MLB Predictions & Betting tips

Make your bets today after reading our totally free 2026 MLB predictions and betting tips and let their expert opinions guide you towards some winning bets.

Major League Baseball Presentation and Predictions

Major League Baseball, commonly referred to as the MLB, is one of the United States’ ‘big four’ sports (along with the NFL, the NBA and the NHL) and is considered to be a national pastime in the country. It is the premier baseball league in the world, attracting the best talent from North America, Central/South America and Asia primarily. The league consists of 30 teams separated into two different conferences, the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). In these two conferences there are three divisions (East, Central and West), each containing five teams each.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending champions after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays by a series score of 4-3 in the 2025 World Series. It was the second consecutive championship for the Dodgers and the third in the last five years, bringing their all-time tally to 9.

Sign up and bet on MLB with Melbet

2026 MLB Prediction: Who will win the 2026 World Series?

Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers come into the 2026 season as the clear favourites. They’ve won the last two straight World Series, becoming the first team to go back-to-back since the Yankees during their three-peat run more than 25 years ago.

They have a stacked lineup and rotation, which got even stronger thanks to the addition of superstar Kyle Tucker, who will join the likes of Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. And of course, Los Angeles possesses the most dominant player in the game today in Shohei Ohtani who contributes at an elite level in both hitting and pitching.

With a three-peat now in their sights, we expect the Dodgers to be back in full force in the 2026 season. Our 2026 MLB prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers champions!

2026 MLB World Series winner - odds on the favourites

• Los Angeles Dodgers - 2.90
• New York Yankees - 6.50
• Atlanta Braves - 10.00
• Seattle Mariners - 13.00
• Tampa Bay Rays - 17.00
• Chicago Cubs - 19.00
• Milwaukee Brewers - 19.00
• Philadelphia Phillies - 19.00
• Toronto Blue Jays - 26.00
• Texas Rangers - 26.00
• Cleveland Guardians - 26.00
• San Diego Padres - 36.00

Odds taken from Bet365.com

Who will win the 2026 AL MVP in Major League Baseball?

Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge has been absolutely destroying pitchers in recent seasons. He’s averaging an incredible 52.5 home runs and 116 RBIs per season since 2022, during which time he’s claimed all three of his AL MVP awards.

The 6’7” slugger doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon and we’re expecting Judge to once again terrorise AL pitchers throughout the 2026 regular season. Our 2026 AL MVP prediction: Aaron Judge!

2026 AL MVP - odds on the favourites

• Aaron Judge - 1.71
• Bobby Witt Jr - 4.50
• Yordan Alvarez - 7.00
• Nick Kurtz - 11.00
• Ben Rice - 21.00
• Junior Caminero - 31.00
• Shea Langeliers - 31.00
• Jose Ramirez - 34.00
• Julio Rodriguez - 36.00
• Bryon Buxton - 51.00

Odds taken from Bet365.com

What prediction for the 2026 NL MVP in Major League Baseball?

Ohtani is widely considered to be the most talented player in history and is building his case towards possibly being the greatest the MLB has ever seen. He’s won the last three straight MVP awards (1 in the AL and 2 in the NL), bringing his all-time total to 4. Only Barry Bonds has won the award more than Ohtani with his 7 MVPs.

Ohtani is the most prominent two-way player in the MLB since the legendary Babe Ruth. This dual threat of hitting and pitching makes the 31-year-old nearly impossible to beat if we’re simply considering the overall impact that he provides to his team. He should be coming into his best years in his career right now, which spells trouble for the rest of the league. Our 2026 NL MVP award: Shohei Ohtani!

2026 NL MVP - odds on the favourites

• Shohei Ohtani - 1.22
• Kyle Schwarber - 13.00
• Matt Olson - 21.00
• Elly De La Cruz - 23.00
• Bryce Harper - 31.00
• Corbin Carroll - 36.00
• Juan Soto - 36.00
• James Wood - 41.00
• Jordan Walker - 41.00
• Drake Baldwin - 51.00

Odds taken from Bet365.com

Beginner’s Guide - how the MLB works

The Major League Baseball season consists of 162 games, played from March 25th (official Opening Day) to September 27th, with the postseason starting in on September 29th. Many of these games come against their own divisional rivals with each team facing off 13 times each against the other four teams they are competing with. This often leads to some heated rivalries which can make for excellent viewing, and potentially profitable betting situations, from a fan perspective.

