2022 MLB Season Preview

It’s finally here! After a long, treacherous, and anxiety provoking offseason, the MLB is set for Opening Day on Thursday. It more ways than one it feels like forever ago that the Braves hoisted up their first World Series trophy since 1995, and one of the best free agent classes in recent memory was somewhat tarnished with the lockout. A lockout that went back and forth, with so many false reasons for hope, and a long 99 day waiting period, both the owners and players were finally able to come to terms on a deal. A few headlines of that deal being a new 6-team playoff for each division, increased minimum salary for Team Control players, and three new thresholds of Luxury Tax nicknamed “The Steve Cohen Tax”. This comes after new Mets owner made Max Scherzer the richest pitcher in baseball history, signed Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and showed no mercy pushing a $300 million payroll. But outside of the Mets, we saw many big faces switching teams as Carlos Correa joined the Twins, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager became Rangers, Trevor Story joined the Red Sox, and the most shocking of them all, Freddie Freeman joined his hometown Dodgers. We’re going to be set for an action packed baseball season, with new faces all over the place and some of the league’s best young prospects set to make their debuts. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my 2022 MLB Season Preview, packed with standings predictions, playoff predictions, award predictions, and articles on all 30 teams, including my projected 28-man rosters, what grade I give them, and so much more. Hope you enjoy!

*These projected rosters, rotations, bench, bullpens, standings, etc. are completely compiled by myself and only myself. No research or influence by any depth charts or other analysts’ predictions are used from other sources. The only research that is done is based on articles written about potential position battles. These are completely 100% my own opinions on each team, their season outcome predictions, and what their Opening Day rosters should look like.

Standings

AL EAST
x-Toronto Blue Jays 95-67
y-Tampa Bay Rays 88-74
y-New York Yankees 87-75
Boston Red Sox 85-77
Baltimore Orioles 63-99

AL CENTRAL
x-Chicago White Sox 97-65
Detroit Tigers 82-80
Minnesota Twins 79-83
Cleveland Guardians 77-85
Kansas City Royals 68-94

AL WEST
x-Houston Astros 91-71
y-Seattle Mariners 88-74
Los Angeles Angels 83-79
Texas Rangers 70-92
Oakland Athletics 62-100

NL EAST
x-New York Mets 92-70
y-Atlanta Braves 91-71
Philadelphia Phillies 82-80
Miami Marlins 71-91
Washington Nationals 68-94

NL CENTRAL
x-Milwaukee Brewers 96-66
y-St. Louis Cardinals 88-74
Cincinnati Reds 76-86
Chicago Cubs 74-88
Pittsburgh Pirates 54-108

NL WEST
x-Los Angeles Dodgers 105-57
y-San Francisco Giants 91-71
San Diego Padres 81-81
Colorado Rockies 74-88
Arizona Diamondbacks 72-90

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Playoffs

ALWC	ALDS	ALCS	–
3 – Houston vs. (In 3 Games) 6 – New York	1 – Chicago vs. (In 4 Games) 6 – New York
		1 – Chicago vs. (In 6 Games) 2 – Toronto	Toronto Blue Jays AL Champions
4 – Tampa Bay vs. (In 2 Games) 5 – Seattle	2 – Toronto vs. (In 3 Games) 5 – Seattle

NLWC	NLDS	NLCS	–
3 – New York vs. (In 3 Games) 6 – St. Louis	2 – Milwaukee vs. (In 4 Games) 3 – New York
		1 – Los Angeles vs. (In 7 Games) 2 – Milwaukee	Milwaukee Brewers NL Champions
4 – Atlanta vs. (In 2 Games) 5 – San Francisco	1 – Los Angeles vs. (In 5 Games) 4 – Atlanta

World Series:
Milwaukee Brewers over Toronto Blue Jays in 6 games

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Lineups

MVP: Aaron Judge, NYY
CY YOUNG: Casey Mize, DET
MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Scott Servais, SEA
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mike Trout, LAA
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Nick Pratto, KC

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Baltimore Orioles

Manager: Brandon Hyde (4th year, Career/Team record: 131-253) – AGE: 48

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#31	Cedric Mullins	27	L/L	.291 AVG, 30 HR, 50 RBI, 30 SB
DH	#16	Trey Mancini	29	R/R	.255 AVG, 21 HR, 71 RBI, .326 OBP
RF	#25	Anthony Santander	27	S/R	.241 AVG, 18 HR, 50 RBI, .286 OBP
LF	#21	Austin Hays	26	R/R	.256 AVG, 22 HR, 71 RBI, 4 SB
1B	#6	Ryan Mountcastle	25	R/R	.255 AVG, 33 HR, 89 RBI, 4 SB
C		Adley Rutschman (R)	24	S/R	BAL Rank: #1, MLB Rank: #2
SS	#29	Ramón Urías	27	R/R	.279 AVG, 7 HR, 38 RBI, .361 OBP
2B	#12	Rougned Odor	28	L/R	.202 AVG, 15 HR, 39 RBI, .286 OBP – NYY
3B	#82	Kelvin Gutiérrez	27	R/R	.232 AVG, 3 HR, 20 RBI, .292 OBP – KC/BAL

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#23	Robinson Chirinos	37	R/R	.227 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI, .324 OBP – CHC
UTIL	#26	Jorge Mateo	26	R/R	.247 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 10 SB – SD/BAL
3B/LF	#41	Tyler Nevin (R)	24	R/R	4/14, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB
RF	#24	D.J. Stewart	28	L/R	.204 AVG, 12 HR, 33 RBI, .324 OBP
CF	#65	Ryan McKenna	25	R/R	.182 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .292 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#47	John Means	28	LHP	6-9, 3.62 ERA, 134 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
SP	#48	Jorge López	29	RHP	3-14, 6.07 ERA, 112 Ks, 1.63 WHIP
SP	#45	Keegan Akin	26	LHP	2-10, 6.63 ERA, 82 Ks, 1.58 WHIP
SP	#64	Dean Kremer	26	RHP	0-7, 7.55 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.64 WHIP
SP	#53	Mike Baumann (R)	26	RHP	1-1, 9.90 ERA, 5 Ks, 1.90 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#54	Cole Sulser	31	RHP	8 SVs, 2.70 ERA, 73 Ks, 1.12 WHIP
SU	#51	Paul Fry	29	LHP	2 SVs, 6.08 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.52 WHIP
RP	#55	Dillon Tate	27	RHP	3 SVs, 4.39 ERA, 49 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
RP	#68	Tyler Wells	27	RHP	2-3, 4.11 ERA, 65 Ks, 0.91 WHIP
RP	#66	Tanner Scott	27	LHP	5-4, 5.17 ERA, 70 Ks, 1.57 WHIP
RP	#59	Zac Lowther	25	LHP	1-3, 6.67 ERA, 30 Ks, 1.65 WHIP
RP	#50	Bruce Zimmermann	27	LHP	4-5, 5.04 ERA, 56 Ks, 1.51 WHIP
RP	#43	Cionel Pérez	25	LHP	1-2, 6.38 ERA, 25 Ks, 1.71 WHIP – CIN
RP	#87	Joey Krehbiel (R)	29	RHP	0-0, 4.32 ERA, 7 Ks, 1.20 WHIP – TB

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Grayson Rodriguez (Pitcher, Age: 22, RHP, MLB Rank: #6)
D.L. Hall (Pitcher, Age: 23, LHP, MLB Rank: #90)
Kyle Stowers (Outfield, Age: 24, L/L, BAL Rank: #8)
Kyle Bradish (Pitcher, Age: 25, RHP, BAL Rank: #10)
Terrin Vavra (Second Base, Age: 24, L/R, BAL Rank: #14)
Kevin Smith (Pitcher, Age: 24, LHP, BAL Rank: #18)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS

MVP: CF Cedric Mullins
Breakout Player: LF Austin Hays
Grade: D+
Lineup Rank: 14th
Rotation Rank: 15th
Bullpen Rank: 14th

Leading off the previews we have the Baltimore Orioles, who yet again will look to be at the bottom of the American League. But to be honest with you, unlike the last few years there is some reason to be optimistic as an O’s fan. The pitching needs a lot of work but the offense is starting to come along. Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, and Anthony Santander have emerged as some great young bats to rely on alongside Trey Mancini. Baseball’s #2 prospect Adley Rutschman should either start the year as the O’s every day catcher, or take over the duties in May to get an extra year of eligibility (yes the new CBA won’t stop the cheap owners).

On the pitching side there’s a lot of work to do, Means has become an ace but the rest of the rotation will need to show improvement. D.L. Hall and Kyle Bradish should both be able to make their debuts early on and Kevin Smith can add power to the bullpen. More has to be shown from Dean Kremer and Keegan Akin who were solidly regarded prospects. Cole Sulser, Paul Fry, and Dillon Tate have been decent enough relievers but the rest will need to be pieced together. In a division with four teams that hold World Series aspirations, the O’s will look to continue to build in 2022.

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Boston Red Sox

Manager: Alex Cora (4th year in BOS (2nd stint), Career/Team record: 284-202) – AGE: 46

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#5	Kiké Hernández	30	R/R	.250 AVG, 20 HR, 60 RBI, .337 OBP
RF	#99	Alex Verdugo	25	L/L	.289 AVG, 13 HR, 63 RBI, .351 OBP
SS	#2	Xander Bogaerts	29	R/R	.295 AVG, 23 HR, 79 RBI, .370 OBP
DH	#28	J.D. Martinez	34	R/R	.286 AVG, 28 HR, 99 RBI, .349 OBP
3B	#11	Rafael Devers	25	L/R	.279 AVG, 38 HR, 113 RBI, .352 OBP
2B	#10	Trevor Story	29	R/R	.251 AVG, 24 HR, 75 RBI, 20 SB – COL
1B	#29	Bobby Dalbec	26	R/R	.240 AVG, 25 HR, 78 RBI, 2 SB
C	#7	Christian Vazquez	31	R/R	.258 AVG, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 8 SB
LF	#40	Jarren Duran (R)	25	L/R	.215 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 2 SB

BENCH:

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#25	Kevin Plawecki	31	R/R	.287 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .349 OBP
C	#74	Connor Wong (R)	25	R/R	4/13, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .357 OBP
INF	#3	Jonathan Araúz	23	S/R	.185 AVG, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .274 OBP
INF	#39	Christian Arroyo	26	R/R	.262 AVG, 6 HR, 25 RBI, .324 OBP
CF	#19	Jackie Bradley Jr.	31	L/R	.163 AVG, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 7 SB – MIL

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#17	Nathan Eovaldi	32	RHP	11-9, 3.75 ERA, 195 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
SP	#37	Nick Pivetta	29	RHP	9-8, 4.53 ERA, 175 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
SP	#44	Rich Hill	42	LHP	7-8, 3.86 ERA, 150 Ks, 1.21 WHIP – TB/NYM
SP	#89	Tanner Houck	25	RHP	1-5, 3.52 ERA, 87 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
SP	#52	Michael Wacha	30	RHP	3-5, 5.05 ERA, 121 Ks, 1.31 WHIP – TB

