The Los Angeles Dodgers might have lost the NL West in 2021, but theres no doubt this is the best team in the division entering the 2022 season. Los Angeles Dodgers: +600. The versatile Max Muncy will hit anywhere he's playing, and Justin Turner has shown no signs of aging as he heads into his age 36 season. We felt great about New Yorks rotation trio and even liked some of the depth behind it. Read on for predictions for every game involving a Top 25 team on the schedule over the next seven days. The Guardians did virtually nothing this winter, yet it wouldn't be shocking to see them finish second or third. This is tough. Like the Tigers,the Royals are loaded with MLB-ready talent from Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez and Nick Pratto all expected to reach the big leagues at some point during the season to add to an offense that already includes Salvador Perez, Nicky Lopez and Whit Merrifield. That'll change this year, despite his being projected to hit ten to fifteen fewer homers than that. The NL Central hasn't had a repeat champion since the Cubs in 2016-17, and PECOTA expects that trend to continue in 2023, giving the Brewers a two-game edge over the Cardinals. The rotation lost Robbie Ray but added Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi. Even over 162 games, surprises abound. since the new labor deal came together on March 10, and his new 11-year, $182 million contract, seemingly have to prove themselves all over again, signing him to a seven-year, $182 million contract, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. But what the model really likes is the rotation. Three got there in both 2018 and 2017. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook's lines around the Duke vs. UNC odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.. After these rivals, located just 7 miles apart, met in the . The introduction of the DH to the NL should help Dominic Smith and Robinson Cano produce at a higher rate as well. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. The Mets committed nearly $500 million to free agents this offseason, re-signing Edwin Daz and Brandon Nimmo while also inking Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and Jos Quintana to replace departed starters deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker. The Sporting News is unveiling a model to project the 2022 MLB season and make predictions based on the results. With the signing of Max Scherzer and the acquisition of Bassitt, the Mets' 1-2-3 punch, when healthy, is now deGrom, Scherzer and Bassitt, and that's before getting to Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco. Last year, Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Tarik Skubal got a taste of the big leagues and showed promise, and will be expected to take it a step farther in 2022. Are the Braves even with the Mets, or way behind? Three were on pace in whatever the 2020 season was. Nick Madrigal and Nico Hoerner are a promising young middle-infield combo, who should be big parts of the team's future. I don't buy the Padres or Giants as 90-plus win teams, either. However, concerns at catcher and in the outfield put SF a tier below the Dodgers. Torontos moves this offseason inspire confidence Canada might host a World Series game. Major League Baseball's 2022 season has arrived. The rotation could be in tatters behind Zack Wheeler. The Phillies enter the season probably, objectively, a worse team than both the Braves and Mets in the NL East. mlb preview 2022. Someone is going to have to take the crown away fromthe Astrosbefore anyone, even the model, would consider picking against them. SEA . Top 2023 Gotham Stakes predictions One shocker: Demling is high on Lugan Knight, who is tied for third in the odds, at 6-1. MORE:Reds, As top list of five MLB fan bases experiencing post-lockout blues. College Basketball Week 17 Top 25 Predictions Note: Projected winners are listed in bold. Now in the new year, they'll have a target on their backs as several teams loaded up this offseason with the goal of avoiding a repeat champion. Here are 10 predictions that go against general public sentiment, but I still think have a decent shot at happening. 4. New York Mets. We also like the depth pieces added to the staff (Carlos Martinez, Matt Boyd) and it will prove crucial this year. The rotation has the biggest question marks, but the signing of Zack Greinke to go along with Brady Singer, Brad Keller and Carlos Hernandez should be able to give the team quality innings. while Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez bring the kind of veteran bats any team needs when it wants to make a leap in the . All Rights Reserved. For all the talk of Bichette and Guerrero Jr. being a dynamic infield presence, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers also are a dangerous pair of bats from the left side of the infield. A complete list of this year's voters: . Instead, the club went 81-81 and missed the postseason, finishing 11 games behind the upstart Guardians. After reaching the playoffs in 2020 and winning the AL Central with a 93-69 record the following year, the White Sox seemed poised to establish themselves as the divisions alpha dog in 2022. The Atlanta Braves surprised everyone by winning the World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals strengthened their rotation depth this offseason, signing Steven Matz. Below are the picks and predictions made by The Sporting News' model for how the 2022 MLB season is going to unfold. Were using an Elo-based system that also accounts for starting pitchers, travel distance and rest, with an average team rating of about 1500. The AL playoff picture will likely not come as a surprise. 5 min read. Considering the randomness involved, predicting the yearly MLB saves leader might be as difficult as any stat in baseball. See how your team stacks up against the rest of Major League Baseball with league, division, and playoff standings. (Get latest betting odds) Manchester City and Newcastle United face . Despite signing Trea Turnerin free agency, neither ZiPS nor PECOTA views the Phils as a major threat to win this division. This should be very difficult, as every team -- at least in theory -- should have a total right around where it is expected to finish. Now, the Red Sox also have Trevor Story, who should certainly enjoy teeing off the Green Monster. Watch out, Milwaukee is a darkhorse World Series threat. The 2022 Major League Baseball season is nearly upon us. C'mon Rocks! This year, no one will sleep on the Mariners. 