) scored two votes, while Julio Rodríguez, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Chourio and Yordan Alvarez each picked up one. I didn’t pick Chourio, but I think the Brewers are the smartest organization in baseball, and I want to backline them whenever I can.

For Cy Young, once again we’re playing the hits, with plenty of nods for Tarik Skubal (four votes) and Paul Skenes (four votes) to duplicate their 2025 wins. They’re both first-round fantasy picks for obvious reasons. Garrett Crochet (another first-round pick) scored the two votes that Skubal didn’t get; Cristopher Sánchez and World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto are on Skenes’ tail in the NL.

Among the Cy Young sleepers, Jacob Misiorowski leads the way with two votes. I didn’t pick him, but again, I’m ordering off the Milwaukee menu. MacKenzie Gore is a fun pick as he moves to a pitcher’s park and a Texas team that should support him better than Washington did.

For Rookie of the Year, Kevin McGonigle (three votes) and Nolan McLean (three votes) hold the yellow jerseys. McGonigle has shown power, speed, and patience all spring, and McLean almost feels like a cheating pick, given that he excelled in eight starts last year. (I was happy to cheat, though it was hard to pass over JJ Wetherholt and Konnor Griffin.)

As for home runs, we love home runs in fantasy; as my old friend Gene McCaffrey likes to say they’re four-category events. All four of our picks for home run champ (Ohtani, Judge, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso) should be gone by the end of your second round.

Read more: How different are all 30 MLB teams compared to last season?

Our experts have no clear consensus on who might throw the season’s first no-hitter or make the biggest trade-deadline splash, but fans can expect a landmark walk year from Tarik Skubal, a whole lot of home runs from Shohei Ohtani and maybe even 100 wins for the Dodgers.

As for the star who disappoints, injury concerns could explain the picks of Corbin Carroll and Spencer Strider (my pick, though I named him before the injury news). Chris Sale is entering into his age-37 season and has qualified for just one ERA title since 2017. Regression is the big question with Cal Raleigh and Nick Kurtz; both are top-25 picks on Yahoo.

Then there’s the veteran who’s still got it. Our voters went around the horn with this question, covering the infield, the outfield, two starters and one reliever. Nolan Arenado and Max Scherzer both land around Pick 190, offering the most bang for your buck.

Finally, when it comes to playoff surprises, opinions were split on the Braves and Padres. Two of our experts have the Braves going to the playoffs, while another named them the team most likely to disappoint. Things are even more polarizing in San Diego; two voters put them in the playoffs, but three others called for them to be the most surprising playoff miss.