Power Rankings: Who's on top among final four teams?

And then there were four.

Twenty-six teams are home for the winter, figuring out what happens next. Four are still trying to win the World Series. One of them will. Here are our Power Rankings of the remaining quartet. We also take a look at a reason to believe that each team will win the World Series … and a reason each might have some concern.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Brewers
Last title: None
Last World Series appearance: 1982 (lost to STL)
Last postseason result: Lost 2025 NLCS (vs. LAD)

Reason to believe: This is the best team in Brewers history, a team that won 103 games behind an offense that’s deeper and more versatile than some past incarnations, a bullpen that’s one of the best in baseball and, oh yes, the best starting pitcher on the planet -- one who can throw harder than anyone ever has. Add to that Jackson Chourio, who keeps writing a new page in his history as a postseason legend with every game. If it’s ever the year, it’s this one.

Reason for concern: This is the fourth time the Brewers have faced the Dodgers in the postseason since 2018. The first three matchups all ended with a loss. The last one was, in fact, a miserable sweep in last year’s NLCS, a series that the Brewers came into with the same optimism as they have this year. Until they get over the hump, the Dodgers are going to be living rent-free in every Brewers fan’s brain.

2. Dodgers
Last title: 2025 (9th in franchise history)
Last World Series appearance: 2025 (beat TOR)
Last postseason result: Won 2025 World Series

Reason to believe: Well, they’re the Dodgers. They’ve won two straight World Series titles and are trying to become just the second team in the past 50 years to win three straight. They also have an absolute murderer’s row of starting pitching, in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the best postseason pitchers ever, is the second starter, behind the reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. They’re the Dodgers. They’re the champs until proven otherwise.

Reason for concern: That lineup full of veteran stars and MVP winners? The stars are getting more and more veteran, and their MVP wins are getting further away. Many of those 30-plus-year-old hitters are off to slow starts in the postseason, from Mookie Betts to Teoscar Hernández to Will Smith. But no one’s struggling as badly as Shohei Ohtani, who really hasn’t looked right in months and, of course, is no longer pitching. Ohtani was the star of this team in last year’s NLCS; can he be that guy again this year?

3. Rays
Last title: None
Last World Series appearance: 2020 (lost to LAD)
Last postseason result: Lost 2023 ALWC (vs. TEX)

Reason to believe: Did you see the Rays in their series against the Yankees? They were basically unstoppable, and they were unstoppable because they showed they could beat you in so many ways. Putting the ball in play. Hitting homers. Getting ace-level starting pitching. Outlasting you with their bullpen. The Rays had the best home record in the Majors this year, and they’ve got home-field advantage in the ALCS, looking to make their third trip to the World Series. It’s all pointing in their direction.

Reason for concern: They’re not really a big home run-hitting team outside of Junior Caminero, and they’re vulnerable to left-handed pitchers -- which any opponent is going to toss at them in droves. Also: Is their youth an advantage in the postseason or a disadvantage?

4. Guardians
Last title: 1948 (2nd in franchise history)
Last World Series appearance: 2016 (lost to CHC)
Last postseason result: Lost 2025 ALWC (vs. DET)

Reason to believe: They were facing elimination heading into a roaring, vibrating crowd in Chicago and not only fought back twice, but returned to Cleveland to win again and reach the ALCS. Their offense has been coming around, and that’s in large part because of the re-emergence of José Ramírez, who may well be at last having a postseason run befitting of a future Hall of Famer.

Reason for concern: There still isn’t a lot of offense here, and their starting pitching hasn’t been giving them a lot of length lately … and they, unlike the Rays, have had to work incredibly hard to get here.

Voters: Jason Catania, Scott Chiusano, Dan Cichalski, Theo DeRosa, Jared Greenspan, Will Leitch, Brent Maguire, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Zac Vierra.