Three of the four Wild Card games have already been settled. The Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres collected sweeps and are advancing to the Divisional Series. With a win a piece, the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves series has not yet concluded, though.

The winner of Game 3 will advance and take on a daunting task: facing the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. The Dodgers' winning pedigree should make them frontrunners regardless of who they face, not only in the next round, but through the playoffs in their entirety. The team has a three-peat on their minds and the talent to do so. Making history is easier said than done, though. So, who should the Dodgers want to see in the next round?

The Dodgers would be better off facing the Braves

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly (8) visits the mound in the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Dodgers should be favored, regardless of who their opponent is. The championship core is still intact, highlighted by an offensive unit that includes Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez, and Kyle Tucker. The team's pitching staff is elite, too.

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They traded for Tarik Skubal, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the World Series MVP award last year. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow can pitch at an elite level, too, and the bullpen includes big names like Tanner Scott, Edwin Diaz, and Roki Sasaki. Of course, this was all without mentioning two-way superstar and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, who just returned from injury.

While Dodgers' coaches are likely preaching that it doesn't matter who they will be lined up against, the players surely can't help but root for one team or the other. The Dodgers should be rooting for a Braves' victory. Atlanta does have Chris Sale, who is certainly the player from either team that could most give Los Angeles problems and is most likely to single-handedly steal a game. Even so, the NLCS is a best-of-five series, and the Dodgers have the pitchers to match. Skubal is one of the few aces who can best Sale in an ace-vs-ace showdown. The pitching depth after Sale is questionable, though.

Furthermore, the Phillies are the more likely team to get hot offensively. While Philadelphia limped into the postseason, they are loaded with superstar talent that has tons of experience. In fact, they may be the only team with as many recognizable stars as the Dodgers. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, and, if he is able to return from an ankle injury, Luis Arraez can all look unstoppable at the plate at any given moment.

Even for Los Angeles' pitching staff, that lineup can be intimidating to look at. The Phillies starting rotation of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter is well-rounded, too. The Braves certainly have some good players, but they just don't have the potential of the Phillies. It will take reaching the ultimate potential for anyone to knock down the Dodgers, so Los Angeles should hope to face the Braves in the NLCS.