2022 MLB predictions: Regular season standings, playoff projections, awards
With the 2022 MLB season in full swing, everyone is excited now that baseball is back! Some teams have impressed, while others are still trying to find their footing. Some are still as dominant as ever, while others are trying to rebuild and are looking forward to a better year ahead.
We will now take a look at our predictions of how the season might turn out with regard to standings, playoff projections, and award winners.
Regular Season Standings Prediction
American League East
Winner: Toronto Blue Jays
We start off with what is, perhaps, the most competitive division in all of the MLB at the moment. The Toronto Blue Jays are, arguably, the most well-rounded team in this division, and the whole of the American League. Stacked from top to bottom from the plate to the mound, it will be interesting to see if the addition of All-Star starter Kevin Gausman and fellow All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman can help the team from the north of the border to their first World Series title since 1993.
American League Central
Winner: Chicago White Sox
The AL Central was home to two of the biggest moves for shortstops this season, with Javier Baez making his way to Detroit and Carlos Correa finding a new home in Minnesota. However, it will still be the Chicago White Sox' yard this term. Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, and Jose Abreu will surely rake again this season. Paired with the pitching of Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease, and the return of Lance Lynn by June, the South Siders will stomp on their division rivals in this campaign.
American League West
Winner: Seattle Mariners
This might be the most controversial pick of the bunch, but the Seattle Mariners will win the American League West pennant for the 2022 season. The signing of Robbie Ray from Toronto might just be the push that this organization needs. Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez will look to replicate the firepower that they showed in Cincinnati and one of the most exciting young studs in all of baseball, Julio Rodriguez, will surely be one to look out for.
National League East
Winner: Atlanta Braves
Much has been said about the departure of club legend Freddie Freeman from the Atlanta Braves, but this won't stop the reigning World Champions from making a repeat World Series pursuit this season. The Braves have stacked up in the bullpen big time. They signed Kenley Jensen from the Dodgers, Kirby Yates from the Blue Jays, and Collin McHugh from Tampa Bay to bolster their chances.
Despite an overhaul by the New York Mets spearheaded by the signing of Max Scherzer, and the big bat signings of Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Braves are just too good to be denied.
National League Central
Winner: Milwaukee Brewers
Despite stumbling out of the gate for the first few games of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers still have the best pitching rotation in the division on paper. They also have an offense that can generate some firepower as long as former National League MVP Christian Yelich can turn it around from a forgettable 2021 campaign.
The Cardinals can embark on another winning streak and possibly contend for the divisional penant with their superb defense, but their pitching rotation and batting order are too unreliable to be favored at this time.
National League West
Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers
Much respect has to be given to the valiant and scintilating performance by the San Francisco Giants on their way to a league-leading 107 wins in the 2021 season. But this season, the NL West crown will return to Chavez Ravine.
Dodger stars Corey Seager, Kenley Jensen, and Max Scherzer have all left SoCal. They didn't have to retool as a club, but of course, the Blue Crew did it anyway. They signed reigning World Series champion and future Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman, acquired Craig Kimbrel via trade, and re-signed reliable reliever Daniel Hudson for his second stint with the club. It will take a calamitous collapse for the LA Dodgers to not win their division this season.
Playoff Picture
A big change was announced coming into the 2022 season. The postseason will now include 12 teams, instead of the previous 10. This slight tweak in the rule book will have huge implications as the season progresses.
The division winners will be seeded from one through three, and three wild cards will be seeded from four through six. This will apply to their respective leagues. The top two seeds in each league will get an automatic bye.
The lowest-seeded division winner, along with the three wild card teams — which are seeded according to their regular season records — will face off in a best-of-three wild card round in which the higher seed will host the lower seed. The third seed will play the sixth seed and the fourth seed will play the fifth seed.
No re-seeding will occur in this format. The team with the best records for each respective league will face the winner of the fourth and fifth seed series. While the runners-up of each league will battle against the winner of the third and sixth seed.
In this playoff picture, the Blue Jays, White Sox, Dodgers, and Braves will receive automatic byes for the first round of the playoffs. Here are our predictions for the wildcard best-of-three series:
American League Wildcard Series
Houston Astros (6) def. Seattle Mariners (3), 2-1
New York Yankees (5) def. Tampa Bay Rays (4), 2-0
The Houston Astros playoff experience will overwhelm the Mariners, who are just coming off the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports at 21 years. The brilliance of Justin Verlander and Jose Altuve and his battery crew will be tested by Seattle. But in the end, it will be the former World Champions that will prevail.
The New York Yankees will come out on top against the Tampa Bay Rays in their series. The Bronx Bombers will always have the batting capabilities, and the short series will be in their favor as their pitching rotation is not that deep anyways.
National League Wildcard Series
San Diego Padres (6) def. Milwaukee Brewers (3), 2-1
New York Mets (5) def. San Francisco Giants (4), 2-1
In a probable upset, the Fernando Tatis Jr.-led San Diego Padres, along with solid raking partners Luke Voit and Manny Machado, will lift the Padres against a playoff-cursed Milwaukee team that is brilliant on the mound, but anemic at the plate.
The New York Mets will move past last season's Cinderella team in the form of the San Francisco Giants. The sheer star power that is on the mound for the Mets, combined with stable bullpen pitching, will be a puzzle that won't be solved by the Giants.