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#32	Matt Barnes	31	RHP	24 SVs, 3.79 ERA, 84 Ks, 1.12 WHIP
SU	#72	Garrett Whitlock	25	RHP	2 SVs, 1.96 ERA, 81 Ks, 1.10 WHIP
RP	#31	Jake Diekman	35	LHP	7 SVs, 3.86 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.34 WHIP – OAK
RP	#38	Josh Taylor	29	LHP	1 SV, 3.40 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.43 WHIP
RP	#22	Derek Holland	35	LHP	3-2, 5.07 ERA, 51 Ks, 1.57 WHIP – DET
RP	#70	Ryan Brasier	34	RHP	1-1, 1.50 ERA, 9 Ks, 1.33 WHIP
RP	#55	Matt Strahm	30	LHP	6 GP, 8.10 ERA, 4 Ks, 2.40 WHIP – SD
RP	#63	Darwinzon Hernandez	25	LHP	2-2, 3.38 ERA, 54 Ks, 1.50 WHIP
RP	#18	Hirokazu Sawamura	33	RHP	5-1, 3.06 ERA, 61 Ks, 1.45 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#41	Chris Sale	32	LHP	Ribcage fracture Potential return in May
SP	#65	James Paxton	33	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Triston Casas (First Base, Age: 22, L/R, MLB Rank: #16)
Brayan Bello (Pitcher, Age: 22, RHP, BOS Rank: #5)
Jeter Downs (Short Stop, Age: 23, R/R, BOS Rank: #6)
Bryan Mata (Pitcher, Age: 22, RHP, BOS Rank: #8)
Jay Groome (Pitcher, Age: 23, LHP, BOS Rank: #12)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SS Xander Bogaerts
Breakout Player: LF Jarren Duran
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 5th
Rotation Rank: 7th
Bullpen Rank: 6th

The Red Sox shocked most of the baseball world in 2021 as a team that everyone thought was rebuilding surged to a Wild Card spot and later lost in the ALCS. Now headed into 2022, teams are much more aware of how dominant this Red Sox team can be. With career years from Garrett Whitlock, Nathan Eovaldi, and Nick Pivetta things just seemed to go right when it came to the pitching, which was not highly regarded in Spring Training. Chris Sale was also able to return and provide quality innings, and will to get back on track in his first full season back from Tommy John since 2019. Matt Barnes has held down the closing duties quite nicely, and in response got an extension in the middle of last season. Veteran arms Michael Wacha and Rich Hill were both added to eat up innings, and James Paxton was signed in hopes he can return by mid-season. The prospects are truly the driving force, as three of the teams top pitching prospects could all make their debuts this year.

The offense on the other hand was no issue, and it never is when you have Martinez, Bogaerts, and Devers in the middle of your order. Alex Verdugo continues to emerge as one of the better young corner outfielders in the game. Christian Vazquez was brought back, JBJ was also re-acquired via trade and top prospect Jarren Duran should become an every day piece in the lineup. I think that once again the Red Sox will be deeply competitive but it was also be tough to top what they accomplished last year. With a new look Blue Jays squad that only got better and the always dominant Rays it may be tough. I still have them in the mix for one of the three Wild Card spots.

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New York Yankees

Manager: Aaron Boone (5th year, Career/Team record: 328-218) – AGE: 49

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
3B	#26	D.J. LeMahieu	33	R/R	.268 AVG, 10 HR, 57 RBI, .349 OBP
RF	#99	Aaron Judge	29	R/R	.287 AVG, 39 HR, 98 RBI, .373 OBP
DH	#27	Giancarlo Stanton	32	R/R	.273 AVG, 35 HR, 97 RBI, .354 OBP
3B	#28	Josh Donaldson	36	R/R	.247 AVG, 26 HR, 72 RBI, .352 OBP – MIN
LF	#13	Joey Gallo	28	L/R	.199 AVG, 38 HR, 77 RBI, .351 OBP – TEX/NYY
1B	#48	Anthony Rizzo	32	L/L	.248 AVG, 22 HR, 61 RBI, .344 OBP – CHC/NYY
2B	#25	Gleyber Torres	25	R/R	.259 AVG, 9 HR, 51 RBI, 14 SB
SS	#12	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	26	R/R	.271 AVG, 8 HR, 53 RBI, 20 SB – TEX
C	#66	Kyle Higashioka	31	R/R	.181 AVG, 10 HR, 29 RBI, .246 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#38	José Trevino	29	R/R	.239 AVG, 5 HR, 30 RBI, .267 OBP – TEX
INF	#18	José Peraza	27	R/R	.204 AVG, 6 HR, 20 RBI, .266 OBP – NYM
CF	#31	Aaron Hicks	32	S/R	.194 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .294 OBP
CF	#33	Tim Locastro	29	R/R	.180 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 SB – ARI/NYY
LF/3B	#41	Miguel Andújar	27	R/R	.253 AVG, 6 HR, 12 RBI, .284 OBP

–	POS.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#45	Gerrit Cole	31	RHP	16-8, 3.23 ERA, 243 Ks, 1.06 WHIP
SP	#40	Luis Severino	28	RHP	6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 8 Ks, 0.50 WHIP
SP	#47	Jordan Montgomery	29	LHP	6-7, 3.83 ERA, 162 Ks, 1.28 WHIP
SP	#65	Nestor Cortes	27	LHP	2-3, 2.90 ERA, 103 Ks, 1.08 WHIP
SP	#73	Michael King	26	RHP	2-4, 3.55 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.28 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#54	Aroldis Chapman	34	LHP	30 SVs, 3.36 ERA, 97 Ks, 1.31 WHIP
SU	#57	Chad Green	30	RHP	6 SVs, 3.12 ERA, 99 Ks, 0.88 WHIP
RP	#35	Clay Holmes	28	RHP	7-4, 3.60 ERA, 78 Ks, 1.17 WHIP – PIT/NYY
RP	#58	Wandy Peralta	30	LHP	5 SVs, 3.35 ERA, 43 Ks, 1.37 WHIP – SF/NYY
RP	#43	Jonathan Loaisiga	27	RHP	5 SVs, 2.17 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.02 WHIP
RP	#30	Miguel Castro	27	RHP	3-4, 3.45 ERA, 77 Ks, 1.29 WHIP – NYM
RP	#63	Lucas Luetge	34	LHP	1 SV, 2.74 ERA, 78 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
RP	#86	Clarke Schmidt (R)	26	RHP	6.1 IP, 5.68 ERA, 6 Ks, 2.53 WHIP
RP	#81	Luis Gil (R)	23	RHP	1-1, 3.07 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.33 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#53	Zach Britton	34	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Will miss the entire season
SP	#50	Jameson Taillon	30	RHP	Ankle surgery Could return in May
SP	#55	Domingo Germán	29	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Oswald Peraza (Short Stop, Age: 21, R/R, MLB Rank: #60)
Hayden Wesneski (Pitcher, Age: 24, RHP, NYY Rank: #8)
Luis Medina (Pitcher, Age: 22, RHP, NYY Rank: #12)
Oswaldo Cabrera (Infielder, Age: 23, S/R, NYY Rank: #14)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: RF Aaron Judge
Breakout Player: RP Michael King
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 4th
Rotation Rank: 6th
Bullpen Rank: 3rd

2021 brought the 12th straight season of the Yankees not making it to the World Series, the longest in team history. We are now long removed from the 2009 banner that is the last one to be hung in the Bronx and the division has only gotten tougher. But that’s not to say the Yankees have had a bad off-season. The team’s pay roll is the third highest in baseball, so the narrative that they refuse to spend is just not true. They didn’t make many moves prior to the lockout, but after they packaged Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson. After, the team re-signed Anthony Rizzo and dished out Luke Voit to the Padres due to a lack of room for him. The lineup is definitely looking solid and powerful with Judge, Stanton, and Gallo all returning, but they got a little faster too. Tim Locastro was brought back as well as IKF who can steal bases. The offense should score runs as they always do, but the question is the pitching.

Outside of Gerrit Cole the rotation is very unproven, Luis Severino is returning from injury and still has a long way to go before he’s back to his old self. The bullpen will also be deterred after Zach Britton’s Tommy John surgery will sideline him for the season. The main hope will center around their top prospects Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe, two guys they hope will become the next franchise cornerstones. The team is still good, but being on par with the new look Blue Jays and always competitive Rays will be tough. They’re still a playoff team and can make a run, it’s the Yankees after all.

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Tampa Bay Rays

Manager: Kevin Cash (8th year, Career/Team record: 554-478) – AGE: 44

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#8	Brandon Lowe	27	L/R	.247 AVG, 39 HR, 99 RBI, .340 OBP
DH	#56	Randy Arozarena	27	R/R	.274 AVG, 20 HR, 69 RBI, 20 SB
SS	#5	Wander Franco	21	S/R	.288 AVG, 7 HR, 39 RBI, .347 OBP
LF	#17	Austin Meadows	26	L/L	.234 AVG, 27 HR, 106 RBI, .315 OBP
RF	#13	Manuel Margot	27	R/R	.254 AVG, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 13 SB
C	#10	Mike Zunino	30	R/R	.216 AVG, 33 HR, 62 RBI, .301 OBP
3B	#7	Vidal Bruján (R)	24	S/R	2/26, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB
1B	#26	Ji-Man Choi	30	L/R	.229 AVG, 11 HR, 45 RBI, .348 OBP
CF	#39	Kevin Kiermaier	31	L/R	.259 AVG, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 9 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C/OF	#28	Francisco Mejía	26	S/R	.260 AVG, 6 HR, 35 RBI, .322 OBP
3B/1B	#2	Yandy Díaz	30	R/R	.256 AVG, 13 HR, 64 RBI, .353 OBP
INF	#6	Taylor Walls	25	S/R	.211 AVG, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 4 SB
OF	#35	Brett Phillips	27	L/R	.202 AVG, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 14 SB
OF	#15	Josh Lowe (R)	24	L/R	1/1

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#11	Shane Baz (R)	22	RHP	3 GS, 2.03 ERA, 18 Ks, 0.68 WHIP
SP	#62	Shane McClanahan	24	LHP	10-6, 3.43 ERA, 141 Ks, 1.27 WHIP
SP	#49	Brendan McKay (R)	26	LHP	2-4, 5.14 ERA, 56 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
SP	#28	Corey Kluber	35	RHP	5-3, 3.83 ERA, 82 Ks, 1.34 WHIP – NYY
SP	#57	Drew Rasmussen	26	RHP	4-1, 2.84 ERA, 73 Ks, 1.08 WHIP – MIL/TB

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#36	Andrew Kittredge	31	RHP	8 SVs, 1.88 ERA, 77 Ks, 0.98 WHIP
SU	#37	Matt Wisler	29	RHP	1 SV, 3.70 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.07 WHIP – SF/TB
RP	#84	J.T. Chargois	31	RHP	6-1, 2.52 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.08 WHIP – SEA/TB
RP	#34	J.P. Feyereisen	29	RHP	3 SVs, 2.73 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.23 WHIP – MIL/TB
RP	#58	Brooks Raley	33	LHP	2 SVs, 4.78 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.20 WHIP – HOU
RP	#38	Colin Poche	28	LHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
RP	#48	Ryan Yarbrough	30	LHP	9-7, 5.11 ERA, 117 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
RP	#81	Ryan Thompson	29	RHP	3-2, 2.38 ERA, 37 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
RP	#61	Luis Patiño	22	RHP	5-3, 4.31 ERA, 74 Ks, 1.27 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#20	Tyler Glasnow	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss all of the season
RP	#72	Yonny Chirinos	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June
RP	#70	Nick Anderson	31	RHP	Elbow surgery Potential return in July

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Xavier Edwards (Second Base, Age: 22, S/R, TB Rank: #7)
Tommy Romero (Pitcher, Age: 24, RHP, TB Rank: #18)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SS Wander Franco
Breakout Player: INF Vidal Bruján
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 10th
Rotation Rank: 3rd
Bullpen Rank: 2nd

The Rays enter 2022 more or less with the same squad that they road to a second straight AL East title with just a year ago. Baseball’s top prospect Wander Franco emerged onto the scene and was so good that the Rays decided to go against everything they believe in… They actually paid him! Franco signed an 11-year/$182m deal to become the cornerstone of the franchise. Besides this the Rays will once again have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball but are still projected to be at the top of the AL East. Young arms Shane Baz, Shane McClanahan, and Brendan McKay look to hold down a rotation that will be without ace Tyler Glasnow for the entire season. Corey Kluber was brought in for veteran rotation depth and the bullpen is pieced together by a bunch of high productive arms picked up on the scrap heap.

