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, here’s some 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 on Thursday’s Opening Day, starting with Pirates vs. Mets, and the final six teams will join the party on Friday.

To prepare you 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 division winners and World Series champion to Cy Young winner and MVP to first no-hitter, biggest name traded and everything in between. Plus, we have some fantastic Pianowski analysis sprinkled throughout.

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Let’s dig.

Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB season

The AL East is the only division to have three different title nominees this season. The AL Central is a 4-2 verdict for the Tigers against the Royals; no one even has the Guardians (who stole the division last year) making the playoffs. The Mariners made a clean slate 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, meaning four of the six writers have them in the playoffs. It’s a fun time for the fantasy-investing Royals, with the fences coming (and coming down) and staff ace Cole Ragans presumably healthy.

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Half of the poll has the Mariners in the World Series, while the other half picks an AL East team. Seattle remains the safest place to get fantasy pitchers, with a spacious park and positive defense. I also like Brendan Donovan as a late rover pick.

On the NL side, the divisional choices are pretty clear: 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, NL Central teams received no World Series love. The Dodgers will win another pennant, according to half of our panel, with the other votes going to the Mets (two picks) and the Phillies (one).

MLB Previews by Division: NL East | Central NL | NL West | AL East | AL Central | AL West

When it comes to MVP, our experts will happily play the hits. Shohei Ohtani received five votes, Aaron Judge received four, Bobby Witt Jr. had two and Juan Soto received one vote. This perfectly reflects fantasy baseball, as Ohtani and Judge make up the 1-versus-2 debate in most leagues, usually followed by Witt and Soto in some order.

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

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

Among Cy Young sleepers, Jacob Misiorowski comes out on top with two votes. I didn’t choose it, but again, I order off the Milwaukee menu. MacKenzie Gore is a fun pick as he moves to a pitching park and to a Texas team that should support him better than Washington.

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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 throughout the spring, and McLean almost feels like a cheater, considering he excelled in eight starts last year. (I was happy to cheat, although it was hard to ignore JJ Wetherholt and Konnor Griffin.)

When it comes to tours, we love fantastic tours; as my old friend Gene McCaffrey likes to say, these are four-category events. Our four picks for home run champion (Ohtani, Judge, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso) should be gone by the end of your second round.

Learn more: How different are all 30 MLB teams from last season?

Our experts don’t have a clear consensus on who could pitch the first no-hitter of the season or make a splash in the biggest trade deadline, but fans can expect a historic walk year from Tarik Skubal, plenty of homers from Shohei Ohtani and maybe even 100 wins for the Dodgers.

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As for the star who disappoints, injury problems could explain the choices of Corbin Carroll and Spencer Strider (my choice, even though I named him before the injury announcement). Chris Sale enters his season at age 37 and has only qualified for 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 still has it. Our voters have gone around the world with this question, covering the infield, the outfield, two starters and a reliever. Nolan Arenado and Max Scherzer both land around Pick 190, offering the best value.

Finally, when it came to playoff upsets, opinions were divided on the Braves and Padres. Two of our experts believe the Braves will make 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 failure of the playoffs.