Division Series
American League Division Series
Toronto Blue Jays (1) def. New York Yankees (5), 3-2
Houston Astros (6) def. Chicago White Sox (2), 3-1
The Blue Jays will outlast the gritty Yankees in five excitement-filled games. The team's well-roundedness will cancel out the Yankees' firepower at the plate and the shortcomings of the Bombers on the mound will be exposed in the long series.
The Astros will move past another up-and-coming team, this time around, in the form of the White Sox. Given the injury woes that the White Sox have experienced in the past, the team from the Lone Star State will fully capitalize on this one and move to the league championship round.
National League Division Series
Los Angeles Dodgers (1) def. New York Mets (5), 3-1
Atlanta Braves (2) def. San Diego Padres (6), 3-0
The star-studded Dodgers squad will make quick work of this newly rebuilt Mets team. The deciding factor in this one would be the firepower on offense of which the Mets have lacked for many years now. The Dodgers, on the other hand, will have no problem with this one as they have arguably the best batting lineup in the league.
The Braves will finish off the Padres early. Years of playoff experience and the thirst to repeat as World Champions will prove to be too much for the young squad from SoCal.
Championship Series
American League Championship Series
Toronto Blue Jays (1) def. Houston Astros (6), 4-3
The series will take up the entire seven games and will fit the billing as the best series of the season. The up-and-coming Blue Jays will manage to scrape past against the gritty Astros. Pitching will be the difference in this one as, even though the Astros have the advantage when it comes to tenure, the Blue Jays' depth in their rotation will play a key role in this matchup.
National League Championship Series
Atlanta Braves (2) def. Los Angeles Dodgers (1), 4-3
The Braves will play their series of a lifetime against the new team of their club legend Freddie Freeman. Former Dodger All-Star Kenley Jansen, who now plays for the opposing team, will showcase his arsenal of pitches in the revenge series. The star-laden lineup of the Dodgers won't crumble; they will just be outplayed by the Braves.
World Series
Toronto Blue Jays def. Atlanta Braves, 4-2
After an exhilirating seven-game series in the championship series, the Blue Jays will clinch the World Series title in six games. At this point, it's just a battle of endurance and mental fortitude from both squads. The Blue Jays will outduel the Braves due to the latter's exhaustion from the previous series against the Dodgers. This will be the first time that the World Series will travel north of the border since 1993 and the first world championship for an American League team since the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
Season Awards
Rookie of the Year
American League Rookie of the Year - Bobby Witt Jr.
It was a tough choice among Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners, and Jeremy Peña of the Houston Astros. We ultimately went with the five-tool player out of Colleyville, Texas. With the Royals not having much expectations in a rebuilding season, we're expecting Witt Jr. to play a lot of games for the Royals and, in turn, showcase his talents both on offense and defense.
National League Rookie of the Year - Seiya Suzuki
The Chicago Cubs landed a big fish when they signed Seiya Suzuki from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. In his nine season with the Carp, he had a slash line of .315/.414/.570 with 182 HR, 562 RBI, and 82 SB. Not bad for a player who's just 27 years old. Even if he struggles to find his batting form—which there is little to no chance of this happening as he was a two-time batting champion in the NPB—he will be a staple in the Cubs outfield as he was a five-time Central League Gold Glove winner back in Japan.
Cy Young Award
American League Cy Young Award - Shane Bieber
Shane "Not Justin" Bieber spent the latter half of the 2021 campaign sidelined with a subscapularis strain. The two-time All-Star and 2020 AL Cy Young award winner should not be undermined, however. Bieber has a record of 30-13 with 2.92 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 515 strikeouts since 2019. His 2020 season was so great, he ended up fourth in the AL MVP voting. He will certainly look to replicate his form in that shortened season and we're certain that he will do so.
National League Cy Young Award - Walker Buehler
Clayton Kershaw will always be a Dodger legend, but this time, it's the turn of Walker Buehler to take up the mantle. The young stud out of Lexington, Kentucky had a stellar 2021 season. Buehler ended with a 16-4 record and ERA of 2.47 and fanned 212 batters. Having finished just fourth in the NL Cy Young voting last season, despite the absurd stats that he posted, he will be hungrier than even to prove a point in the league.
Most Valuable Player
American League MVP - Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
After missing out on last year's MVP award, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will prove, once more, that he is a top-tier talent and that he can steer his team to a deep playoff run. The Canadian slugger had a superb .311/.401/1.002 slash line with a league-leading 48 homers and 111 runs batted in. Shohei Ohtani might have had a historic season, but the 2021 season that Vlad Jr. had is nothing to scoff at. He notched his first All-Star appearance and was a part of the All-MLB First Team. He also won the Tip O'Neill, AL Hank Aardon, and Silver Slugger awards all in the 2021 season. With stars up and down the Blue Jays batting order, he will certainly have all the help he needs for the awards race this term.
National League MVP - Juan Soto
Like Vlad Jr., Juan Soto finished as the runner-up in the MVP race last season. Soto, surrendering the award to current Philadelphia Phillies and former Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper. The Puerto Rican slugger batted for .465/.534/.999 with 29 HR and 95 RBI last season. With some heavy lifting needed in the nation's capital, Soto is slated to bear production for his team on his way to the MVP award.