The lineup will definitely have some pop with Mike Zunino and Ji-Man Choi both brought back, and other top infield prospects Vidal Brujan and Taylor Walls in the mix. Brandon Lowe has implemented himself as one of the better middle infielders in the game, and Austin Meadows will look to bounce back from an inconsistent year at the dish. In the toughest division in possibly the whole league, the Rays will need every ounce of luck to ward off the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays for a third straight division crown. In the end, I see them as a Wild Card team but not the division winner. But as we see every year, Kevin Cash and company I’m sure will prove me wrong.

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Toronto Blue Jays

Manager: Charlie Montoyo (4th year, Career/Team record: 190-194) – AGE: 56

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#4	George Springer	32	R/R	.264 AVG, 22 HR, 50 RBI, .352 OBP
SS	#11	Bo Bichette	24	R/R	.298 AVG, 29 HR, 102 RBI, 25 SB
1B	#27	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	22	R/R	.311 AVG, 48 HR, 111 RBI, .401 OBP
RF	#37	Teoscar Hernández	29	R/R	.296 AVG, 32 HR, 116 RBI, 12 SB
3B	#26	Matt Chapman	28	R/R	.210 AVG, 27 HR, 72 RBI, .314 OBP – OAK
LF	#13	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	28	R/R	.276 AVG, 21 HR, 84 RBI, .319 OBP
C	#30	Alejandro Kirk	23	R/R	.242 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI, .328 OBP
DH	#15	Raimel Tapia	28	L/L	.273 AVG, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 20 SB – COL
2B	#8	Cavan Biggio	26	L/R	.224 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI, .322 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#9	Danny Jansen	26	R/R	.223 AVG, 11 HR, 28 RBI, .299 OBP
C	#21	Zack Collins	27	L/R	.210 AVG, 4 HR, 26 RBI, .330 OBP – CWS
INF	#5	Santiago Espinal	27	R/R	.311 AVG, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 6 SB
INF	#72	Otto Lopez (R)	23	R/R	0/1
OF	#77	Josh Palacios (R)	26	L/R	7/35, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .293 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#99	Hyun-Jin Ryu	34	LHP	14-10, 4.37 ERA, 143 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
SP	#17	José Berrios	27	RHP	12-9, 3.52 ERA, 204 Ks, 1.06 WHIP – MIN/TOR
SP	#34	Kevin Gausman	31	RHP	14-6, 2.81 ERA, 227 Ks, 1.04 WHIP – SF
SP	#16	Yusei Kikuchi	30	LHP	7-9, 4.41 ERA, 163 Ks, 1.32 WHIP – SEA
SP	#6	Alek Manoah	24	RHP	9-2, 3.22 ERA, 127 Ks, 1.05 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#68	Jordan Romano	28	RHP	23 SVs, 2.14 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.05 WHIP
SU	#90	Adam Cimber	27	LHP	1 SV, 2.26 ERA, 51 Ks, 1.07 WHIP – MIA/TOR
RP	#93	Yimi García	31	RHP	15 SVs, 4.21 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.16 WHIP – MIA/HOU
RP	#58	Tim Mayza	30	LHP	1 SV, 3.40 ERA, 57 Ks, 0.98 WHIP
RP	#56	Ryan Borucki	27	LHP	3-1, 4.94 ERA, 21 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
RP	#57	Trent Thornton	28	RHP	1-3, 4.78 ERA, 52 Ks, 1.43 WHIP
RP	#33	Trevor Richards	28	RHP	1 SV, 3.50 ERA, 78 Ks, 0.96 WHIP – TB/MIL/TOR
RP	#48	Ross Stripling	32	RHP	5-7, 4.80 ERA, 94 Ks, 1.27 WHIP
RP	#24	Nate Pearson	25	RHP	1-1, 4.20 ERA, 20 Ks, 1.73 WHIP

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Gabriel Moreno (Catcher, Age: 22, R/R, MLB Rank: #7)
Bowden Francis (Pitcher, Age: 25, RHP, TOR Rank: #15)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Breakout Player: C Gabriel Moreno
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 1st
Rotation Rank: 1st
Bullpen Rank: 9th

There’s breakouts and then there’s the type of performance that the Jays’ offense put on all of 2021, led by MVP runner-up Vlad Guerrero Jr. Between him, Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez, George Springer, and Lourdes Gurriel, Toronto has put together arguably the best death row in any lineup across baseball. Now throw platinum glove winner and 3B star Matt Chapman into the mix and this lineup top to bottom should be unstoppable.

Despite a Cy Young season from now Mariner Robbie Ray, the Jays finished short of the playoffs and will look to build on the progress they started in 2021. And by the looks of it, it shouldn’t be too hard to do so, as the team got all around better. They lost Marcus Semien but will be able to replace him with, in some eyes, an upgrade with Matt Chapman. The catching tandem of Kirk-McGuire-Jansen took strides in 2021 and could be used as trade bait as the team’s number one prospect Gabriel Moreno is on the horizon to make his debut.

The offense pretty much speaks for itself but the pitching is what’s going to drive fear into the rest of the AL. Any time you lose the reigning Cy Young winner it should hurt, but the team brings back ace Hyun-Jin Ryu while adding all-stars Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi into the mix. After acquiring all-star Jose Berrios at last year’s deadline, Toronto re-upped his contract making him the key to that rotation for the long haul. The bullpen also stays pretty similar to last year and that’s something to be proud about. Jordan Romano and Adam Cimber should man the back end while newly signed Yimi Garcia will add depth coming off of a career year. With all of this new depth, we don’t even have room for former top prospects Anthony Kay and Nate Pearson who will be more of insurance pieces in case of injuries. In my opinion it’s safe to say that the Jays have overlapped the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox and should be looked at as the team to beat in the East.

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Chicago White Sox

Manager: Tony La Russa (2nd year in CWS (2nd stint), Career record: 2,821-2,434, Team record: 93-69) – AGE: 77

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
SS	#7	Tim Anderson	28	R/R	.309 AVG, 17 HR, 61 RBI, 18 SB
3B	#10	Yoán Moncada	26	S/R	.263 AVG, 14 HR, 61 RBI, .375 OBP
1B	#79	José Abreu	35	R/R	.261 AVG, 30 HR, 117 RBI, .351 OBP
LF	#74	Eloy Jimenez	25	R/R	.249 AVG, 10 HR, 37 RBI, .303 OBP
CF	#88	Luis Robert	24	R/R	.338 AVG, 13 HR, 43 RBI, 6 SB
RF	#18	A.J. Pollock	34	R/R	.297 AVG, 21 HR, 69 RBI, 9 SB – LAD
C	#24	Yasmani Grandal	33	S/R	.240 AVG, 23 HR, 62 RBI, .420 OBP
DH	#25	Andrew Vaughn	23	R/R	.235 AVG, 15 HR, 48 RBI, .309 OBP
2B	#5	Josh Harrison	34	R/R	.279 AVG, 8 HR, 60 RBI, 9 SB – WAS/OAK

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C		Reese McGuire	27	L/R	.253 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI, .310 OBP – TOR
UTIL	#28	Leury García	30	S/R	.267 AVG, 5 HR, 54 RBI, 6 SB
UTIL	#20	Danny Mendick	28	R/R	.220 AVG, 2 HR, 20 RBI, .303 OBP
CF	#15	Adam Engel	30	R/R	.252 AVG, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 7 SB
RF/1B	#32	Gavin Sheets	25	L/L	.250 AVG, 11 HR, 34 RBI, .324 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#33	Lance Lynn	34	RHP	11-6, 2.69 ERA, 176 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
SP	#27	Lucas Giolito	27	RHP	11-9, 3.53 ERA, 201 Ks, 1.10 WHIP
SP	#60	Dallas Keuchel	34	LHP	9-9, 5.28 ERA, 95 Ks, 1.53 WHIP
SP	#84	Dylan Cease	26	RHP	13-7, 3.91 ERA, 226 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
SP	#34	Michael Kopech	25	RHP	4-3, 3.50 ERA, 103 Ks, 1.13 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#31	Liam Hendriks	33	RHP	38 SVs, 2.54 ERA, 113 Ks, 0.73 WHIP
RP	#49	Kendall Graveman	31	RHP	10 SVs, 1.77 ERA, 61 Ks, 0.98 WHIP – SEA/HOU
RP	#45	Garrett Crochet	22	LHP	3-5, 2.82 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.27 WHIP
RP	#39	Aaron Bummer	28	LHP	2 SVs, 3.51 ERA, 75 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#66	José Ruiz	27	RHP	1-3, 3.05 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
RP	#61	Ryan Burr	27	RHP	2-1, 2.45 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
RP	#40	Reynaldo López	28	RHP	4-4, 3.43 ERA, 55 Ks, 0.95 WHIP
RP	#23	Vince Velasquez	29	RHP	3-9, 6.30 ERA, 101 Ks, 1.48 WHIP – PHI/SD

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#17	Joe Kelly	33	RHP	Biceps injury Potential return in late April

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Yoelqui Céspedes (Outfield, Age: 24, R/R, CWS Rank: #4)
Micker Adolfo (Outfield, Age: 25, R/R, CWS Rank: #14)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 1B José Abreu
Breakout Player: SP Michael Kopech
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 2nd
Rotation Rank: 2nd
Bullpen Rank: 1st

After a dynamic year that elevated the Sox onto the AL’s front stage, they’ll look to continue the progress with arguably an even better squad. Like having two of the best closers in the game wasn’t enough, they also added Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly to an already dynamic pen. With the departure of Carlos Rodon, Michael Kopech should enter the rotation alongside budding young stars Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease. And then there’s the offense, with young stars Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, and Yoan Moncada adding depth to veterans Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu. Josh Harrison was also added this off-season and should see some significant time manning second with Danny Mendick. After a career year, Leury Garcia was extended and will likely serve as the super utility. Youngsters Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn provide young depth in the outfield, first base, and platoon as the DH. One of the teams top prospect’s Jake Burger should also see time but may start in the minors especially if the lineup is fully healthy.

Overall, in a weak division, Chicago should be able to roll right to the playoffs especially with the expanded 6-team format. I do think the Twins will be solid and Royals may surprise some, but it would be an epic fall from grace if the White Sox don’t win the division by a comfortable margin. As for making it deep in the playoffs, they’re going to have to show much improvement from last year to knock off the Astros, Rays, and even the new look Blue Jays.

