Dodgers, Brewers, Rays and Guardians are the last four in the MLB playoffs

The MLB playoffs are down to four teams. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland GuardiansCleveland GuardiansUnited States are reported to be the four clubs still standing in the postseason as of 11 October 2026, with the American League Championship Series and the National League Championship Series the last stage before the World Series.

Attention at this stage turns to forecasts. Predictions for both championship series have been published, along with a ranking of the four remaining clubs that weighs them against one another. Those pieces offer a view on who advances; they settle nothing.

Season

What the ALCS and NLCS decide

Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0

The two league championship series produce the season's final two survivors. The winner of the American League bracket and the winner of the National League bracket meet in the World Series, which leaves the four clubs involved one series away from the sport's biggest stage.

• Los Angeles Dodgers
• Milwaukee Brewers
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Cleveland Guardians

A four-team field is a narrow one, and the two series that remain are the shortest route left to a title. Each of the four clubs came through the earlier rounds of the postseason; each now needs one series win to reach the World Series.

Any ranking or pick at this point is an argument about form and matchups rather than a statement of fact. The four clubs have reached the same stage from different directions, and the next two series are short enough that one game can change how the whole field looks. The value of a ranking here is limited to the argument it makes; the bracket is decided by results, and those results are still to come.

What is not yet known

Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0

Neither championship series has produced a winner, so no club has yet secured a World Series place. The two teams that will contest the World Series are therefore unknown, and the published predictions carry no weight on the field.

There is one thing the final four guarantees: it will shrink. Two of the four clubs will lose their next series and finish the season one round short of the World Series, while two will play on.

What happens next

The ALCS and NLCS will decide the two World Series participants. Until those series are complete, the final four stays as it is and the World Series picture stays open. For the Dodgers, Brewers, Rays and Guardians, the forecasts now give way to the games themselves.