The 30 teams in the league are competing for 12 playoffs spots, six from each conference. The AL and NL teams with the best record receive a first round bye, qualifying automatically for the divisional series round, while the remaining four teams play a best-of-three Wild Card round with the matchups being determined by the final seeding of each team. The division round, commonly referred to as the ALDS and the NLDS, are played as a best-of-five format while the championship round (ALCS and NLCS) then revert to a best-of-seven series. The winners of the championship round advance to the World Series where a seven game series is played to determine the season champion.

Sign up and bet on MLB with 22bet

How to make good predictions on MLB Games?

Below we've come up with five habits you can implement into your own MLB prediction process to greatly increase your chances of a successful bet.

• Compare the starting pitcher matchup
• Consider the form of the teams
• Analyze detailed statistics 
• Situational spots and team news
• Compare odds across bookmakers

Adding these into your process is sure to help you out in the long run. Let's look at each in more detail:

Compare the starting pitcher matchup

The starting pitcher duel is often considered to be among the most important aspects of a game and should be one of the first things you look to analyze. Pitcher performance is paramount in determining which team walks away with the win. A pitcher who has good stuff and is in the zone can hold a team scoreless and with minimal hits until the later stages of the game, sometimes even going the full nine innings. Of course, this type of performance from a pitcher gives his team a massive edge to win the game as the offense will only have to drive-in a run or two to walk away with the victory. 

You want to assess how the pitcher has been performing on the season. Be sure to note their ERA, which stands for earned run average, and is the principal stat in determining how effective a pitcher is. You can also look at numbers such as the pitcher's strikeout rate, team batting average against, home runs allowed and his performance against right and left handed batters. If you notice that a left-handed pitcher has significantly better numbers against left-handed batters, check the opposition lineup to see if they have a high number of lefties that will take to the plate.

Consider the form of the teams

As with most sports, you’ll want to pay attention to the form of the two teams facing off when looking into a game. While it’s certainly not the end-all-be-all, there is something to be said for a team that is in a rhythm and playing well. Baseball, perhaps more so than other sports, can see players and even entire teams pick up steam and go on hot streaks for considerable amounts of time. Likewise, it’s not entirely uncommon for a player to have a hitting slump or a pitcher to have a pitching slump that lasts an entire season. We don’t recommend making baseball predictions based solely on form but when combined with the other points on this list, will help guide you along to your final conclusion.

Analyze detailed statistics

Baseball is unique in that it employs a seemingly endless list of statistics and metrics that both sports bettors and professional teams use when assessing players. Luckily for us, many of these statistics are available to the public and can be found with a simple online search. The MLB is truly a game of numbers and analytics have taken the sport in a new direction. So, how can you use them to your advantage?

You’ll want to think logically about how the statistics you are looking at can be applied to make a more informed sports betting prediction. For example, say a team is facing a left-handed pitcher. In this case, it would be advisable to look for how the team performs against lefties; this can be found by looking at the team OPS against left-handed pitchers, average runs scored vs lefties, batting average, etc. In a similar manner, you can judge how the pitcher himself performs against left or right-handed batters. You will also want to take into account what kind of ballpark the game is played in (is it a pitcher’s park or hitter’s park?). Always keep an eye out for the relevant statistics and how they can be used to analyze the most likely outcome of an event.

Situational spots and team news

Another aspect that sets the MLB apart from other sports around the world is the sheer number of games that are played. The regular season in the MLB is 162 games, all of which are played over the course of only 187 days. Therefore, teams often play multiple games on consecutive days, making rest days a rare commodity – there are only 20-25 per team in the entire season! With this information in mind, it makes sense to be aware of the team’s schedules in the games that you are looking to bet on. Make a note of how teams perform when coming off of a rest day, do they see a significant increase in offensive production? Does their win percentage rise considerably thanks to the extra prep day?