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Cleveland Guardians

Manager: Terry Francona (10th year in CLE, Career record: 1,765-1,496, Team record: 736-581) – AGE: 63

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#7	Myles Straw	27	R/R	.271 AVG, 4 HR, 48 RBI, 30 SB – HOU/CLE
SS	#1	Amed Rosario	26	R/R	.282 AVG, 11 HR, 57 RBI, 13 SB
3B	#11	José Ramírez	29	S/R	.266 AVG, 36 HR, 103 RBI, 27 SB
DH	#32	Franmil Reyes	26	R/R	.254 AVG, 30 HR, 85 RBI, 4 SB
1B	#44	Bobby Bradley	25	L/R	.208 AVG, 16 HR, 41 RBI, .294 OBP
RF	#22	Josh Naylor	24	L/L	.253 AVG, 7 HR, 21 RBI, .301 OBP
C	#17	Austin Hedges	29	R/R	.178 AVG, 10 HR, 31 RBI, .220 OBP
2B	#68	Tyler Freeman (R)	22	R/R	CLE Rank: #5, MLB Rank: #88
LF	#35	Oscar Mercado	27	R/R	.224 AVG, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 7 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#12	Luke Maile	31	R/R	9/30, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .382 OBP – MIL
INF	#0	Andrés Giménez	23	L/R	.218 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 11 SB
UTIL	#2	Yu Chang	26	R/R	.228 AVG, 9 HR, 39 RBI, .267 OBP
UTIL	#6	Owen Miller	25	R/R	.204 AVG, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 2 SB
CF	#4	Bradley Zimmer	29	L/R	.227 AVG, 8 HR, 35 RBI, 15 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#57	Shane Bieber	26	RHP	7-4, 3.17 ERA, 134 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
SP	#34	Zach Plesac	27	RHP	10-6, 4.67 ERA, 100 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
SP	#43	Aaron Civale	26	RHP	12-5, 3.84 ERA, 99 Ks, 1.12 WHIP
SP	#24	Triston McKenzie	24	RHP	5-9, 4.95 ERA, 136 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
SP	#47	Cal Quantril	27	RHP	8-3, 2.89 ERA, 121 Ks, 1.18 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#48	Emmanuel Clasé	23	RHP	24 SVs, 1.29 ERA, 74 Ks, 0.96 WHIP
SU	#99	James Karinchak	26	RHP	11 SVs, 4.07 ERA, 78 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
RP	#37	Trevor Stephan	26	RHP	1 SV, 4.41 ERA, 75 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
RP	#52	Nick Sandlin	25	RHP	1-1, 2.94 ERA, 48 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
RP	#26	Anthony Gose	31	LHP	6.2 IP, 1.35 ERA, 9 Ks, 0.60 WHIP
RP	#27	Bryan Shaw	34	RHP	2 SVs, 3.49 ERA, 71 Ks, 1.38 WHIP
RP	#49	Eli Morgan	25	RHP	5-7, 5.34 ERA, 81 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
RP	#31	Sam Hentges	25	LHP	1-4, 6.68 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.78 WHIP
RP	#54	Logan Allen (R)	24	LHP	2-7, 6.26 ERA, 37 Ks, 1.49 WHIP

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Gabriel Arias (Short Stop, Age: 22, R/R, MLB Rank: #73)
Nolan Jones (Third Base, Age: 23, L/R, CLE Rank: #6)
Bryan Lavastida (Catcher, Age: 23, R/R, CLE Rank: #12)
Richie Palacios (Second Base, Age: 24, L/R, CLE Rank: #18)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 3B José Ramírez
Breakout Player: INF Tyler Freeman
Grade: C
Lineup Rank: 13th
Rotation Rank: 5th
Bullpen Rank: 8th

The newly donned Cleveland Guardians enter the new campaign in a rebuild but, in my opinion, with a lot of upside. First you start with the pitching and a fully healthy rotation could quietly be one of the best in the entire league. Shane Bieber won a Cy Young just two years ago, and Plesac, Civale, and McKenzie look to be solid additional pieces. The bullpen also took a step forward in 2021 with the emergence of young flame thrower Emmanuel Clase who will continue closer duties. James Karinchak and Trevor Stephan remain two good young arms for the back end. One main reason the team was so up and down in 2021 was because of their pitching injuries, as Shane Bieber spent the majority of the year on the shelf. Health will definitely be key with this crew.

On the offensive side, something is slowly but surely coming together. Sure losing franchise icon Francisco Lindor a season ago is tough to replace but Amed Rosario stepped in and had a quietly good season. Myles Straw was also acquired during the season giving the team a speedy lead off hitter and a plus defender in CF. Jose Ramirez is an all-around stud and will remain the main building block on offense. Three MLB Top 100 prospects are also on the horizon this season in Tyler Freeman, Nolan Jones, and Gabriel Arias who can add depth to the lineup. This division is wide open and outside of the White Sox pretty much every other spot is up in the air. It’s not far fetched to think Cleveland can hover around .500 and maybe even fight for a Wild Card. A lot will have to go right but their ceiling could be the 6 spot in the playoffs.

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Detroit Tigers

Manager: A.J. Hinch (2nd year in DET, Career record: 647-537, Team record: 77-85) – AGE: 48

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#60	Akil Baddoo	23	L/L	.259 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 18 SB
LF	#8	Robbie Grossman	32	S/L	.239 AVG, 23 HR, 67 RBI, 20 SB
SS	#28	Javier Báez	29	R/R	.265 AVG, 31 HR, 87 RBI, 18 SB – CHC/NYM
1B	#7	Jonathan Schoop	30	R/R	.278 AVG, 22 HR, 84 RBI, .320 OBP
3B	#46	Jeimer Candelario	28	S/R	.271 AVG, 16 HR, 67 RBI, .351 OBP
DH	#24	Miguel Cabrera	38	R/R	.256 AVG, 15 HR, 75 RBI, .316 OBP
C	#15	Tucker Barnhart	31	L/R	.247 AVG, 7 HR, 48 RBI, .317 OBP – CIN
2B	#30	Harold Castro	28	L/R	.283 AVG, 3 HR, 37 RBI, .310 OBP
RF	#22	Victor Reyes	27	S/R	.258 AVG, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C/LF	#13	Eric Haase	29	R/R	.231 AVG, 22 HR, 61 RBI, .286 OBP
UTIL	#9	Willi Castro	24	S/R	.220 AVG, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 9 SB
INF	#19	Isaac Paredes	23	R/R	.208 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .306 OBP
CF	#41	Daz Cameron	25	R/R	.194 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 6 SB
OF	#54	Derek Hill	26	R/R	.259 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 6 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#12	Casey Mize	24	RHP	7-9, 3.71 ERA, 118 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
SP	#57	Eduardo Rodríguez	28	LHP	13-8, 4.74 ERA, 185 Ks, 1.39 WHIP – BOS
SP	#29	Tarik Skubal	25	LHP	8-12, 4.34 ERA, 164 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
SP	#25	Matt Manning	24	RHP	4-7, 5.80 ERA, 57 Ks, 1.51 WHIP
SP	#56	Michael Pineda	33	RHP	9-8, 3.62 ERA, 88 Ks, 1.23 WHIP – MIN

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#32	Michael Fulmer	29	RHP	14 SVs, 2.97 ERA, 73 Ks, 1.28 WHIP
SU	#40	Andrew Chafin	31	LHP	5 SVs, 1.83 ERA, 64 Ks, 0.93 WHIP – CHC/OAK
RP	#67	José Cisnero	32	RHP	4 SVs, 3.65 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.33 WHIP
RP	#77	Joe Jiménez	27	RHP	1 SV, 5.96 ERA, 57 Ks, 1.52 WHIP
RP	#65	Gregory Soto	27	LHP	18 SVs, 3.39 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.35 WHIP
RP	#33	Bryan Garcia	27	RHP	2 SVs, 7.55 ERA, 32 Ks, 1.86 WHIP
RP	#55	Alex Lange	26	RHP	1 SV, 4.04 ERA, 39 Ks, 1.49 WHIP
RP	#36	Kyle Funkhouser	28	RHP	1 SV, 3.42 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.40 WHIP
RP	#70	Tyler Alexander	27	LHP	2-4, 3.81 ERA, 87 Ks, 1.26 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
C	#34	Jake Rogers	27	R/R	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss all of the season
SP	#56	Spencer Turnbull	29	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss all of the season

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Spencer Torkelson (First Base, Age: 22, R/R, MLB Rank: #4)
Riley Greene (Outfield, Age: 21, L/L, MLB Rank: #5)
Ryan Kreidler (Short Stop, Age: 24, R/R, DET Rank: #7)
Alex Faedo (Pitcher, Age: 26, RHP, DET Rank: #16)
Kody Clemens (Utility, Age: 25, L/R, DET Rank: #18)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SS Javier Báez
Breakout Player: SP Tarik Skubal
Grade: C+
Lineup Rank: 9th
Rotation Rank: 9th
Bullpen Rank: 12th

Just as we talked about the Guardians and their new look/bright future, the Tigers will compete hard with them in the division as one of the MLB’s shocking teams of 2022. First off A.J. Hinch is their manager and after taking over the club that has been in a rebuild for several years, he led them to a 77-85 record just a year ago, and they only got better. Star SS Javier Baez was signed to a 6-year, $140m contract to become the focal point of the offense. Defensive/power hitting catcher Tucker Barnhart was also added via trade and will join an offense with the great Miguel Cabrera, Jonathan Schoop, Jeimer Candelario, and last year’s rookie phenom Akil Baddoo. Not to mention two of baseball’s top 10 prospects should be up by midseason in OF Riley Greene and 3B/1B Spencer Torkelson. This alone has the promise of bolstering the Tigers into the limelight and then there’s the pitching.

Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was signed to a 5-year, $77m contract to help bolster a rotation that features some of the best young arms in the game. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal are two of baseball’s better young arms and will look to continue on their dominance in 2022. Spencer Turnbull has also become the team’s ace, but will likely miss all of the season after TJ surgery. Andrew Chafin was added to aid a bullpen that saw some dominance with Michael Fulmer, Gregory Soto, and Jose Cisnero in the back end just a year ago. Detroit still may be a year or two away of consistent success but the team can definitely be a surprise in 2022.

