Best Series Bets for the 2026 World Series

by Sam Cox | by Sam Cox

image Best Series Bets for the 2026 World Series
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The Tampa Bay Rays are slight underdogs for the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s a meeting of the two teams with the best records in their respective leagues, and only the 15th time this has happened since divisional play was introduced in 1969.

This is only the fourth time since the turn of the century that the winningest team in each league has reached the World Series. It is the second Fall Classic since 1921 to be played between two teams without a title to their name, and the first in MLB history where both teams have been waiting more than 25 years.

There’s also a staggering lack of World Series experience on these rosters, with only three players having appeared in a previous Fall Classic.

It might not have the superstar power that broadcasters dreamt of, but it still promises to be an enthralling duel.

Here are our favorite MLB picks for the 2026 World Series.

Jake Bauers To Lead World Series in Home Runs (+450)

Clobbering 26 homers in the regular season, Jake Bauers was in the 92nd percentile in barrel rate. He rarely chases and walks at an elite level, forcing pitchers to come to him.

The first baseman has already delivered some epic plate appearances in these playoffs. Eighteen of his 26 regular-season bombs came off right-handers, and the Rays’ rotation features four righties.

This isn’t a series with a catalogue of sluggers. Junior Caminero is the understandable favourite, but Bauers is clearly the best power hitter outside of Caminero, who only has an .806 OPS in these playoffs.

Jonathan Aranda To Lead World Series in Hits (+1100)

Jonathan Aranda sacrificed some contact for power this year. The Mexican still had a .274 batting average in the regular season and he has the second-best expected batting average among players in this World Series.

It’s hard to see why Aranda’s odds are so long in this market. He will have to deal with Milwaukee’s lefty relievers, but the Brewers have a heavily right-handed rotation and Aranda had a .284 batting average against righties in the regular season.

Tampa Bay Rays +1.5 Games (-145)

The Rays won 98 regular season games. They then swept the New York Yankees and overturned a 2-1 deficit to beat the Cleveland Guardians in six games.

It’s reasonable that Tampa Bay is an underdog for this matchup, such has been the dominance of the Brewers this year. It also feels like a clear-cut betting opportunity to back the Rays to at least force a Game 7.

Any Extra Innings Game in Series (+110)

Each of the last four World Series have had an extra-inning game. These two teams have sensational, deep bullpens, which could lead to offensive stagnation in the late innings.

If it’s a one-run game with three innings to go, there’s a good chance it will be a one-run game heading into the ninth. This promises to be a tight, hard-fought series, with two managers that are very familiar with mixing and matching their relief corps to get 27 outs.

Freddy Peralta To Win World Series MVP (+4000)

Freddy Peralta won ALCS MVP. His transformation since swapping New York for Florida is the latest example of the Rays’ unmatched pitching development.

Peralta had a 0.79 ERA in his final six regular season outings and has a 1.08 ERA in this postseason. Perhaps most impressive was how Peralta pitched 0.2 innings in relief in Game 4 before a strong 5.1 innings as the Game 6 starter.

We saw the Miami Marlins put starting pitchers in games in relief on their bullpen days between starts. The Rays are likely to deploy a similar strategy with Peralta in this Fall Classic after how successful he was in the ALCS – two strong starts and a key relief appearance could again be enough for Peralta to take MVP honors.

Brice Turang 7+ Hits in World Series (+110)

Held hitless in the first two games of the NLDS, Brice Turang heated up in the NLCS. He’s got six hits in six games, with a .300 batting average over that period.

Turang hit .280 in the regular season thanks to an 80th percentile expected batting average. He’s above average in whiff rate and has the speed to beat out soft grounders.

After posting a .361 batting average in September, Turang’s overall playoff numbers aren’t the gaudiest, but he’s been a highly effective contact hitter over the last 10 weeks.