October may seem like a lifetime away, but we know it will be here in a blink of an eye. All 30 MLB teams begin their quest for the postseason on this week, which feels like the perfect time to start speculating about who will be playing meaningful baseball in the tenth month of 2026.
And if there's one thing we can predict with confidence, it's that this year's field will look much different than last year's. After all, typically half of all playoff teams fail to make it back — which means that several teams that missed out on postseason baseball will be crashing the party.
Let's try to figure out which teams those might be, whether it's familiar powers expected to rebound in 2026 or sleepers hopeful that some offseason additions will propel them into October.
Houston Astros
After making it to the postseason eight straight times, the Houston Astros finally had that streak snapped in 2025. The Astros were right on the heels of the Seattle Mariners in the AL West, but injuries up and down the roster helped lead to a second-half swoon that dropped them out of Wild Card contention entirely.
The only notable addition the Astros made this offseason was Japanese hurler Tatsuya Imai, but it's not like a lot changes needed to be made to be competitive. If Imai can help stabilize the rotation behind ace Hunter Brown, Cam Smith can break out in his second season and stars like Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez can stay healthy for something like a full year, there's more than enough talent here. Look for Houston to play like they have something to prove this season and insert themselves back into the playoffs.
Atlanta Braves
As weird as this is to say, the Atlanta Braves may be a bit of a dark horse pick to make the postseason in 2026. Much like the Astros, Atlanta had a playoff streak (seven straight seasons) come to an end in 2025; October baseball remains the expectation in Atlanta, even in their first season with Walt Weiss as manager. However, that bar is going to be difficult to reach considering the circumstances.
Here's how Atlanta's Opening Day rotation will shape up: Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and Jose Suarez. No Spencer Strider (IL with an oblique injury), no Spencer Schwellenbach (out until the summer after elbow surgery). No disrespect to the guys left behind, but this is less than ideal.
With the hopes that Ronald Acuña Jr. will stay healthy for a full season and power bats Matt Olson and Austin Riley will return to form, the Braves are going to look for their offense to carry them into October. In a stacked NL East, that will be a tough task, but when they are at their best, Atlanta's offense remains as dangerous as anyone one through nine. In a wide-open NL Wild Card picture, that could still be enough.
Baltimore Orioles
2025 could not have been more of a nightmare for the Baltimore Orioles. After playoff appearances in 2023 and 2024, it felt like their young core would become an October fixture for years to come. Instead, they finished with a AL East-worst 75-87 record and missed the playoffs by a significant margin.
Despite finishing last in what may the most competitive division in baseball a season ago, the O's full expect to be contenders again in 2026 and have the roster to do it. With youngsters like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday establishing themselves along with the addition of veterans like Pete Alonso, Chris Bassitt and Ryan Helsley, Baltimore could be a team to watch for.
If everything can fall into place here, we could witness a very special 2026 season. Go ahead and put them on your "worst to first" watchlist for 2026.