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Kansas City Royals

Manager: Mike Matheny (3rd year in KC, Career record: 691-596, Team record: 100-122) – AGE: 51

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#15	Whit Merrifield	33	R/R	.277 AVG, 10 HR, 74 RBI, 40 SB
LF	#16	Andrew Benintendi	27	L/L	.276 AVG, 17 HR, 73 RBI, 8 SB
C	#13	Salvador Perez	31	R/R	.278 AVG, 48 HR, 121 RBI, .316 OBP
DH	#41	Carlos Santana	35	S/R	.214 AVG, 19 HR, 69 RBI, .319 OBP
3B	#27	Adalberto Mondesi	26	S/R	.230 AVG, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 15 SB
RF	#17	Hunter Dozier	30	R/R	.216 AVG, 16 HR, 54 RBI, .285 OBP
SS	#8	Nicky Lopez	27	L/R	.300 AVG, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 22 SB
1B	#32	Nick Pratto (R)	23	L/L	KC Rank: #3, MLB Rank: #62
CF	#2	Michael A. Taylor	30	R/R	.244 AVG, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 14 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#36	Cam Gallagher	29	R/R	.250 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .298 OBP
1B/OF	#66	Ryan O’Hearn	28	L/L	.225 AVG, 9 HR, 29 RBI, .268 OBP
3B	#26	Emmanuel Rivera (R)	25	R/R	.256 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .316 OBP
CF	#28	Kyle Isbel	25	L/R	.276 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .337 OBP
OF	#14	Edward Olivares	26	R/R	.238 AVG, 5 HR, 12 RBI, .291 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#23	Zack Greinke	38	RHP	11-6, 4.16 ERA, 120 Ks, 1.17 WHIP – HOU
SP	#51	Brady Singer	25	RHP	5-10, 4.91 ERA, 131 Ks, 1.55 WHIP
SP	#56	Brad Keller	26	RHP	8-12, 5.39 ERA, 120 Ks, 1.66 WHIP
SP	#50	Kris Bubic	24	LHP	6-7, 4.43 ERA, 114 Ks, 1.38 WHIP
SP	#52	Daniel Lynch	25	LHP	4-6, 5.69 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.63 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#58	Scott Barlow	29	RHP	16 SVs, 2.42 ERA, 91 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
SU	#63	Josh Staumont	28	RHP	5 SVs, 2.88 ERA, 72 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
RP	#24	Amir Garrett	29	LHP	7 SVs, 6.04 ERA, 61 Ks, 1.57 WHIP – CIN
RP	#59	Jake Brentz	27	LHP	2 SVs, 3.66 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.28 WHIP
RP	#31	Domingo Tapia	30	RHP	4-1, 2.67 ERA, 26 Ks, 1.19 WHIP – SEA/KC
RP	#38	Joel Payamps	27	RHP	1-3, 3.40 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.15 WHIP – TOR/KC
RP	#45	Taylor Clarke	28	RHP	1-3, 4.98 ERA, 39 Ks, 1.52 WHIP – ARI
RP	#67	Gabe Speier	26	LHP	7.2 IP, 1.17 ERA, 5 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
RP	#43	Carlos Hernández	25	RHP	6-2, 3.68 ERA, 74 Ks, 1.28 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#53	Tyler Zuber	26	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Bobby Witt Jr. (Short Stop, Age: 21, R/R, MLB Rank: #1)
MJ Melendez (Catcher, Age: 23, L/R, MLB Rank: #51)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: C Salvador Perez
Breakout Player: SS Bobby Witt Jr.
Grade: D+
Lineup Rank: 12th
Rotation Rank: 14th
Bullpen Rank: 11th

The Royals enter the 2022 campaign fresh off of a down year that I thought would go a little differently. But heading into the new year the team looks relatively the same except for the additions of Amir Garrett in the bullpen from Cincinnati and the reemergence of Zack Greinke back to where it all began in Kansas City. But I truly don’t see the team being able to compete much, as they don’t seem as far ahead in the rebuild as Cleveland and Detroit or nearly as dominant as Minnesota or Chicago. That spells fifth place if KC doesn’t take a bunch of steps forward.

I do see their offense doing solid though. A fully healthy year for Adalberto Mondesi will be huge to join a lineup with stars Whit Merrifield and Salvador Perez. Three top prospects are all on the horizon as well which should bring some hype. 1B Nick Pratto, I think will start the year as the every day starter for the Royals and MJ Melendez will make his way up which will cause some drama at the catching position (luckily there’s always the DH). Then you have baseball’s 2022 top prospect Bobby Witt who will be set to take over the full-time SS role at some point this season. That’s where the flexibility of Merrifield, Dozier, and Mondesi will come in handy as Matheny will need to play around with the future defensive set up. The pitching is what causes concern, as outside of Greinke the rotation has a lot of work to do to find any form of consistency. A couple of solid pieces have emerged in the bullpen and they’re going to need it if the rotation remains lackluster.

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Minnesota Twins

Manager: Rocco Baldelli (4th year, Career/Team record: 210-174) – AGE: 40

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#25	Byron Buxton	28	R/R	.306 AVG, 19 HR, 32 RBI, 9 SB
2B	#11	Jorge Polanco	28	S/R	.269 AVG, 33 HR, 98 RBI, 11 SB
SS	#4	Carlos Correa	27	R/R	.279 AVG, 26 HR, 92 RBI, .366 OBP – HOU
RF	#26	Max Kepler	29	L/L	.211 AVG, 19 HR, 54 RBI, .306 OBP
3B	#15	Gio Urshela	30	R/R	.267 AVG, 14 HR, 49 RBI, .301 OBP – NYY
DH	#2	Luis Arraez	24	L/R	.294 AVG, 2 HR, 42 RBI, .357 OBP
LF	#19	Alex Kirilloff	24	L/L	.251 AVG, 8 HR, 34 RBI, .299 OBP
1B	#22	Miguel Sanó	28	R/R	.223 AVG, 30 HR, 75 RBI, .312 OBP
C	#27	Ryan Jeffers	24	R/R	.199 AVG, 14 HR, 35 RBI, .270 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#24	Gary Sánchez	29	R/R	.204 AVG, 23 HR, 54 RBI, .307 OBP
INF	#1	Nick Gordon	26	L/R	.240 AVG, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 10 SB
UTIL	#67	Gilberto Celestino (R)	23	R/L	.136 AVG, 2 HR, 3 RBI, .177 OBP
LF	#24	Trevor Larnach	25	L/R	.223 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI, .322 OBP
OF	#50	Brent Rooker	27	R/R	.201 AVG, 9 HR, 16 RBI, .291 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#54	Sonny Gray	32	RHP	7-9, 4.19 ERA, 155 Ks, 1.22 WHIP – CIN
SP	#37	Dylan Bundy	29	RHP	2-9, 6.06 ERA, 84 Ks, 1.36 WHIP – LAA
SP	#40	Joe Ryan (R)	25	RHP	2-1, 4.05 ERA, 30 Ks, 0.79 WHIP
SP	#17	Bailey Ober	26	RHP	3-3, 4.19 ERA, 96 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
SP	#43	Lewis Thorpe	26	LHP	15.1 IP, 4.70 ERA, 6 Ks, 1.37 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#55	Taylor Rogers	31	LHP	9 SVs, 3.35 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
SU	#21	Tyler Duffey	31	RHP	3 SVs, 3.18 ERA, 61 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
RP	#56	Caleb Thielbar	35	LHP	7-0, 3.23 ERA, 77 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
RP	#66	Jorge Alcala	26	RHP	1 SV, 3.92 ERA, 61 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
RP	#32	Ralph Garza Jr.	27	RHP	1 SV, 3.56 ERA, 29 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – HOU/MIN
RP	#59	Jhoan Duran (R)	24	RHP	MIN Rank: #6
RP	#45	Jharel Cotton	30	RHP	2-0, 3.52 ERA, 30 Ks, 1.40 WHIP – TEX
RP	#65	Griffin Jax	27	RHP	4-5, 6.37 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.35 WHIP
RP	#68	Randy Dobnak	27	RHP	1 SV, 7.64 ERA, 27 Ks, 1.54 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#18	Kenta Maeda	33	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss all of the season

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Royce Lewis (Short Stop, Age: 22, R/R, MLB Rank: #46)
Jose Miranda (Infielder, Age: 23, R/R, MLB Rank: #95)
Josh Winder (Pitcher, Age: 25, RHP, MIN Rank: #7)
Simeon Woods-Richardson (Pitcher, Age: 21, RHP, MIN Rank: #8)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SS Carlos Correa
Breakout Player: SP Joe Ryan
Grade: C+
Lineup Rank: 7th
Rotation Rank: 10th
Bullpen Rank: 10th

Rounding out the Central we have the Twins who have had an interesting off-season to say the least. After a below average year, Minnesota traded away their top arm Jose Berrios and looked to be headed for a rebuild. Once free agency hit, the moves came in bunches as star CF Byron Buxton was given a 7-year, $100m extension. Then after the lockout, they acquired Sonny Gray to help beef up a rotation that will lack Kenta Maeda for the season. Then they struck a deal with the Yankees, sending Josh Donaldson and newly acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Bronx for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela. The money they then saved on Donaldson they used to sign arguably this offseason’s top FA, SS Carlos Correa to a 3-year, $105.3m deal. There’s no doubt that the addition of Correa will bolster the lineup, and it should be a nasty one alongside Buxton, Sano, Polanco, and Kepler. But it’s the pitching that gives me a bit of worry.

The rotation will have to rely heavily on veteran Sonny Gray and top prospect Joe Ryan, two guys who the Twins speak highly of. The rest on the other hand will be interesting as Dylan Bundy was brought in as somewhat of a project, and a few young unestablished arms have the chance to crack the rotation in Bailey Ober, Lewis Thorpe, and Griffin Jax. The bullpen should be decent, led by submarine thrower Taylor Rogers and Tyler Duffey. All and all the Twins made some moves that would make you think they’re going all in, but looking at their roster in whole, there’s definitely some flaws. The ceiling can definitely be a Wild Card spot but that’s going to have to come with tough fighting to beat out the AL East powerhouses.

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Houston Astros

Manager: Dusty Baker (3rd year in HOU, Career record: 1,987-1,734, Team record: 124-98) – AGE: 73

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#27	Jose Altuve	31	R/R	.277 AVG, 31 HR, 83 RBI, .350 OBP
LF	#23	Michael Brantley	34	L/L	.311 AVG, 8 HR, 47 RBI, .362 OBP
3B	#2	Alex Bregman	27	R/R	.270 AVG, 12 HR, 55 RBI, .355 OBP
DH	#44	Yordan Alvarez	24	L/R	.277 AVG, 33 HR, 104 RBI, .346 OBP
RF	#30	Kyle Tucker	25	L/R	.294 AVG, 30 HR, 92 RBI, 14 SB
1B	#10	Yuli Gurriel	37	R/R	.319 AVG, 15 HR, 81 RBI, .383 OBP
CF	#20	Chas McCormick	26	R/L	.257 AVG, 14 HR, 50 RBI, 4 SB
SS	#16	Aledmys Díaz	31	R/R	.259 AVG, 8 HR, 45 RBI, .317 OBP
C	#15	Martín Maldonado	35	R/R	.172 AVG, 12 HR, 36 RBI, .272 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#18	Jason Castro	34	L/R	.235 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI, .356 OBP
UTIL	#11	Niko Goodrum	30	S/R	.214 AVG, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 14 SB – DET
INF	#3	Jeremy Peña (R)	24	R/R
1B/LF	#28	Taylor Jones	28	R/R	.245 AVG, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .269 OBP
OF	#26	Jose Siri	26	R/R	14/46, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#35	Justin Verlander	39	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
SP	#59	Framber Valdez	28	LHP	11-6, 3.14 ERA, 125 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
SP	#65	José Urquidy	26	RHP	8-3, 3.62 ERA, 90 Ks, 0.99 WHIP
SP	#17	Jake Odorizzi	31	RHP	6-7, 4.21 ERA, 91 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
SP	#77	Luis Garcia	25	RHP	11-8, 3.30 ERA, 167 Ks, 1.17 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#55	Ryan Pressly	33	RHP	26 SVs, 2.25 ERA, 81 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
SU	#45	Ryne Stanek	30	RHP	2 SVs, 3.42 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
RP	#52	Pedro Báez	34	RHP	4.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, 5 Ks, 0.69 WHIP
RP	#62	Blake Taylor	26	LHP	4-4, 3.16 ERA, 41 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
RP	#50	Héctor Neris	32	RHP	12 SVs, 3.63 ERA, 98 Ks, 1.17 WHIP – PHI
RP	#66	Bryan Abreu	24	RHP	3-3, 5.75 ERA, 36 Ks, 1.47 WHIP
RP	#88	Phil Maton	28	RHP	6-0, 4.73 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.44 WHIP – CLE/HOU
RP	#64	Brandon Bielak	25	RHP	1 SV, 4.50 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.38 WHIP
RP	#53	Cristian Javier	24	RHP	2 SVs, 3.55 ERA, 130 Ks, 1.18 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
CF	#6	Jake Meyers	25	R/L	Torn labrum Potential return in May
SP	#43	Lance McCullers Jr.	28	RHP	Elbow injury Potential return in May
RP	#47	Rafael Montero	31	RHP	Lat strain Potential return in May

