2022 MLB Season Preview: World Series Predictions, Burning Questions & More

The BA editorial staff goes on record with their bold—and not so bold—predictions for the 2022 MLB season.

Below, The BA editorial team predicted the order of finish, postseason participants and award winners for the 2022 season, plus answered nine burning questions facing baseball this year. As always, you can also find all of our 2022 prospects coverage here.

Our nine Crystal Ball prognosticators this year are Ben Badler, Carlos Collazo, J.J. Cooper, Matt Eddy, Kyle Glaser, Chris Hilburn-Trenkle, Savannah McCann, Josh Norris and Geoff Pontes.

2022 MLB Standings Predictions
NL East	NL Central	NL West
1. Atlanta Braves	1. Milwaukee Brewers	1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. New York Mets	2. St. Louis Cardinals	2. San Francisco Giants
3. Philadelphia Phillies	3. Chicago Cubs	3. San Diego Padres
4. Miami Marlins	4. Cincinnati Reds	4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Washington Nationals	5. Pittsburgh Pirates	5. Colorado Rockies
AL East	AL Central	AL West
1. Toronto Blue Jays	1. Chicago White Sox	1. Houston Astros
2. Tampa Bay Rays	2. Minnesota Twins	2. Seattle Mariners
3. New York Yankees	3. Cleveland Guardians	3. Los Angeles Angels
4. Boston Red Sox	4. Detroit Tigers	4. Texas Rangers
5. Baltimore Orioles	5. Kansas City Royals	5. Oakland Athletics

 

 

National League Postseason And Awards

Wild Cards: Cardinals, Giants, Mets
Pennant: Dodgers

MVP

1. Juan Soto, Nationals
2. Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves
T3. Mookie Betts, Dodgers, Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, Manny Machado, Padres, Tyler O’Neill, Cardinals

Cy Young

1. Max Scherzer, Mets
2. Walker Buehler, Dodgers
3. Brandon Woodruff, Brewers

Rookie of the Year

1. Oneil Cruz, SS, Pirates
T2. Hunter Greene, Reds, Bryson Stott, Phillies, Alek Thomas, D-backs

American League Postseason And Awards

Wild Cards: Mariners, Rays, Yankees
Pennant: Blue Jays

MVP

1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
2. Shohei Ohtani, Angels
T3. Carlos Correa, Twins, Aaron Judge, Yankees, Jose Ramirez, Guardians

Cy Young

1. Gerrit Cole, Yankees
2. Shohei Ohtani, Angels
T3. Shane Bieber, Guardians, Jose Berrios, Blue Jays, Lucas Giolito, White Sox, Robbie Ray, Mariners

Rookie of the Year

1. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
2. Julio Rodriguez, Mariners
3. Adley Rutschman, Orioles

WORLD SERIES PREDICTIONS 

Ben Badler: Dodgers over Blue Jays

Josh Norris: Dodgers over Rays

Carlos Collazo: Dodgers over Blue Jays 

Kyle Glaser: Blue Jays over Dodgers

Geoff Pontes: Rays over Mets  

Chris Hilburn-Trenkle Cardinals over Rays

Savannah McCann: Blue Jays over Dodgers 

Matt Eddy: Dodgers over Blue Jays 

J.J. Cooper: Dodgers over Rays 

Nine Burning Questions

1. Which Team Will Be The Biggest Surprise Of 2022? 
2. Which Team Had The Best Offseason? 
3. Which Team Had The Most Disappointing Offseason? 
4. Who Is The Breakout MLB Hitter Of 2022?
5. Who Is The Breakout MLB Pitcher Of 2022?
6. Which Player Will Bounce Back In 2022?
7. The Biggest Storyline Of 2022 Will Be?
8. Which Losing, Non-Playoff Team From Last Year Has The Most Upside In 2022?
9. Which Division Winner From A Year Ago Has The Most Downside For 2022?