Reviewing World Series 2025 Picks from MLB Experts for Final Series on the Bracket
Just seven teams remain in the chase for the 2025 World Series title following the Toronto Blue Jays' elimination of the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
And that number could decrease pretty quickly, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers carry 2-1 series leads into their respective contests on Thursday.
In other words, October baseball is October baseball-ing, and experts are scrambling to make sense of it all. We're here to dig into what they're thinking by rounding up their latest championship picks.
ESPN Expert Backs Brewers and Their Young Star
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A panel of ESPN experts recently shared their "hottest hot takes" after the first week of playoff action. And if one of them is right, the Milwaukee Brewers and their fanbase will have a huge celebration in their future.
Tristan Cockcroft predicted not only a title for the Brewers, but also LCS and World Series MVP awards for 21-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio.
"Why doubt the Milwaukee Brewers now?" Cockcroft wrote. "They've enjoyed a magical run to this point and have looked great at the onset of the division series. Chourio has been quite the table-setter—he had three hits in two innings in Game 1—and he's one of the game's budding superstars. This October is his breakout party."
The Brewers missed their first shot to knock out the Cubs on Wednesday, but they'll get another crack at it Thursday and still own a plus-nine run differential in this series. Chourio has had a massive part in that success. Despite battling some hamstring tightness, he is 6-for-11 in the series with two doubles, a home run and eight combined runs and RBI.
The Athletic's Favorites Are Up Against It
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Entering the postseason, the Athletic rounded up World Series predictions from more than 20 experts. While chalk has largely held in these playoffs, the experts' favorites already find themselves in precarious spots.
The heaviest favorite, drawing 44 percent of the votes, are the Philadelphia Phillies, who slugged their way to a series-extending 8-2 triumph over the Dodgers on Wednesday. Philly still needs to reel off back-to-back wins over the defending champs, starting with Thursday's clash back in L.A.
Up next were the Seattle Mariners at 36 percent. They've split their first four tilts with the sixth-seeded Detroit Tigers, setting up a winner-take-all Game 5 in Seattle on Friday. The Mariners still control their own destiny, though, so perhaps this one comes to fruition.
"With their trade deadline reinforcements in, this team has few holes," Eno Sarris wrote. "Starting pitching that can be dominant, a bullpen that was top three in ERA in September, and power from sources other than Julio Rodríguez and [Cal] Raleigh—these are the reasons the Mariners will finally get to the mountaintop."
Four ESPN Experts Caution Not To Forget About the Champs
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Prior to the playoffs, ESPN had 25 experts make their predictions through the World Series. While two predicted champs have since been knocked out (the Yankees and San Diego Padres), the favorites are still around.
The Phillies drew the most support (12 votes), and the Mariners were up next (five), but the Dodgers landed in the third spot (four). And if ESPN revisited these picks, L.A. might climb even higher.
"It comes down to talent and experience—and no team has more of either than the Dodgers," Jeff Passan, who predicted another L.A. win, wrote. "... With Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow healthy and lined up, they've got the highest-ceiling—and perhaps also highest-floor—rotation of any playoff team. And any lineup that starts with Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman promises to be tricky for even the best pitchers to navigate."
There hasn't been a repeat champion since the Yankees won three titles in a row from 1998 to 2000. If the Dodgers can fend off the Phillies, their star-studded roster just might have what it takes to pull off this rare feat.
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