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 2B Jose Altuve
Breakout Player: CF Jake Meyers
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 3rd
Rotation Rank: 3rd
Bullpen Rank: 4th

The Astros enter the new year in a somewhat wide open AL West that could have some new teams to worry about. The Athletics are fully in the rebuild so they aren’t much of a threat, but the Rangers, Angels, and Mariners have all been active this off-season to get better. The Rangers still may be some time away but the Angels and Mariners look to pose a real threat to throw Houston off the crown of the division. Besides this, the Astros return to the new year with pretty much the same squad minus two big losses. Star SS Carlos Correa left for the Twins and Zack Greinke headed back to Kansas City, but the latter will be the lesser of the two. The offense should still be sharp led by Alvarez, Gurriel, Altuve, Brantley, Bregman and the emergence of Kyle Tucker. Even without Correa, they’re still one of the best lineups in the league.

On the pitching side they saw a lot of young arms take huge steps just a year ago. Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, and Luis Garcia all had stellar campaigns implementing themselves as reliable rotation pieces. Justin Verlander was retained and will look to return for the first time since 2019 and try to contribute as much as he can as the ace of the squad. The bullpen once again should be good with Ryan Pressly dominating the ninth inning duties. I still believe Houston is the team to beat in the West, but there’s no doubt the Mariners could be hot on their trail. Will we see them win a second straight AL pennant? It’ll be a tall task but depending on a few deadline deals it can always be in the mix.

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Los Angeles Angels

Manager: Joe Maddon (3rd year in LAA, Career record: 1,355-1,187, Team record: 103-119) – AGE: 68

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
SS	#22	David Fletcher	27	R/R	.262 AVG, 2 HR, 47 RBI, 15 SB
DH	#17	Shohei Ohtani	27	L/R	.257 AVG, 46 HR, 100 RBI, 26 SB
CF	#27	Mike Trout	30	R/R	.333 AVG, 8 HR, 18 RBI, .466 OBP
1B	#20	Jared Walsh	28	L/L	.277 AVG, 29 HR, 98 RBI, .340 OBP
3B	#6	Anthony Rendon	31	R/R	.240 AVG, 6 HR, 34 RBI, .329 OBP
LF	#7	Jo Adell	22	R/R	.246 AVG, 4 HR, 26 RBI, .295 OBP
RF	#16	Brandon Marsh	24	L/R	.254 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 6 SB
C	#24	Kurt Suzuki	38	R/R	.224 AVG, 6 HR, 16 RBI, .294 OBP
2B	#9	Jack Mayfield	31	R/R	.218 AVG, 10 HR, 39 RBI, 5 SB – SEA/LAA

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#33	Max Stassi	31	R/R	.241 AVG, 13 HR, 35 RBI, .326 OBP
UTIL	#18	José Rojas	29	L/R	.208 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI, .277 OBP
UTIL	#5	Matt Duffy	31	R/R	.287 AVG, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 8 SB – CHC
LF	#10	Justin Upton	34	R/R	.211 AVG, 17 HR, 41 RBI, .296 OBP
OF	#3	Taylor Ward	28	R/R	.250 AVG, 8 HR, 33 RBI, .332 OBP

–	POS.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#34	Noah Syndergaard	29	RHP	2 IP, 9.00 ERA, 2 Ks, 1.50 WHIP
SP/DH	#17	Shohei Ohtani	27	RHP	9-2, 3.18 ERA, 156 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
SP	#51	Jaime Barría	25	RHP	2-4, 4.61 ERA, 35 Ks, 1.37 WHIP
SP	#43	Patrick Sandoval	25	LHP	3-6, 3.62 ERA, 94 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
SP	#54	José Suarez	24	LHP	8-8, 3.75 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
SP	#48	Reid Detmers (R)	22	LHP	1-3, 7.40 ERA, 19 Ks, 1.79 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#32	Raisel Iglesias	32	RHP	34 SVs, 2.57 ERA, 103 Ks, 0.93 WHIP
SU	#25	Michael Lorenzen	30	RHP	4 SVs, 5.59 ERA, 21 Ks, 1.38 WHIP – CIN
RP	#28	Aaron Loup	34	LHP	6-0, 0.95 ERA, 57 Ks, 0.94 WHIP – NYM
RP	#51	Ryan Tepera	34	RHP	2 SVs, 2.79 ERA, 74 Ks, 0.88 WHIP – CHC/CWS
RP	#23	Archie Bradley	29	RHP	2 SVs, 3.71 ERA, 40 Ks, 1.43 WHIP – PHI
RP	#21	Mike Mayers	30	RHP	2 SVs, 3.84 ERA, 90 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
RP	#65	Jose Quijada	26	LHP	0-2, 4.56 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.36 WHIP
RP	#61	Austin Warren (R)	26	RHP	1 SV, 1.77 ERA, 20 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
RP	#66	Janson Junk (R)	26	RHP	0-1, 3.86 ERA, 10 Ks, 1.35 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#47	Griffin Canning	25	RHP	Back injury Potential return in June
SP	#73	Chris Rodriguez	23	RHP	Shoulder surgery Potential return in August

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: CF Mike Trout
Breakout Player: SP Reid Detmers
Grade: B-
Lineup Rank: 6th
Rotation Rank: 11th
Bullpen Rank: 5th

The Angels are an all around enigma as the team seems to be somewhat doing a good job every off-season then under perform. Again I don’t believe they improved into a World Series contender but they look like they have upgraded from last year. A healthy Anthony Rendon and Mike Trout will be key, and will be extremely lethal alongside AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. Top prospects Reid Detmers, Brandon Marsh, and Jo Adell will all have their first full seasons in the majors and will look to take big jumps. The team also added pitching which was much needed, but majority in the bullpen. Noah Syndergaard was signed to a lucrative one-year deal and veteran relievers Michael Lorenzen, Aaron Loup, Archie Bradley, and Ryan Tepera were added to beef up the bullpen.

On paper I think a fully heathy Angels team has one of the better lineups and bullpens in the AL. The rotation on the other handed is going to be relied heavily on some of the young guys taking huge steps such as Barria, Sandoval, and Suarez. But again the Angels always find a way to underperform so it’s very difficult to bet on them being a true playoff team. But the ceiling is rather high, and if they stay healthy it’s tough to not see them move up in a division that could be pretty open. I like the Angels to finish third and push for the extra playoff spot, but I do like their odds of making a run and changing the direction of the franchise this year.

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Oakland Athletics

Manager: Mark Kotsay (1st year) – AGE: 46

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#5	Tony Kemp	30	L/R	.279 AVG, 8 HR, 37 RBI, .382 OBP
RF	#25	Stephen Piscotty	31	R/R	.220 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI, .282 OBP
LF	#10	Chad Pinder	29	R/R	.243 AVG, 6 HR, 27 RBI, .300 OBP
DH	#15	Seth Brown	29	L/L	.214 AVG, 20 HR, 48 RBI, .274 OBP
1B	#4	Eric Thames	35	L/R	DNP – Played in NPB
C	#26	Stephen Vogt	37	L/R	.195 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI, .280 OBP – ARI/ATL
SS	#17	Elvis Andrus	33	R/R	.243 AVG, 3 HR, 37 RBI, 12 SB
CF	#20	Cristian Paché (R)	23	R/R	.111 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .152 OBP – ATL
3B	#31	Vimael Machín (R)	28	L/R	4/32, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .200 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#12	Sean Murphy	27	R/R	.216 AVG, 17 HR, 59 RBI, .306 OBP
INF	#8	Sheldon Neuse (R)	27	R/R	.169 AVG, 3 HR, 4 RBI, .182 OBP – LAD
3B/1B	#1	Kevin Smith (R)	25	R/R	3/32, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .194 OBP – TOR
CF	#13	Luis Barrera (R)	26	L/L	2/8, 0 HR, 0 RBI
OF	#11	Skye Bolt (R)	28	S/R	.088 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB – SF/OAK

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#47	Frankie Montas	29	RHP	13-9, 3.37 ERA, 207 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
SP	#32	James Kaprielian	28	RHP	8-5, 4.07 ERA, 123 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
SP	#19	Cole Irvin	28	LHP	10-15, 4.24 ERA, 125 Ks, 1.33 WHIP
SP	#33	A.J. Puk	26	LHP	0-3, 6.08 ERA, 16 Ks, 1.80 WHIP
SP	#58	Paul Blackburn	28	RHP	1-4, 5.87 ERA, 26 Ks, 1.62 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#62	Lou Trivino	30	RHP	22 SVs, 3.18 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
SU	#35	Deolis Guerra	32	RHP	4-1, 4.11 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
RP	#21	Adam Kolarek	33	LHP	9.0 IP, 8.00 ERA, 4 Ks, 2.22 WHIP
RP	#40	Sam Selman	31	LHP	0-1, 5.76 ERA, 19 Ks, 1.28 WHIP – SF/LAA
RP	#60	Sam Moll	30	LHP	0-0, 3.48 ERA, 8 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#68	Domingo Acevado (R)	28	RHP	0-0, 3.27 ERA, 9 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
RP	#66	Daulton Jefferies	26	RHP	1-0, 3.60 ERA, 8 Ks, 1.00 WHIP
RP	#45	Brent Honeywell Jr. (R)	26	RHP	4.1 IP, 8.31 ERA, 4 Ks, 1.85 WHIP – TB
RP	#36	Adam Oller (R)	27	RHP	NO STATS

POS.	NO.	RESTRICTED LIST	Age	B/T	Suspension length
CF	#22	Ramón Laureano	27	R/R	28 games, return in early May

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Shea Langeliers (Catcher, Age: 24, R/R, MLB Rank: #59)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SP Sean Manaea
Breakout Player: CF Cristian Paché
Grade: D-
Lineup Rank: 15th
Rotation Rank: 12th
Bullpen Rank: 15th

I’ll tell you what, once this team decides they want to start over they entire a rebuild fiercely. It was another let down year in 2021 for Oakland, getting so close and not making it over the edge. They decided to blow it all up this off-season and start from scratch, and they made huge moves by trading franchise cornerstones Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and Chris Bassitt. Mark Canha also left in free agency as the team looks to turn a corner into the future. Well this is where the difficult part starts as piecing together a lineup will not be easy. Veteran Eric Thames who spent last year in Japan was brought in on a Minor League deal and sluggers Stephen Piscotty, Elvis Andrus, and Chad Pinder now headline the lineup. Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, and Lou Trivino are still left over and will most likely try to be dealt before the deadline.

