MLB Predictions for the 2022 Season

After a 99 day lockout during the offseason, Major League Baseball is back on April 7! With regular season baseball around the corner, fans across the world are ready to see their favorite teams play a full 162-game season. Let’s take a look at which teams will be contenders, and which teams will have a long season ahead of them. 

AL EAST

The AL East division should be one of the tightest division races this season between the top four teams.

After making huge moves during the offseason, the Blue Jays are the favorites to win the division and rightfully so. MVP runner up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will lead the way with a loaded lineup that includes George Springer, Bo Bichette, and Matt Chapman. 

The Rays are always a tricky team to predict due to their ever changing roster and pitching rotation. Their top 4 hitters had great seasons last year including 21 year old superstar Wander Franco, who should have another great year in Tampa Bay. 

The Yankees are set to have a stacked lineup for the 2022 season due to blockbuster trade deals that included Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. We all know that the Yankees will be contenders this season, the only thing stopping them from a division title is the health of their superstars like Stanton and Judge. 

The Red Sox added shortstop Trevor Story from the Rockies this offseason which gives Alex Cora’s squad a little extra help on the plate. Boston made a little run last postseason with the same lineup that included Kike Hernandez and Rafael Devers, but I don’t see this team making too much noise this season. Other teams in the division are ready to win now and it’s going to be hard for Boston to compete. 

AL EAST WINNER: Toronto Blue Jays 

AL CENTRAL

Probably the easiest division to predict, the Chicago White Sox having the highest odds to win their division. Chicago made some noise this offseason adding a pair of Dodgers to their roster. 

AJ Pollock and Joe Kelly should bring excitement to the South Side in 2022. Chicago is one of my favorite teams to watch this season because of the swag they bring to baseball. Tim Anderson is one of the most exciting players in the MLB and with the addition of Pollock, the White Sox are ready to show the rest of the league that they are for real. 

As for the rest of the division, the Twins are the only team I see that can give Chicago a hard time this season. Minnesota broke the internet with the acquisitions of Carlos Correa and longtime Yankee Gary Sanchez to their roster. I just don’t see the Twins making a run for the division in 2022. Carlos Correa will have a good year in Minnesota though. 

AL CENTRAL WINNER: Chicago White Sox

AL WEST

The AL West is a division I will be watching thoroughly this season and for many reasons. The Angels are lucky to have two of the most exciting players in Major League Baseball with defending American League MVP Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. 

The Mariners are the underdogs and fan favorites to make the playoffs this season. The Rangers added some big bats to their lineup like Corey Seager and Marcus Semien but they are not contenders just yet.

Although Houston is most likely going to win the division, I am going to join the bandwagon in Seattle and believe in the Mariners. 

They made an exciting run to make the playoffs last season but came up short in game 163 but I believe they can make a run to a division title. They may not have the household names like the other teams in this division but players like Mitch Haniger and Adam Frazier will carry this team to victory. 

AL WEST WINNER: Seattle Mariners

NL EAST

A lot of experts and analysts are picking the New York Mets to win the NL East in 2022 and I disagree heavily. On paper, the Mets are loaded with talent which included Lindor, Alonso, Sherzer and DeGrom on the bump. 

However, just like the Yankees, injuries are going to be the death of New York this season. Jacob DeGrom is already out for four weeks with a stress reaction in his shoulder and Sherzer has had problems in Spring Training as well.

I think the favorites to win this division will be the defending World Series Champions, Atlanta Braves. Even though they traded Freddie Freeman to Los Angeles, they did add Matt Olson to fill in at first base. Ronald Acuna Jr. will not start the season on opening day but once he comes into this lineup, the Braves will be hard to beat in 2022. 

Let’s not forget about the Phillies though. Philadelphia added Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos to an already decent lineup led by Bryce Harper. I can see the Phillies battling it out with Atlanta late in the season for the division title. 

NL EAST WINNER: Atlanta Braves

NL CENTRAL

The NL Central is going to be another division that is going to be a close battle between three teams. The Brewers are the favorites to win but they will have to go through a new and improved Cardinals team that brought back Albert Pujols. The Cubs also signed Japanese superstar Seiya Suzuki to add some power to this rebuild in Chicago. 

All I have to say about this division is that whoever wins the title, will not be contenders for a World Series title. This division is one of the weakest divisions in the league and I don’t see a team from the NL central having anything for the Dodgers or Braves. I will be picking the Cardinals to win a close battle all season long against the Brewers this season though.

NL CENTRAL WINNER: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 

NL WEST

Now this is the most exciting division in baseball. Everyone knows that the Dodgers are the favorites to win the World Series but they have to get out of this grueling division first. 

With the addition of Joc Pederson on the Giants, San Francisco wants to run it back for 2022 and beat their bitter rivals in Los Angeles. 

The Giants have some nice bats in their lineup which includes Mike Yastrezemski who is one of the most underrated players in the league in my opinion. They also added former White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon to shut down the high powered offenses in the NL West.

The Padres started off strong last season and looked like legit contenders against the Dodgers but fell off later in the season. The pitching rotation in San Diego is easily the best rotation in the division which includes Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. The absence of Fernando Tatis to start the season will slow down the Padres but the addition of Luke Voit from the Yankees will fill in that gap in the meantime.  

The Dodgers will win this division and grab the one seed in the postseason but it won’t be easy.

NL WEST WINNER: Los Angeles Dodgers

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION

The best part about this upcoming season is that any team has a chance to win it all this season. The Dodgers are the obvious favorites with that ridiculous roster set for the 2022 season but there are so many other teams that can contend. 

The White Sox and Blue Jays are two teams that I really like in the American League to play in the championship series. Although the Astros are highly favored as well, the loss of Carlos Correa will hurt Houston more than we think. The World Series will come down to roster depth especially during an expanded postseason. I think the Dodgers have the most depth out of any roster in the league and that will lead them to a World Series title. 

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS: Los Angeles Dodgers