2022 STANDINGS PREDICTIONS: BLUE JAYS, DODGERS TOP AL, NL

MLB / Baseball

Written by Gus Cousins

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Source (Background photo): ESPN

Beginning in the American League East, I have the Toronto Blue Jays sitting atop the division (and AL!) come year’s end. Call me a homer all you like, there is a very real possibility that Toronto is one of the premier teams in all of baseball. A rotation of Gausman, Berrios, Manoah, Ryu & Kikuchi is nothing to be messed with and should play exceptionally well alongside the offensive juggernauts that are; George Springer, Vlad Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel & Matt Chapman. The Yankees are a good bet to finish top-2, as long as Covid vaccine limitations don’t remove Aaron Judge & co. from the field too often - although, at this very moment, it’s a real concern. A team built on offense and led by Gerrit Cole on the mound, New York should have a very, very good season. I’d never count Tampa out no matter who they throw on the field, however with Wander Franco locked up long-term and a pitching staff that rarely falters, the Rays may not be as good as Toronto or New York but should be fairly dominant. I’m not as high on the Red Sox as others are, although their offense alone will provide quite a few wins - their pitching is what scares me slightly, and I don’t trust Chris Sale whatsoever. As for Baltimore, they’re just…bad. Ok, moving onto the AL Central.

The Chicago White Sox is going to be extremely good. Perhaps not as good as the Jays, but their bullpen alone - Bummer, Graveman, Hendricks, Kimbrel, etc. - has the ability to win them plenty of games. The loss of Carlos Rodon will hurt, but Kopech is projected to take on more of a role when healthy, and their starting lineup looks terrific. It doesn’t matter how old Jose Abreu is as it seems like he’ll always hit, and a smattering of Robert, Jimenez, Grandal, and Tim Anderson will be productive around him. In what may be a controversial opinion, I think Detroit’s the second-best team in the division right now. Maybe not by much, but their successful second half of last season showed me a lot, and with offseason acquisitions in Javy Baez and Eduardo Rodriguez I believe the potential is there - although not without depth problems. Cleveland, Minnesota, and Kansas City are all very similar in my mind, and any ordering of the bottom three I’d be OK with. The Guardians currently sit in third purely based on their pitching (regardless of whether Ramirez will be moved, Bieber, Quantrill, McKenzie & Civale can all still chuck it well). Minnesota is trying to…compete? Rumors about them going after Montas and Manaea have swirled after trading for Sonny Gray and signing Carlos Correa out of the blue - beyond that, their pitching staff is mediocre and - as it stands - relying heavily on rookies & young arms. For Kansas City, I like where they’re at and the acquisitions they’ve made. I think they’ll put a decent ball club on the field, but if you ask me this again next year I do believe they’ll be a slot or two higher - they’re headed in the right direction.

I still hate the Astros, I really do. Half of me reminds myself that many players on their current roster weren’t involved in the cheating, but the other half doesn’t care. However, I think of them, they’re bound to be a good team and win the AL West. Their pitching is good, their hitting is good, and they have enough young pieces in the minors to fill any holes that may come up throughout the season. Veterans Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel can still rake much to my dismay and have shown no signs of letting up. Competitive rosters on Seattle and L.A. may limit their win count this year, but they’ll be very good. I’m a huge fan of what Seattle’s done with their roster over the last two years, and I think they’ll build on their success from 2021. A slew of talented rookies will have an impact too, with Canadian Matt Brash being my top sleeper on an up-and-coming M’s team. Plus, Robbie Ray. Let’s hope he’s worth all that money! The Angels have spent tens of millions revamping their ‘pen, and a lineup that’s fairly stacked. That said, Ohtani and Syndergaard can only win so many games by themselves, so Patrick Sandoval, Jose Suarez, and Reid Detmers better be ready on the back-end of L.A.’s rotation. Texas’ lineup is fantastic, however, their pitching is lackluster - both starters and relievers. They’ll hit home runs, and plenty of them, but Jon “Ace” Gray isn’t scaring anybody. Oakland makes me sad. I have them bottoming out of the AL West, after trading Chris Bassitt, Matt Chapman, and Matt Olson. Manaea and Montas will likely be moved too, it’s just a matter of when. Never say never in Oak-town as we’ve learned, but their dynamic rosters of the last two seasons are no more.