It’s sad when you know a team only has a few years to compete until they’ll be forced to either pay their players or move on from them. The “Moneyball” philosophy has boded somewhat well for them but in my opinion is a dumb excuse to a big problem in baseball. The Rays use the same technique but neither of these teams have ever won a World Series with this philosophy. I understand they don’t make as much as the big market teams, but Oakland should have much higher than a sub-$40m payroll. It’s pathetic and I feel for the fans. Sadly they’ll have to buckle up for probably another long rebuild in The Bay.

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Seattle Mariners

Manager: Scott Servais (7th year, Career/Team record: 438-432) – AGE: 54

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#26	Adam Frazier	30	L/R	.305 AVG, 5 HR, 43 RBI, 10 SB – PIT/SD
SS	#3	J.P. Crawford	27	L/R	.273 AVG, 9 HR, 54 RBI, .338 OBP
LF	#27	Jesse Winker	28	L/L	.305 AVG, 24 HR, 71 RBI, .394 OBP – CIN
DH	#17	Mitch Haniger	31	R/R	.253 AVG, 39 HR, 100 RBI, .318 OBP
3B	#28	Eugenio Suárez	30	R/R	.198 AVG, 31 HR, 79 RBI, .286 OBP – CIN
CF	#1	Kyle Lewis	26	R/R	.246 AVG, 5 HR, 11 RBI, .333 OBP
1B	#23	Ty France	27	R/R	.291 AVG, 18 HR, 73 RBI, .368 OBP
RF	#10	Jarred Kelenic	22	L/L	.181 AVG, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 6 SB
C	#2	Tom Murphy	30	R/R	.202 AVG, 11 HR, 34 RBI, .304 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#29	Cal Raleigh	25	S/R	.180 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI, .223 OBP
C/1B	#22	Luis Torrens	25	R/R	.243 AVG, 15 HR, 47 RBI, .299 OBP
UTIL	#25	Dylan Moore	29	R/R	.181 AVG, 12 HR, 43 RBI, 21 SB
INF	#13	Abraham Toro	25	S/R	.239 AVG, 11 HR, 46 RBI, 6 SB`
LF	#20	Taylor Trammell (R)	24	L/L	.160 AVG, 8 HR, 18 RBI, .256 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#38	Robbie Ray	30	LHP	13-7, 2.84 ERA, 248 Ks, 1.04 WHIP – TOR
SP	#7	Marco Gonzales	30	LHP	10-6, 3.96 ERA, 108 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
SP	#77	Chris Flexen	27	RHP	14-6, 3.61 ERA, 125 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
SP	#36	Logan Gilbert	24	RHP	6-5, 4.68 ERA, 128 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
SP	#33	Justus Sheffield	25	LHP	7-8, 6.83 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.84 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#16	Drew Steckenrider	31	RHP	14 SVs, 2.00 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.02 WHIP
SU	#63	Diego Castillo	28	RHP	16 SVs, 2.78 ERA, 75 Ks, 0.98 WHIP – TB/SEA
RP	#54	Sergio Romo	39	RHP	3 SVs, 4.67 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – OAK
RP	#37	Paul Sewald	31	RHP	11 SVs, 3.06 ERA, 104 Ks, 1.02 WHIP
RP	#38	Anthony Misiewicz	27	LHP	5-5, 4.61 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.39 WHIP
RP	#55	Yohan Ramirez	26	RHP	2 SVs, 3.90 ERA, 35 Ks, 1.08 WHIP
RP	#75	Andrés Muñoz	23	RHP	0.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 K, 3.00 WHIP
RP	#52	Nick Margevicius	25	LHP	0-2, 8.25 ERA, 12 Ks, 1.67 WHIP
RP	#50	Erik Swanson	28	RHP	0-3, 3.31 ERA, 35 Ks, 1.08 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#65	Casey Sadler	31	RHP	Shoulder surgery Likely to miss the entire season
CP	#58	Ken Giles	31	RHP	Tommy John Surgery

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Julio Rodríguez (Outfield, Age: 21, R/R, MLB Rank: #3)
Matt Brash (Pitcher, Age: 23, RHP, MLB Rank: #98)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SP Robbie Ray
Breakout Player: LF Taylor Trammell
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 8th
Rotation Rank: 8th
Bullpen Rank: 7th

The Mariners enter the year coming off of one of their best seasons in recent franchise memory, and they only got better. First big move was adding reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to become the team’s ace, a move that not only bolsters their rotation but gives them a legitimate star. The trade market also boded well for them as they acquired all-stars Adam Frazier, Jesse Winker, and Eugenio Suarez via trades to beef up a lineup that already was solid last season. A full year of Jarred Kelenic should show a lot of improvement and the incoming arrival of baseball’s #4 prospect Julio Rodriguez will give them an extremely overcrowded outfield. With these new pieces not only is Seattle’s lineup becoming elite, it’s also extremely young and controllable. Jumping from this, the rotation also was solid last season, Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen, and Logan Gilbert all becoming solid arms to rely on. Drew Steckendrider and Diego Castillo supplied a solid one-two punch in the back end and now will be joined by veteran Sergio Romo.

To be honest, a division crown is not far fetched for this crew as I’m not completely sold on the Astros and the rest of the new look teams in the division. I really like what the Mariners did and Scott Servais is a very good manager, the sky is becoming the limit for a franchise who is desperate for their first AL pennant and World Series title.

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Texas Rangers

Manager: Chris Woodward (4th year, Career/Team record: 160-224) – AGE: 45

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#2	Marcus Semien	31	R/R	.265 AVG, 45 HR, 102 RBI, 15 SB – TOR
SS	#5	Corey Seager	27	L/R	.306 AVG, 16 HR, 57 RBI, .394 OBP – LAD
CF	#53	Adolis García	29	R/R	.243 AVG, 31 HR, 90 RBI, 16 SB
1B	#30	Nate Lowe	26	L/R	.264 AVG, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 8 SB
C	#18	Mitch Garver	31	R/R	.256 AVG, 13 HR, 34 RBI, .358 OBP – MIN
3B	#15	Nick Solak	27	R/R	.242 AVG, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 7 SB
LF	#4	Willie Calhoun	27	L/R	.250 AVG, 6 HR, 25 RBI, .310 OBP
DH	#13	Brad Miller	32	L/R	.227 AVG, 20 HR, 49 RBI, .321 OBP – PHI
RF	#56	Kole Calhoun	34	L/L	.235 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI, .297 OBP – ARI

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#28	Jonah Heim	26	S/R	.196 AVG, 10 HR, 32 RBI,
UTIL	#77	Andy Ibáñez	28	R/R	.277 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI, .321 OBP
INF	#12	Matt Carpenter	36	L/R	.169 AVG, 3 HR, 21 RBI, .305 OBP – STL
CF	#16	Jake Marisnick	31	R/R	.216 AVG, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 4 SB – CHC/SD
OF	#3	Leody Tavares	23	S/R	.161 AVG, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 10 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#22	Jon Gray	30	RHP	8-12, 4.59 ERA, 157 Ks, 1.33 WHIP – COL
SP	#43	Garrett Richards	33	RHP	7-8, 4.87 ERA, 115 Ks, 1.60 WHIP – BOS
SP	#54	Martin Perez	30	LHP	7-8, 4.74 ERA, 97 Ks, 1.51 WHIP – BOS
SP	#33	Dane Dunning	27	RHP	5-10, 4.51 ERA, 114 Ks, 1.44 WHIP
SP	#31	Spencer Howard	25	RHP	0-5, 7.43 ERA, 52 Ks, 1.61 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#68	Joe Barlow	26	RHP	11 SVs, 1.55 ERA, 27 Ks, 0.83 WHIP
SU	#59	Brett Martin	26	LHP	4-4, 3.18 ERA, 42 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
RP	#66	Josh Sborz	28	RHP	1 SV, 3.97 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
RP	#61	Spencer Patton	34	RHP	2 SVs, 3.83 ERA, 48 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
RP	#19	Dennis Santana	25	RHP	2-4, 4.28 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.46 WHIP – LAD/TEX
RP	#57	Nick Snyder (R)	26	RHP	3.2 IP, 4.91 ERA, 1 K, 1.64 WHIP
RP	#52	Taylor Hearn	27	LHP	6-6, 4.66 ERA, 92 Ks, 1.32 WHIP
RP	#62	A.J. Alexy (R)	23	RHP	3-1, 4.70 ERA, 17 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
RP	#39	Kolby Allard	24	LHP	3-12, 5.41 ERA, 104 Ks, 1.28 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#25	José Leclerc	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Josh Jung (Third Base, Age: 24, R/R, MLB Rank: #29)
Cole Winn (Pitcher, Age: 22, RHP, MLB Rank: #48)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SS Corey Seager
Breakout Player: SP Spencer Howard
Grade: C-
Lineup Rank: 11th
Rotation Rank: 13th
Bullpen Rank: 13th

The Rangers enter the new season fresh off of another disappointing year, yet a successful off-season. After trading away some of the team’s key pieces last year, Texas looked to bring in some new franchise cornerstones. In doing so, they signed star SS Corey Seager to a 10-year, $325m deal and star 2B Marcus Semien to a 7-year, $175m deal. They also added Rockies young budding ace Jon Gray to a 4-year, $56m deal. These three moves I think are game changers for the team, especially in Seager and Semien who give them two legitimate stars for the long haul to build the entire offense around. The rest of the team is still a work in progress though, as a lot of their top prospects are still awaiting arrivals. Adolis Garcia, Nate Lowe, and Mitch Garver all should add good additional middle of the order bats and veterans Kole Calhoun and Brad Miller can give solid depth.

On the pitching front, Garrett Richards and Martin Perez were brought in to try to beef up a rotation with new ace Gray. Top prospect Jack Leiter is still probably a year away so a few bridge pieces until him and other top prospect Cole Winn are ready is what the team needs. The bullpen is lacking a bit but had some solid under the radar performers a year ago. Joe Barlow, Brett Martin, and Josh Sborz will hold down the back end while the team awaits Jose Leclerc’s return around mid-season. The Rangers definitely won’t compete this year, barring any insane developments but they are on the fast track to becoming relevant again soon. After giving their middle infielders a 10-year and 7-year deal, the goal isn’t quite to win this year, but to grow a team that will be a force for the future.