2022 Year to Date: 2023 Projected Rest of Season: 2023 Projected Full Season: Team G W L W% RDif RS/G RA/G G W L W% RDif RS/G From back-to-back division champions to the cellar, the Twins'tumble in 2021 came as a shock after looking like a dominant team in each of the prior two years. Is the NL West a two- or three-team race? We like the Zack Greinke return and have optimism for the Royals future, but 2022 wont be great. Bringing in Avisail Garcia and Jorge Soler adds some thump to the outfield in an outfield that has been inconsistent in recent years. This article lays out all of our preseason MLB team ratings and projections for 2022, including our MLB projected standings, MLB postseason seed projections and various projection details such as final win-loss records, playoff chances, and World Series win odds. The reason for the model's lack of trust in them in 2022? Carter Kieboom has been hyped for some time, and will finally be given a full opportunity once he returns from his forearm injury. The NL Central hasnt had a repeat champion since the Cubs in 2016-17, and PECOTA expects that trend to continue in 2023, giving the Brewers a two-game edge over the Cardinals. PECOTA has the Halos four games ahead of the Mariners and gives them a 54.9% chance of reaching the postseason, the seventh-highest odds in the AL. The Guardiansfeel like the biggest surprise in the division. The . The Red Soxsurprised some people with their run to the ALCS in 2021, and Boston expects to be back in the mix for the playoffs again in 2022. I took the Rays' under (it was 86) last year and got badly burned. MORE:Trading for Matt Chapman a better fit for rising Blue Jays than signing Freddie Freeman. Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:51 PM ET, Park Factors If Byron Buxton is healthy, he's one of the games' brightest stars, but that continues to remain a big "if.". Rather astounding. FIVE BIG QUESTIONS:AL East | AL Central | AL WestNL East | NL Central | NL West. The rotation remains the bright spot with Shane Bieber leading a staff that featured a breakout season from Cal Quantrill and solid campaigns from Triston McKenzie, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale. Sure enough, thats exactly what they did. But even with Seager gone, Turner shifted from second to shortstop and Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor will occupy second base. I was going to be choosing between the Red Sox and Rays and the Rays' number is four higher, so here we are. The Raysare that team that is constantly underloved by metrics and subsequently overperforms. But ZiPS doesnt see it that way, and neither does PECOTA. While the signing of Carlos Correa and the trade for Sonny Gray will help, the rest of the team has a lot of question marks, particularly after Berrios was traded midseason last year and Donaldson was traded in the offseason. Bob Melvin is the perfect skipper for the clubhouse, providing both strong in-game management and a leader who can help keep a lot of personalities in sync. The 2022 Major League Baseball season is almost here and Sportsnauts MLB predictions offer projections for the standings, award winners and more. There were three last season. The early prelims are on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. LAA Los Angeles Angels. Whenthe Padresmade the playoffs in the abbreviated 2020 season, many expected they'd take that next step in 2021 and be a true World Series contender. The model does not expect the Brewers will emerge back on top in 2022. This forecast is based on 100,000 simulations of the season and . The model really likes the rotation with Steven Matz joining Adam Wainwright and Jack Flaherty, who could miss some time with a shoulder injury. "Ok . Cactus League. Spring Training is in full swing, free agency is off the rails, and baseball is officially back. TEX Texas Rangers. The Diamondbacksfinished tied with Baltimore for the worst record in baseball in 2021, but like the Orioles, they are starting to see the future of the franchise. The bullpen, which was already one of the best last year, improved with the signing of Kenley Jansen to join Will Smith, Tyler Matzek and AJ Minter. TeamRankings.com is solely responsible for this site but makes no guarantee about the accuracy or completeness of the information herein. Edward Sutelan is a content producer at The Sporting News. 7. But as you might expect, they don't agree on everything. However, there are reasons for why it turned out as it did. The Fernando Tats Jr. injury creates a bigger separation from the Dodgers in the projected MLB standings, but hell be back by July. MLB insider Bob Nightengale examines if the fans will forgive league for ugly offseason. The influx of multiple 100-win teams per season these last handful of years isn't a coincidence, in my view. As much as I love Shane McClanahan, he won't be carrying an ace workload. Thats enough to push them ahead of New York in our MLB predictions. The odds of winning the pennant tell the story of just how locked down the field sees the 2022 playoff picture. Add them together with JT Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins and Jean Segura, and this is a deep lineup capable of doing plenty of damage. However, the Mets will still be in a prime position to compete and will likely make a big splash in the 2023 postseason. The 2022 MLB season is finally here. The biggest question mark for Los Angeles is undoubtedly in its rotation, where Walker Buehler will be the unquestioned ace after Scherzer left. Unfortunately, the Jacob deGrom injury is a massive blow. I'm not a Phillies fan. . November 17, 2021 Mitch Hill MLB. It's a win-win, really. Things have frantically fallen into place since the new labor deal came together on March 10, with every team trying to jam most of its winter moves into just a few weeks. