2026 MLB Season Preview: NL West Odds & Predictions — Can the Dodgers Be Stopped?

The MLB National League West is the home of champions. Namely, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who may as well rename themselves "Champions" in the wake of their success over the last 13 years.

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

The Dodgers have won each of the last two World Series, in disparate ways. In 2024, LA squashed the overmatched Yankees in the Fall Classic. Last fall, the Dodgers vanquished the Blue Jays in an epic seven-game series.

But four other teams are out west to square off against the Dodgers in the NL West. It may not be a classic western movie standoff, but it could be a closer race than the last few seasons.

In this preview, I examine the 2026 NL West division in MLB. I'll briefly touch on odds for baseball bettors.

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2026 MLB Team Odds to Win National League West

These odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook:

• Los Angeles Dodgers -700
• San Diego Padres +950
• San Francisco Giants +1700
• Arizona Diamondbacks +2200
• Colorado Rockies +30000

Why the favorite can win: The Dodgers restocked the roster with several All-Stars, and the two-time MLB champions still have three future Hall of Famers with gas left in the tank: Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.

Longshot with a chance: I've picked the Diamondbacks to be a surprise team the last two years. No more. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on my prognostication skills. This time, I think the Padres can challenge for a division title. LA doesn't necessarily see the regular season as too important, and the Friars could win the 95 games it will likely take to win their first division crown since 2006.

NL West Team Previews 2026

The Dodgers are the cream here, but there's plenty of milk and coffee in the cup out west, too. Win total odds are from FanDuel.

LA Dodgers

Folks should discuss the impact that Kyle Tucker's booming left-handed bat will have on the Dodgers' lineup in 2026—it gives LA four top-flight left-handed bats to go with three formative right-handed bats. The lineup will look something like this:

• Shohei Ohtani, DH
• Kyle Tucker, RF
• Mookie Betts, SS
• Freddie Freeman, 1B
• Will Smith, C
• Max Muncy, 3B
• Teoscar Hernandez, LF
• Andy Pages, CF
• Alex Freeland, 2B

BOLD players have been All-Stars. The lineup has three former MVP winners, including Ohtani, who has won the award three straight years (AL, NL, NL).

It's possible Freeland could be the NL Rookie of the Year. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.

The staff returns the stalwarts, all still well in their prime: World Series MVP Yoshi Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, and Ohtani pulling double duty.

In only five of the 13 seasons in this current playoff era run have the Dodgers won 100+ games. In 2024 and 2025, the Dodgers did not win 100 games. There is a chance that moneyline odds on LA to win under 100 games are a better bet. At Caesars, those odds are -175. Which means you bet $175 to win $100.

• NL West Bet & Prediction: To Win 100+ Games: -225 (FanDuel)

San Diego Padres

One way to look at whether a team has a chance to win a World Series is to count the number of players on the roster who could be a legitimate superstar. Not an All-Star, but a SUPERSTAR.

The Padres have five players that fit in that category: right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., third baseman Manny Machado, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, starter Nick Pivetta, and relief ace Mason Miller. Several nice set pieces are in Padres brown and yellow too: Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, Michael King, and Ramón Laureano.

Last season, the Padres were second in the NL in team ERA, first in bullpen ERA, and second in K/BB ratio. It's actually the bullpen that is the biggest asset for San Diego in a short postseason series. The last two times the Padres and Dodgers have met in the playoffs, San Diego has won five of nine games.

• NL West Bet & Prediction: To Win 90+ Games: +210

San Francisco Giants

The Giants have a chance to increase their run output more than any team in the division, if not the league. The team has added leadoff man Luis Arraez, but more importantly, four of its players are entering the prime of their careers: Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, Patrick Bailey, and Jerar Encarnacion. Even Rafael Devers could still put up a career year.

The Giants will need that added punch to go with a pitching staff that will rely heavily on ace Logan Webb. If any of the 30-somethings who follow Webb in the rotation falter, manager Tony Vitello will be tasked with patching together a solution.

Vitello is the big question mark in the NL West this season. He is the first man to go from coaching in college directly to the major leagues without previous experience in the majors. The 47-year-old hopes to find the same success at this level as he had with the Tennessee Volunteers, which he led to an NCAA title in 2024.

• NL West Bet & Prediction: To Win 90+ Games: +370

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Arizona Diamondbacks

Last season, the Diamondbacks had the third-worst bullpen ERA (4.82) in the NL. That's why the team is entering the 2026 campaign with five new arms in the backend of the staff. Whether that group is consistently effective will say a lot about how far Arizona can go in an embattled division. The team won 80 games last season.

Two big, but old bats have been added to the lineup: third baseman Nolan Arenado (soon to be 35) and designated hitter Carlos Santana (40). Both have been MVP candidates many times and have won at least one Gold Glove. But both are degrading quickly.

The Diamondbacks have fourth place safely wrapped up, at the minimum. That may be the only thing we can be sure about as the Snakes slither into the new MLB season.

• NL West Bet & Prediction: To Win 90+ Games: +490

Colorado Rockies

Since the team entered the NL in 1993, the Rockies' biggest challenge has been pitching. In the thin air of Denver, it's not easy to gather together enough good pitchers to make an acceptable staff. Last season was no exception: Colorado had a 6.50 ERA at home. But the worst news was the 5.44 ERA in 81 road games.

It's difficult to win when your staff allows seven runs each game. Which is why the front office went out to grab three new starting pitchers: Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Jose Quintana. Each of those men are indeed pitchers. But they're also 34, 36, and 37 years old, respectively. Which means it's likely one or two, or maybe all three will need time on the Injured List.

The Rockies will play 39 games against the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants. Last year, they were 7-32 against those teams. Not much says this season will be different, and the Rockies are doomed to play those games, lose most of them, and once again keep the rear occupied in the division.

• NL West Bet & Prediction: To Win 70+ Games: +790