Starting pitchers are often granted around five days to recover in between starts. Naturally, because pitching is such a physically intensive activity and hard on the arm. However, there are situations that might arise where a pitcher comes in on short rest (more common in the playoffs when a team needs their ace on the mound in a must win game). Some teams even opt for “bullpen days” where they essentially pitch the entire game utilizing their full bullpen instead of one of their designated starters. These are situations you’ll want to be aware of.

Compare odds across bookmakers

Last but certainly not least, you will want to make it a priority to compare the odds at different bookmakers. We can’t stress enough just how important this is; this one factor can often make the difference between some sports bettors ending up profitable or in the red! You always want to be looking for the best available odds for the bet that you wish to place. If you can consistently get the best possible price you will instantly see an improvement on your bottom line. 

In order to do this most effectively, you’ll want to register with as many betting sites as you can. Having funds available on a multitude of different books ensures you will have the ability to choose the best possible line across the sites you are registered with. Not only that, but you will also be able to benefit from bookmaker’s welcome bonuses, many of which can see you receive a 100% bonus on your first deposit! Visit our best betting sites page to check out the best welcome bonuses out there currently.

What not to do for your MLB Predictions

To give yourself the best chance at achieving a positive ROI in your Major League Baseball betting there are a few pitfalls you will want to avoid. Here are some examples of what you should be cautious of:

• Not taking into account the pitching matchup.
• Chasing your losses (ex. Betting triple your normal amount to ‘make up for’ two previous losses).
• Not practicing proper bankroll management (you should have a fixed bet amount within your overall betting funds). 
• Not comparing bookmakers to find the best possible odds on the market for your bet.
• Betting strictly on a team’s name and reputation and not accounting for recent performance and form.
• Only looking at final scores of previous games and not digging deeper into the underlying statistics.
• Disregarding the betting odds and not understanding the implied probability behind them.
• Blindly betting on your favorite team.

More than a few beginner and experienced bettors have fallen victim to one or multiple of the above habits. If you can eliminate them from your betting process and approach each game with clear, rational analysis, you’ll greatly increase your chances of turning a profit!

Sign up and bet on MLB with Betwinner

MLB Prediction: Statistics you need to know

We’ve compiled some of the most important statistics to keep an eye on when you are analyzing your next MLB predictions. All of the following statistics are taken from the previous 2025 season unless stated otherwise:

• The average runs scored per team was 4.47 (NL teams) and 4.42 (AL teams) last season.
• The Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins were the best teams against the spread last season, covering the runline in 58% of their regular season games.
• The Bluejays (56.2%) and the Pirates (55.6%) were second and third, respectively, in runline cover percentage.
• 29.24% of games last season saw a run scored in the first inning.
• The NY Yankees held the highest “run scored in the first inning” mark at 39.64% while the Rockies held the lowest at 20.99%.
• The Mariners had the highest amount of games going over the posted total at 56.1%.
• The Reds led the MLB in games that finished under the posted total at 60.5%.

Regarding the American League 2025:

• The team with the most wins in the regular season was the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays with 94 wins.
• The White Sox had the fewest wins, with only 60 victories.
• The best offense was the Yankees, scoring 849 runs.
• The Texas Rangers allowed only 605 runs throughout the 2025 regular season.

Regarding the National League 2025:

• The Milwaukee Brewers had the most wins, with 97 victories in the regular season.
• The Colorado Rockies, on the other hand, had the fewest wins, with only 43.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers had the best offense in the regular season with 825 runs.
• The Padres allowed only 621 runs in the regular season.

In Short: How to ake the Right MLB Predictions?

When making your MLB predictions, be sure to follow the advice laid out in this article. You will want to make sure you properly analyze the pitching matchup between the two teams, the underlying statistics in regards to their batting, defense and pitching, the form of the teams and the situational spot in play. 

If you are pressed for time and don’t think you’ll be able to fully analyze an MLB game, or simply would like to hear our thoughts on the matter, head over to our predictions page where you can find the latest betting tips by our MLB experts.

Sign up and bet on MLB with 1xbet

Our current MLB predictions

Our MLB predictions and betting tips will be available soon. Check back regularly for the latest insights.

Best MLB odds:

The images featuring this article are licensed from the IMAGO website.