2026 World Series preview: How the Brewers and Rays compare at every position

We’ve got a very intriguing World Series matchup on tap with the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers facing off in this year’s Fall Classic. The winner of this World Series will win the first title in franchise history, which is always fun to see. 

These have been two of the best teams in baseball this season with the Brewers leading MLB with 103 wins and the Rays had 98 wins to pace the American League. They’ve been dominant this postseason, too, with Milwaukee 7-1 and Tampa Bay 7-2. 

Brewers vs. Rays position-by-position breakdown in 2026 World Series

With SeatGeek serving as the Official Ticket Marketplace of MLB, we know these teams very well. As such, we’ve gone through position by position to share which team has the edge at each spot, and thus, which team has the overall edge heading into Game 1 of the World Series on Friday in Milwaukee. 

Catcher: William Contreras (Brewers) vs. Liam Hicks (Rays)

Now, the answer here is obvious – it’s Contreras. That being said, I want to talk about Hicks for a moment. 

Hicks had a great year in 2026, just his second in The Show. He OPSed over .800 and even put up better numbers after his trade from Miami to Tampa Bay. I thought it was a great move for the Rays both now and for the future. Hicks quietly was one of baseball’s best offensive catchers, and he very rarely whiffs or strikes out. He is hitting just .222 in the postseason, though, with one extra-base hit. 

As for Contreras, he’s one of the game’s premier catchers. He leads an elite pitching staff from behind the dish, and he is arguably the Brewers’ most important player. Contreras drove in 94 runs this season and leads Milwaukee with three homers this postseason while OPSing 1.157. He’s one of the most important players in this entire series. 

Advantage: Brewers

First base: Jake Bauers (Brewers) vs. Jonathan Aranda (Rays)

This one is really, really close. Bauers has been a playoff hero for the Brewers thus far, leading the team in RBIs and putting together two series-changing at-bats in the NLCS en route to earning series MVP honors. The lefty slugger set a career high with 26 homers this year, leading the club. He’s a super important piece to Milwaukee’s success.

I give a slight edge to Aranda here, though. Bauers is a breakout player this year after being a bit of a journeyman, and he’s the NLCS MVP, but Aranda made the All-Star team in 2025 and nearly had another .800 OPS season while driving in 92 runs. 

Both teams feel great about this spot entering the World Series, and while Bauers is hotter – Aranda is hitting .257 with a .676 OPS this postseason – Aranda feels like a more stable player overall. This is probably the closest positional race, though, and I wouldn’t fault anyone for taking Bauers right now given what he has done in the playoffs so far. 

Advantage: Rays

Second base: Brice Turang (Brewers) vs. Richie Palacios/Ben Williamson (Rays)

From essentially a toss-up pick to a very easy choice, we move from first to second base. 

The Rays platoon at second base with Palacios getting the bulk of the at-bats by virtue of hitting left-handed. He’s had a nice postseason to date with three doubles, four RBIs and an .864 OPS. Williamson has just a .489 OPS in 11 plate appearances.

Turang, on the other hand, is one of the best infielders in the game. He hit 21 homers with 100 RBIs in 2026 and also swiped 19 bases. He’s a dynamic fielder who has won a Platinum Glove and had 7.3 bWAR in 2026. Turang is hitting just .222 this postseason, but he has a .753 OPS with a double and home run as well as seven walks in 35 plate appearances.

Advantage: Brewers

Third base: Joey Ortiz/Davis Hamilton (Brewers) vs. Junior Caminero (Rays)

This is another one with a clear choice. Ortiz and Hamilton are fun players, but they’re not to Caminero’s level. Hamilton has had a nice postseason with a .455 average and three steals, but Ortiz is hitting only .118. 

Caminero, on the other hand, is one of the best players in baseball regardless of position. The 23-year-old slugger is coming off his second straight 40-homer, 100-RBI season, and he will probably finish in the top three of AL MVP voting. Caminero has an .806 OPS in the postseason so far with four RBIs, and he hit a homer in Game 6 of the ALCS. If he gets going, the Rays are tough to beat. No one can match his game-changing power in this series.

Advantage: Rays

Shortstop: Cooper Pratt (Brewers) vs. Taylor Walls (Rays)

Walls is a fast glove-first shortstop. He’s playing every day due to his glove – not his bat. As such, when you see the .148 batting average this postseason, it’s easy to wonder why the guy is playing as much as he is. 

Regardless, Pratt gets the nod. A rookie and former top prospect, Pratt hit .281 with 19 steals in just 74 games after getting called up. He’s hitting .310 with a stolen base this postseason. 

Advantage: Brewers

Left field: Jackson Chourio (Brewers) vs. Chandler Simpson (Rays)

These are two very dynamic left fielders. Both are elite runners, with Simpson in the 95th percentile at Baseball Savant and Chourio at 88th percentile. But their games are very, very different.

Simpson is an old school slap hitter. He makes contact and wreaks havoc on the bases as a result. He bunts for hits, makes soft contact and stole 46 bases while hitting .304 this season. Chourio, on the other hand, is one of the best power-speed threats in baseball. He hit 25 homers and stole 23 bases. 