For a number of years now, everyone’s heard about the Mets. And for a number of years, injuries and underperformance have derailed their seasons. 2022 is the year I believe they’ll put it all together - a rotation led by deGrom and Scherzer is an extremely formidable one-two punch along with a lineup loaded with talent. Pete Alonso headlines the offense, with Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte looking to return to peak, home run hitting form. New York also gets Robinson Cano back, although he may end up being hit or miss - pun intended. I have no clue what to expect from the aging second baseman, although upon his return the Mets should have good depth if Jeff McNeil continues to struggle. Atlanta’s lost Freddie Freeman and Jorge Soler (Dodgers and Marlins) among others since their World Series win not too long ago, and while trading for Matt Olson and having Ronald Acuna Jr. return to full health are two fantastic additions, I don’t believe their bullpen can be as consistent as they were in 2021. Relievers are heavily volatile, and even if ‘The Night Shift’ doesn’t drop off fully I do believe there will be some bumps in the road. Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos can hit the long ball for Philly, however, Philadelphia is projected to be one of the worst defensive teams in the league. I’m not a big fan of the back end of their rotation, and Philly has notoriously lackluster bullpens. Similar to Kansas City, I’m buying what the Marlins are selling in terms of their future - their rotation is strong, and I really like a number of their prospects. Signing Soler will help in the short-term, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. is most definitely a good player to build around. Washington has Juan Soto, one of the best players in MLB…and nobody else. Nelson Cruz will hit some bombs, but they’re in for a rough time.

Onto the NL Central, where there’s little reason to doubt the success that Milwaukee continues to have. An otherworldly starting staff orchestrated with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser & Eric Lauer doesn’t show any obvious weak points, nor does their ‘pen. If Tampa is the unanimous choice for the best pitching-development team, then Milwaukee should be a close second. If Devin Williams can refrain from punching another wall, then the Brewers should be in excellent shape - plus, Christian Yelich is in for a bounceback year. It should be noted that when I made these predictions, news hadn’t yet broken that Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes may be out for extended periods of time, as well as the fact that, well, nobody can find Yadier Molina. Anywhere. As a whole, I like their lineup and am really looking forward to watching their pitching staff (including newly-signed Drew VerHagen!) face weaker offensive competition in the Central. It saddens me that the Cincinnati Reds are selling off pieces to save money, however, if they truly do keep Tyler Mahle and Luis Castillo then their staff will still be fairly decent. Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene are primed to make their MLB debuts too and look mighty good. Offensively, eh...replacements for Suarez/Winker/Castellanos don’t just grow on trees. I don’t know what the Cubs are doing - Seiya Suzuki is an interesting signing along with Marcus Stroman, but they’re simply not good enough as a whole. Pittsburgh has some nice pieces (i.e. Hayes and Reynolds) but not much else. They’ll be bad.

In a plot twist, the winners of the NL West will be the Diamon-no wait, that’s not right. The Dodgers will win the division (and the National League!). An already amazing lineup that now has Freddie Freeman isn’t one to mess with, and a pitching staff headlined by Buehler and Urias is tough to beat. Questions still surround the ever-infamous Trevor Bauer, but even without him for an extended period of time, the depth in Los Angeles’ pitching staff should be more than adequate. Kershaw is returning once again too, and Cody Bellinger should bounce back from a rather dreadful regular season in 2021. Buster Posey’s retirement and Kevin Gausman’s decision to leave were both rather shocking to Giants’ fans, but fret not; San Francisco has all the makings of a very good team. Logan Webb leading the rotation provides a consistently great performance every fifth day, and Carlos Rodon should be a very nice compliment. I can’t say enough good things about submarining reliever Tyler Rogers, and the rest of the bullpen isn’t too shabby either. They’ll hit a great many homers, too. For the Padres, the unfortunate accident of Fernando Tatis Jr. has the potential to seriously ruin their season - the main reason as to why I have the Giants ahead of them. They still have the makings to be a mighty good team - especially offensively, with Machado, Cronenworth, Voit, Myers, etc. - but all of their starters, while good, have the tendency to be very up-and-down. When Tatis returns though, his play on both sides of the ball will greatly improve the Padres. Arizona and Colorado are quite similar, although at least Arizona knows what they’re doing. The Rockies will suck too, but after trading star 3B Nolan Arenado because of his contract, they go and sign…another star 3B in Kris Bryant to a massive contract. Among many areas of concern, Colorado’s management needs a complete overhaul.

Overall, I certainly think the increase in playoff teams has made it enticing for some to take a stab at it (Minnesota, Chicago, Philadelphia), however, there is still a clear-cut issue when it comes to cheaping out (Oakland, Cincinnati). Although there are bound to be surprises all throughout the year, one thing is for certain - the Baltimore Orioles are really, very, incredibly bad.