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The 2026 MLB World Series features two of the best teams in baseball with low payrolls making it to the Fall Classic, as the Milwaukee Brewers will battle the Tampa Bay Rays.
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Representing the National League are the Brewers, the 103-win team that won the NL Central this year and came first overall in the league.
The Brewers, who are 19th overall in MLB payroll this season at $146.2 million, had a first-round bye by virtue of winning the NL.
They then beat the San Diego Padres in the NLDS 3-1 before sweeping the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending two-time World Series champs, 4-0 in the NLCS to reach the second World Series in franchise history.
The Brewers, who have never won a World Series, have not been to the Fall Classic since 1982, so it was a long time coming.
As for the Rays, the team had 98 wins this year, while winning the AL East, the most in the American League, and then, after a first-round bye, swept the New York Yankees 3-0 in the ALDS before beating the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 in the ALCS.
The Rays, who are 28th in payroll at a paltry $95.6 million, have made it to two previous World Series finals, but they have never won one.
This year, we will not only guarantee a first-time World Series winner when the Brewers meet the Rays, but we will also guarantee that two of the bottom-12 teams in payroll will be the champions, which is incredible to think about.
So, who wins it all?
Breaking Down the Brewers vs. Rays
This Brewers vs. Rays series is interesting because we don’t usually see two smaller-market teams make it this far.
Let’s face it, in MLB, there are the haves and the have-nots, and very rarely do the have-nots face off against each other for all the marbles.
But that’s exactly what we’re getting this season, and it’s going to be interesting to see how things play out.
So now, let’s take a look at how these two teams stack up against one another.
The Brewers have a slightly better pitching staff, with the Brewers holding an MLB No. 2-ranked staff ERA at 3.51 compared to 3.70 for the No. 7-ranked Rays.
The Brewers’ pitching staff was also second in the league in strikeouts, with 1,544, compared to the Rays, who were 19th, with 1,322.
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In the playoffs, swing-and-miss is at a premium, giving the Brewers a slight edge in that category.
It’s also worth mentioning that bullpens are important in the playoffs, and the Brewers had a slightly better bullpen this year (3.40 ERA for Milwaukee compared to 3.99 ERA for Tampa Bay), which will also help them if these games are close late, as good as Rays closer Bryan Baker is.
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The Brewers also have the single-best pitcher in the series, SP Jacob Misiorowski, who is the frontrunner to win the NL Cy Young Award this season.
Having a bona fide ace in the postseason is a cheat code.
From a hitting perspective, the Brewers were No. 3 overall in baseball with a team OPS of .744, compared to the Rays, who were No. 8 at .728.
The Rays, led by 3B Junior Caminero, have more home-run potential, but I like the Brewers’ lineup better from 1-to-9, with gamebreakers like LF Jackson Chourio and 2B Brice Turang among the team’s lineup, plus former NL MVP DH Christian Yelich, the Brewers’ team captain.
Defensively, the Brewers are also better with the glove, led by the Platinum Glove winner Turang, and I expect them to make a few more highlight-reel plays in the field.
Of course, in a seven-game series, a small sample can change everything.
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But based on everything we’ve seen this year in the regular season and so far in the playoffs, the Brewers are the slightly better team and deserve to be the World Series favorites heading into this series.
Our Final Prediction for the Brewers vs. Rays World Series
Based on how these two teams match up, I am expecting a closely fought series that goes the full seven games.
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Still, the Brewers have home-field advantage, which could come in handy should this series go the full seven games, as many, myself included, believe it will. This is a close series on paper, and one that will come down to the fine margins.
But in the end, only one team can win, and my guess is the Brewers will win their first World Series in franchise history.
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This story was originally published October 21, 2026 at 7:29 AM.