Chourio leads the Brewers with seven RBIs this postseason, but he’s hitting just .171. Simpson is hitting .240 with four RBIs and three steals. 

Both are game-changing talents, but Chourio can do that in more ways. His power is electric, and he’s simply a better and more important player than Simpson, who does have a big role in Tampa Bay’s lineup. 

Advantage: Brewers

Center field: Garrett Mitchell (Brewers) vs. Jonny DeLuca (Rays)

Mitchell is a former first-round pick who many fans know, but DeLuca is more of an unknown name to the greater baseball world. He’s an everyday player for the Rays, though, after playing well in the regular season. That hasn’t quite translated to the postseason, however, as DeLuca is hitting .200 with one extra-base hit. 

Mitchell had a career year in 2026, playing in a personal-best 145 games, hitting .262 with a .771 OPS with 45 extra-base hits and 14 steals. He’s come up big for Milwaukee this postseason with a pair of home runs, making his .207 average look better and lifting his OPS to .786.

DeLuca is a solid ballplayer, but Mitchell is the better overall player who also presents higher upside in this series. 

Advantage: Brewers

Right field: Sal Frelick/Luis Lara (Brewers) vs. Victor Mesa Jr. (Rays)

The Brewers have used an interesting platoon in right field this postseason with Frelick pairing up with the rookie Lara. Frelick had a disappointing year at the plate in the regular season, and he’s hitting just .200 this postseason with three singles. Lara is 1-for-10. 

Mesa made a big impact in a short amount of time for the Rays this year. He hit 14 homers with an .825 OPS with 2.9 bWAR in just 79 games. Mesa has had a poor postseason so far, hitting .129 with four hits in 34 plate appearances, but he did hit a home run. Mesa could be a sneaky important player this series to keep an eye on. 

Advantage: Rays

Designated hitter: Andrew Vaughn/Christian Yelich (Brewers) vs. Yandy Diaz (Rays)

The Brewers have two bats that have teamed up for the bulk of their DH at-bats in Yelich and Vaughn. Yelich, Milwaukee’s captain and a former MVP, is hitting .294 this postseason with three RBIs, two steals and a double. Vaughn hasn’t played very much despite putting up good numbers in the regular season, picking up two hits (one double) and drawing a pair of walks in nine plate appearances. It’ll be interesting to see if Vaughn can get more run even against right-handers, though that doesn’t appear to be in the Brewers’ plans. 

As for Diaz, he’s one of the game’s best hitters. He hit .293 with a league-leading 180 hits while swatting 22 homers and barely striking out. Diaz sets the tone atop Tampa Bay’s order, and his mix of pop and bat-to-ball prowess make him an incredibly important batter for Milwaukee to contend with. Diaz is hitting .308 with a .906 OPS and two homers and four RBIs this postseason. 

Advantage: Rays

Starting rotation

The Rays basically are leaning on Freddy Peralta and Drew Rasmussen this postseason with Nick Martinez also starting but pitching just nine innings between two starts. The Brewers have utilized a three-man turn with Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser with bullpen days sprinkled in. 

Surely the team with the likely Cy Young winner gets the nod, right? Not so fast. 

The Brewers have gotten good results from the Misiorowski, Henderson and Gasser trio, with those three combining for a 2.39 ERA. But Henderson and Gasser have nine innings each. Misiorowski has just 8 1/3 due to high pitch counts. Manager Pat Murphy clearly has full trust in his bullpen, so he doesn’t lean on his starters as much, even Misiorowski. 

Peralta and Rasmussen, on the other hand, are eating innings and dominating hitters. Rasmussen has a 1.29 ERA in three starts in 21 innings. Peralta has made three starts and a relief appearance and pitched to a 1.08 ERA. The former Brewer is also coming off ALCS honors. 

It’s very close, really, but given the Rays are relying on their starters to pitch deeper into games than the Brewers, I give Tampa Bay the nod. That could change depending on whether or not Misiorowski can get his pitch counts under control. 

Advantage: Rays

Bullpen

These teams have great bullpens. Bryan Baker led all of baseball in saves with 41 for the Rays. Cam Booser, Kevin Kelly and Ian Seymour are solid bridge arms to get Tampa Bay to Baker in the late innings. Griffin Jax and Tyler Wells haven’t performed well this postseason, but each have tremendous upside.

But the Brewers have the best bullpen in baseball, and that unit has absolutely taken over this postseason. Trevor Megill has four saves and hasn’t allowed a run. Abner Uribe has made seven appearances and has a 2.84 ERA with all those runs coming from one outing. DL Hall and JoJo Romero are great lefty options for late in games. 

But the best reliever in this series is Aaron Ashby. The hard-throwing lefty has been arguably the best and most important player in this entire postseason. He’s yet to allow a run over 12 1/3 innings (which leads the Brewers), and Ashby has 11 strikeouts and an 0.57 WHIP. Ashby is Murphy’s go-to guy both for picking up key outs but also pitching multiple innings. He is an absolute weapon, and the Rays simply don’t have a guy like that. Heck, they may not have a guy to get hits off Ashby the way he’s pitched this postseason.

Advantage: Brewers

Final count: Brewers 6, Rays 5 – advantage Milwaukee