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. As for Oakland, it already traded Chris Bassitt, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman. 3 (Freddy Peralta) and a potential Rookie of the year candidate (Aaron Ashby). The model doesn't think the signings make Texas a full-fledged contender just yet, but it sees this as a major step in the right direction. 2023 Season; 2022 Season; 2021 Season; 2020 Season; 2019 Season; 2018 Season; CFB FBS. That is, we'll list the win total for the 2022 season from Caesars Sportsbook and pick whether the team will win more (the "over") or fewer (the "under") games. The breakout season by the Giants mixed up the run of Dodgers' dominance, but the model expects Los Angeles to reclaim its crown in 2022. And I'd win the under. The Line: Man City -240 / Newcastle United +550 // Total: 2.5. If Alex Bregman bounces back to what he's capable of, this should remain one of the highest-scoring offenses. Chicago White Sox. The reason the model likes the Cardinals over Milwaukee comes from the lack of trust in the Brewers' lineup, but if Willy Adames can repeat and Christian Yelich can bounce back somewhere closer to his 2019 levels, it could have just enough to support Milwaukee's tremendous pitching staff. 2022, 2021, 2022 MLB Pitching, 2022 MLB Batting, 2022 MLB Standings, 2022 MLB Attendance, 2022 MLB Rookies , . From now on, all these projections will update every morning to reflect the latest . Maybe. 1:51. 6-keys: media/spln/mlb/reg/free/stories, at Minnesota traded Josh Donaldson and others to free up room to sign prized free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa. Because of a below-average lineup, on its best days, the Marlins exciting rotation will be wasted. However, this is still a loaded team. That's because Major League Baseball is on a run of 100-win teams. Kyle Tucker will now be seen as one of the offensive leaders, along with slugger Yordan Alvarez. There wasn't a better trio of starting pitchers in baseball last year than those onthe Brewers. But this will be a season for fans to count on young talent gaining experience to help the next reloaded Oakland team. The 2020 World Series champions have +600 odds to lift the Commissioner's Trophy in 2022, while the Pirates, Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks are tied for the lowest at +25000. We saw the Houston Astros add another division title to their collection last season despite the surprise surge from the Seattle Mariners. . And the Cardinals were basically a .500 team last season, save for a 17-game winning streak in September. The model likes the Dodgers to win the pennant and finish with the best record in baseball, while the Giants are the second-most likely team to win the pennant, barely edging out the Braves, who are likely to earn the second bye by virtue of winning their division with the second-best record among division winners. Trevor Story is out, but he had a down year anyway and Kris Bryant is in. The top of the MLB power rankings remains steady and it's likely to stay that way. Fun fact: He finished the 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021 seasons with a combined batting average in the .290s, so maybe it wasn't surprising that he finished his first MLB season 91 games for the . Fastest MLB pitches in 2022, fastest pitch in college, Best batting average of all time: Top MLB hitters by career average, best BA in 2021. Everyone wants to see his light-tower power in the thin air of Coors Field, just as CJ Cron in his first year in Colorado. The increase in the number of teams losing on purpose has left a lot more wins for the good teams to grab. Arizona also has to be relieved the DH is now in the league so it can give young slugger Seth Beer a way to consistently fit in the lineup. and that rotation is littered with question marks after Joe Musgrove. TheBrewers Way? Mega Picker; . Last Year's Record: 91-71 Over/Under: 92.5 The Blue Jays were just one game shy of making the postseason last year in a division that featured four teams winning more than 90 games. As for the Washington Nationals, the greatest hitter in MLB (Juan Soto) cant fix their rotation, bullpen nor take multiple spots in the batting order. Justin Verlander's return is hugefor the Astros, coming off their third World Series appearance in five years. And I'll mention again that the Blue Jays were a wrecking crew in Rogers Centre after they went 22-22 in "home" games in Buffalo and Dunedin last year. by Handedness. But much of the rest of the lineup is unproven. Look, I know they do some sort of sorcery there, but the pitching depth is depleted and that's a rough division. It will all come down to how many IL stints the Angels stars have in 2022. ET, with the prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ starting at 8 p.m. Perhaps it would be a bit closer if two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper were healthy, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in November and might be out until July. The Orioleshope to see top prospect Adley Rutschman soon (but not too soon) and are going to lose 100 games again but have players worth watching inCedric Mullins andRyan Mountcastle. Everyone needs to get their two cents in and, why not? Toronto Blue Jays. The NL Central has not had a team repeat as division winner since the Cubs repeated in first place in 2016 and 2017. Here's who they think will rule the ninth inning in 2023. Each game is then simulated 20,000 times with park factors included in each matchup. It was a surprise to see theCubs spendsemi-big onSeiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman and Chicago enters the new season with most of the roster turned over Cincinnati stayed in the hunt into September last season, but now they'vetraded Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker andEugenio Suarez. So does former wunderkind Alex Reyes. I don't think they are bottom-feeder level (Orioles, Pirates, Diamondbacks), though. As part of our year-round MLB coverage, well provide analysis, the latest news and MLB trade rumors. The loss of Gray takes away one arm that found success pitching in Colorado, but German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela continued to prove last season that they've figured it out. Instead, their big additions were Mitch Haniger, Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling and Taylor Rogers.