March 26, 2026
It's time for baseball that counts.
After a long spring training, and an even longer offseason, the Phillies will start their 162-game marathon to October, looking to earn a fifth straight postseason berth and the franchise's first World Series since 2008.
Are they equipped for achieving that goal?
The Phillies are a favorite, but not the favorite (that would be the Dodgers once again), to win it all in 2026. How will the season and postseason pan out? Our PhillyVoice staff already made some predictions and bold picks.
National baseball writers have not been shy to share their thoughts either. Here's a look at how some insiders and experts think the Phils will fare this year:
We'll start with ESPN, which tagged several of its baseball writers to predict the division winners and the postseason outcome. The Phillies narrowly missed out on the NL East title, with 16 votes going to the Mets and 13 votes to them. As Wildcard participants, ESPN gave the Phillies the second most votes to win the NL pennant — but still went chalk with the Dodgers three-peating as champions.
Still, there's some love and respect out there for the Phillies nationally. Here's what Eric Karabell said about their World Series chances:
Phillies have won 90 or more games in each of the past three seasons, so getting to October, where anything can happen in a short series, is hardly the problem. These Phillies maintain a top rotation and enjoy perhaps their best bullpen in this five-year run. Bryce Harper is still here. So is Kyle Schwarber. Adolis Garcia is now here, too. The Phillies might not add to their regular-season win total for the eighth consecutive full season, but they should be in October and are certainly capable of topping any team once there. With all this talent, perhaps they also get a bit of luck. [ESPN]
The league's own website polled its writers to give a consensus winner in each division, the six Wildcard teams and the World Series winner and the Mets were their NL East pick (though the Phillies did receive votes). The Dodgers are the World Series pick (though the Phillies received votes here too). Here's what they had to say about the league's top Wildcard team:
This remains one of baseball's elite rotations, with Spring Training only affirming that notion. Cristopher Sánchez is a bona fide ace. Andrew Painter, the club's No. 2 prospect, is primed for his long-awaited MLB debut. Zack Wheeler looked so good this spring that he's already heading out on a rehab assignment as he works his way back from thoracic outlet decompression surgery. He should be back sooner rather than later.
Speaking of "back," count us intrigued by Bryce Harper, who endured a bit of a tumultuous offseason amid noise that he is no longer elite. His dramatic home run for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic final was a good reminder that Harper is still plenty capable of reaching that level. [MLB.com]
Want a fun scenario? How about The Athletic's prediction. Keith law tried to guess how each of the 30 MLB teams would finish and how the postseason would go. The Phillies are not surprisingly participants again, earning 90 wins and a Wildcard berth behind the 94-win Mets. Law projects Philly will handle the Pirates in the Wildcard, and the Dodgers in the NLDS. Sounds pretty good, right?
Law is pitting the Phillies and the Mets in the NLCS and has the Mets coming out on top — before they lose to the Mariners in the Fall Classic. He wrote a paragraph about his Phillies take:
The Phillies made just one minor addition this winter, rolling the dice that Adolis García will somehow rediscover his 2023 approach again, and added rookies Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter to the Opening Day roster. Beyond those changes, they’re mostly running back the same crew that won 96 games last year and gave the Dodgers the only real scare they had in October. (And I still think they win that series if Rob Thomson understood that you have the option to not intentionally walk a batter with first base empty.) I’m not sure that’s such a great thing; six of their nine regulars are 33 or older, and they’re really counting on one of two things to happen in their rotation — either Zack Wheeler returns at 100 percent after surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, or Painter fulfills his promise and becomes a viable major-league starter this year despite posting a 5.40 ERA in Triple A last year. I’ll give you Wheeler, and just a modest decline in their offense, but the arrow is starting to point down. [The Athletic]
Yahoo! had their six baseball writers pick a bevy of things this week, and an even split between the Mets and Phillies in the NL East emerged. One of those predicting a second straight division title for the Phils, Jordan Shusterman, thinks they'll win the pennant and fall to the Blue Jays in the World Series. It's worth pointing out that all six writers see Philly in the postseason, with the other three going Wild Card.
On the individual accolade front, three of the experts think Zack Wheeler will be comeback player of the year, and one thinks Cris Sánchez will win NL Cy Young. Two of the six think Kyle Schwarber will lead the league in homers after inking his rich new contract to stay in Philly.
Over at CBS, their five writers picked pennant winners and the 2026 champion and three of the writers gave love to the defending champion Dodgers, with one going Cubs to represent the NL in the World Series. Julian McWilliams thinks it will be a Red October. Don't get too excited, he expects them to lose to the Blue Jays in the Fall Classic.
Maybe I'm too caught up in baseball's pull toward redemption and storybook endings, which teams aren't owed. But the Blue Jays were two outs from a title last year and it's hard to see a path where they don't push through this time. Yes, I know it's hard, but they have the experience, the veterans, the youth and the hunger to bring it all together. [CBS Sports]
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