In less than a month and following the conclusion of the World Baseball Classic, the 2026 MLB Season will be underway. After a thrilling 2025 campaign that culminated in the Los Angeles Dodgers besting the Toronto Blue Jays in a magical seven game World Series, one can only hope this year proves to be as exciting as the previous year. As a Mets fan, I for one am looking forward to this season – partly because after last year’s collapse things cannot possibly get worse. While I would be overjoyed if it were to happen; unfortunately, I do not think the Mets will be making a World Series (although I do predict them to make the playoffs). My pre- season World Series pick for the 2026 MLB Season is the Baltimore Orioles.
While that may be surprising to many people, I am fully confident in my selection. Despite not even winning 80 games last year, I am positive the Orioles will have a bounceback campaign for the ages. The Orioles will be boasting a lineup that includes Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso in 2026 – a truly formidable 1-2 punch. Alonso will thrive in hitter friendly Camden Yards and Henderson will assuredly bounce back from a lackluster 2025 campaign. The other key piece who I believe will bounce back and lead Baltimore to their 4th ever World Series victory is former number 1 overall pick Adley Ruschman. When Ruschman is good, the Orioles are good – and I fully expect Ruschman to perform well this year. Ruschman will be playing with a fire within him, as he is coming off his worst season as a pro and has heard pundits all offseason call him washed and overrated. Ruschman, finally healthy, will be determined to prove these naysayers wrong; and will have what I expect to be his best season as a pro. If Ruschman performs like I expect he will, Henderson returns to his 2024 form, and Pete Alonso produces in a way similar to how he did as a Met, this will be a scary team. This all ignores other contributors, such as Free Agent acquisition Taylor Ward and longtime Oriole Ryan Mountcastle. These two guys are elite players in their own right, and add depth to the lineup.
In the talk about their lineup, I conveniently left out Jackson Holliday. Jackson Holliday has limitless potential in the majors that he has unfortunately not fully demonstrated yet. If Holliday can live up to a fraction of the expectations and perform to a fraction of his abilities, the Orioles will not only have the best middle infield in baseball between him and Henderson but also have, in my opinion, the best lineup in baseball other than the Dodgers. A lineup of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Ruschman, Pete Alonso, Taylor Ward, Ryan Mountcastle, and Jackson Holliday all at the peak of their powers is a World Series lineup.
If there is a reason to doubt the 2026 Orioles, it is their pitching. While I admit it is not ideal, the addition of Chris Bassitt will help as will the return of Kyle Bradish. Kyle Bradish is a potential Cy Young contender when on top of his game; and seeing as he will finally be fully healthy for the first time in years, I expect him to dominate. Overall, their pitching is mediocre and will not lose any games but will at the same time fail to win any either. Because of their lineup, however, the Orioles pitching will merely just not have to collapse and they will win plenty of games. I am confident this will be accomplished.
Due to a lineup I believe will be among the best in baseball in 2026, the Orioles are my pick to win this year’s World Series. There is a bit of wishful thinking in that statement, as I do have a sad feeling the Dodgers will win yet again but I refuse to acknowledge it. The Orioles have as good a chance as anyone else and with a fire under them after last season’s disappointing end; the Orioles will play with a passion all the way into October and win the 2026 World Series.