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MVP: Juan Soto, WSH
CY YOUNG: Max Fried, ATL
MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Craig Counsell, MIL
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Seiya Suzuki, CHC

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Atlanta Braves

Manager: Brian Snitker (7th year, Career/Team record: 441-390) – AGE: 66

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#1	Ozzie Albies	25	S/R	.259 AVG, 30 HR, 106 RBI, 20 SB
SS	#7	Dansby Swanson	28	R/R	.248 AVG, 27 HR, 88 RBI, .311 OBP
3B	#27	Austin Riley	24	R/R	.303 AVG, 33 HR, 107 RBI, .367 OBP
1B	#28	Matt Olson	27	L/R	.271 AVG, 39 HR, 111 RBI, .371 OBP – OAK
RF	#14	Adam Duvall	33	R/R	.228 AVG, 38 HR, 113 RBI, .287 OBP – MIA/ATL
LF	#20	Marcell Ozuna	31	R/R	.213 AVG, 7 HR, 26 RBI, .288 OBP
DH	#8	Eddie Rosario	30	L/R	.259 AVG, 14 HR, 62 RBI, 11 SB – CLE/ATL
C	#16	Travis d’Arnaud	33	R/R	.220 AVG, 7 HR, 26 RBI, .284 OBP
CF	#38	Guillermo Heredia	31	R/L	.220 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI, .311 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#9	Manny Piña	34	R/R	.189 AVG, 13 HR, 33 RBI, .293 OBP – MIL
C	#24	William Contreras	24	R/R	.215 AVG, 8 HR, 23 RBI, .303 OBP
INF	#11	Orlando Arcia	27	R/R	.198 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 1 SB – MIL/ATL
UTIL	#17	Brock Holt	33	L/R	.209 AVG, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 5 SB – TEX
LF	#25	Alex Dickerson	31	L/L	.233 AVG, 13 HR, 38 RBI, .304 OBP – SF

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#54	Max Fried	28	LHP	14-7, 3.04 ERA, 158 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
SP	#50	Charlie Morton	38	RHP	14-6, 3.34 ERA, 216 Ks, 1.04 WHIP
SP	#36	Ian Anderson	23	RHP	9-5, 3.58 ERA, 124 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
SP	#19	Huascar Ynoa	23	RHP	4-6, 4.05 ERA, 100 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
SP	#64	Tucker Davidson (R)	25	LHP	20 IP, 3.60 ERA, 18 Ks, 1.15 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#74	Kenley Jansen	34	RHP	38 SVs, 2.22 ERA, 86 Ks, 1.04 WHIP – LAD
SU	#51	Will Smith	32	LHP	37 SVs, 3.44 ERA, 87 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
RP	#68	Tyler Matzek	31	LHP	0-4, 2.57 ERA, 77 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
RP	#77	Luke Jackson	30	RHP	2-2, 1.98 ERA, 70 Ks, 1.16 WHIP
RP	#33	A.J. Minter	28	LHP	3-6, 3.78 ERA, 57 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
RP	#71	Jacob Webb	28	RHP	1 SV, 4.19 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.51 WHIP
RP	#56	Darren O’Day	39	RHP	10.2 IP, 3.38 ERA, 11 Ks, 1.22 WHIP – NYY
RP	#15	Sean Newcomb	28	LHP	1 SV, 4.73 ERA, 43 Ks, 1.70 WHIP
RP	#32	Collin McHugh	34	RHP	1 SV, 1.55 ERA, 74 Ks, 0.94 WHIP – TB

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
CF	#13	Ronald Acuña Jr.	24	R/R	Torn ACL Potential return in May
SP	#40	Mike Soroka	24	RHP	Torn achilles Potential return in July
RP	#49	Kirby Yates	35	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in July

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Drew Waters (Outfield, Age: 23, S/R, ATL Rank: #3)
Bryce Elder (Pitcher, Age: 22, RHP, ATL Rank: #5)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: CF Ronald Acuña Jr.
Breakout Player: SP Tucker Davidson
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 2nd
Rotation Rank: 7th
Bullpen Rank: 2nd

Now entering the National League we have the reigning World Series Champions the Atlanta Braves. A lot has happened since the team won their first title since 1995 back in October, as a lockout spoiled the off-season and the team came to terms with the departure of franchise icon Freddie Freeman. A move that in my opinion was complete disrespect to the best hitter in franchise history not named Hank Aaron (yes he’s ahead of Chipper Jones). They opted to go younger and traded for Oakland star Matt Olson and subsequently gave him an 8-year, $168m extension. Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario were also brought back to beef up an outfield that will feature the return of Marcell Ozuna from Domestic Violence suspension. Of course Albies, Swanson, and Riley will add a dynamic top 7 in the order that now has a DH.

On the pitching front, Mike Soroka is expected to return at some point mid-season after tearing his achilles in 2020 and tearing it again in rehab last season. Max Fried and all-star Charlie Morton have created a dynamic front of the rotation with young phenom Ian Anderson. One of the league’s best closers over the past decade in Kenley Jansen was brought in to create an 8th/9th inning duo with Will Smith that comes to par with the White Sox. The Braves will be at the top of the league yet again and should be able to duke it out with the new look Mets for first in the NL East.

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Miami Marlins

Manager: Don Mattingly (7th year in MIA, Career record: 829-857, Team record: 374-494) – AGE: 61

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#2	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	24	L/R	.248 AVG, 18 HR, 53 RBI, 23 SB
SS	#11	Miguel Rojas	33	R/R	.265 AVG, 9 HR, 48 RBI, 13 SB
LF	#15	Brian Anderson	28	R/R	.249 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI, .337 OBP
1B	#99	Jesús Aguilar	31	R/R	.261 AVG, 22 HR, 93 RBI, .329 OBP
DH	#12	Jorge Soler	30	R/R	.223 AVG, 27 HR, 70 RBI, .316 OBP – KC/ATL
3B	#18	Joey Wendle	31	L/R	.265 AVG, 11 HR, 54 RBI, 8 SB – TB
RF	#24	Avisaíl García	30	R/R	.262 AVG, 29 HR, 86 RBI, 8 SB – MIL
CF	#14	Bryan De La Cruz	25	R/R	.296 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .356 OBP
C	#58	Jacob Stallings	32	R/R	.246 AVG, 8 HR, 53 RBI, .335 OBP – PIT

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#23	Alex Jackson	26	R/R	.137 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI, .252 OBP – ATL/MIA
1B/LF	#34	Lewin Díaz	25	L/L	.205 AVG, 8 HR, 13 RBI, .242 OBP
UTIL	#5	Jon Berti	32	R/R	.210 AVG, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 8 SB
RF/1B	#26	Garrett Cooper	31	R/R	.284 AVG, 9 HR, 33 RBI, .380 OBP
OF	#7	Jesús Sánchez	24	L/R	.251 AVG, 14 HR, 36 RBI, .319 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#22	Sandy Alcantara	26	RHP	9-15, 3.19 ERA, 201 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
SP	#28	Trevor Rogers	24	LHP	7-8, 2.64 ERA, 157 Ks, 1.15 WHIP
SP	#49	Pablo López	26	RHP	5-5, 3.07 ERA, 115 Ks, 1.12 WHIP
SP	#44	Jesús Luzardo	24	LHP	6-9, 6.61 ERA, 98 Ks, 1.62 WHIP – OAK/MIA
SP	#27	Edward Cabrera (R)	23	RHP	0-3, 5.81 ERA, 28 Ks, 1.63 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#36	Dylan Floro	31	RHP	15 SVs, 2.81 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
SU	#52	Anthony Bass	34	RHP	3-9, 3.82 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
RP	#35	Richard Bleier	34	LHP	3-2, 2.95 ERA, 44 Ks, 0.98 WHIP
RP	#48	Steven Okert	30	LHP	3-1, 2.75 ERA, 40 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
RP	#55	Anthony Bender	27	RHP	3 SVs, 2.79 ERA, 71 Ks, 1.06 WHIP
RP	#38	Louis Head	31	RHP	2-0, 2.31 ERA, 32 Ks, 0.86 WHIP – TB
RP	#56	Zach Pop	25	RHP	1-0, 4.12 ERA, 51 Ks, 1.43 WHIP
RP	#20	Daniel Castano	27	LHP	0-2, 4.87 ERA, 13 Ks, 1.48 WHIP
RP	#57	Elieser Hernandez	26	RHP	1-3, 4.18 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.32 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#45	Sixto Sánchez	23	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Max Meyer (Pitcher, Age: 23, RHP, MLB Rank: #35)
J.J. Bleday (Outfield, Age: 24, L/L, MLB Rank: #69)
Peyton Burdick (Outfield, Age: 25, R/R, MIA Rank: #10)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SP Sandy Alcantara
Breakout Player: SP Edward Cabrera
Grade: C-
Lineup Rank: 13th
Rotation Rank: 9th
Bullpen Rank: 14th

The Fish enter the 2022 season in a very weird situation as the team begins to try to trend upward. After buying into ownership, Yankee great Derek Jeter left his stake in Miami due to frustration on where the team was headed. Regardless, a few new additions were brought in on the offensive side with sluggers Avisail Garcia and Jorge Soler. Jacob Stallings was also acquired as the team’s full-time backstop coming off of his Gold Glove season in Pittsburgh. Tampa slasher Joey Wendle will also provide some depth around the infield to add to a core of Brian Anderson, Jazz Chisholm, and Miguel Rojas. On the pitching front, Sandy Alcantara was extended and Trevor Rogers emerged as an all-star in 2021. Top prospect Edward Cabrera and former top prospect Jesus Luzardo will be looked on to take some big steps in the right direction this year. The bullpen will consist of a few familiar faces that all performed well above expectation a season ago. Dylan Floro, Richard Bleier, Steven Okert, and Anthony Bender are all coming off of career years and will look to keep up their consistency.

In a division that’s crowded with three teams with deep playoff aspirations in Atlanta, New York, and Philadelphia, it’s going to be tough to be truly competitive. Miami has definitely accumulated the young talent and should be able to compete soon, but the question will be when? That I don’t know but a step in the right direction for 2022 would be to hover around .500 and give some teams fits.

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New York Mets

Manager: Buck Showalter (1st year in NYM, Career record: 1,551-1,517) – AGE: 66

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#6	Starling Marté	33	R/R	.308 AVG, 12 HR, 55 RBI, 47 SB – MIA/OAK
RF	#9	Brandon Nimmo	29	L/R	.292 AVG, 8 HR, 28 RBI, .401 OBP
SS	#12	Francisco Lindor	28	S/R	.230 AVG, 20 HR, 63 RBI, .322 OBP
1B	#20	Pete Alonso	27	R/R	.262 AVG, 37 HR, 94 RBI, .344 OBP
3B	#10	Eduardo Escobar	33	S/R	.253 AVG, 28 HR, 90 RBI, 1 SB – ARI/MIL
2B	#1	Jeff McNeil	29	L/R	.249 AVG, 7 HR, 35 RBI, .317 OBP
DH	#2	Dominic Smith	26	L/L	.244 AVG, 11 HR, 58 RBI, .304 OBP
LF	#19	Mark Canha	33	R/R	.231 AVG, 17 HR, 61 RBI, .358 OBP – OAK
C	#33	James McCann	31	R/R	.232 AVG, 10 HR, 46 RBI, .294 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#3	Tomás Nido	27	R/R	.222 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI, .261 OBP
2B	#24	Robinson Canó	39	L/R	DNP – Suspended
INF	#13	Luis Guillorme	27	L/R	.265 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .374 OBP
3B/LF	#28	J.D. Davis	28	R/R	.285 AVG, 5 HR, 23 RBI, .384 OBP
CF	#16	Travis Jankowski	30	L/R	.252 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 5 SB – PHI

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#21	Max Scherzer	37	RHP	15-4, 2.46 ERA, 236 Ks, 0.86 WHIP – WAS/LAD
SP	#40	Chris Bassitt	33	RHP	12-4, 3.15 ERA, 159 Ks, 1.06 WHIP – OAK
SP	#99	Taijuan Walker	29	RHP	7-11, 4.47 ERA, 146 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
SP	#59	Carlos Carrasco	35	RHP	1-5, 6.04 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.43 WHIP
SP	#38	Tylor Megill	26	RHP	4-6, 4.52 ERA, 99 Ks, 1.28 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#39	Edwin Díaz	28	RHP	32 SVs, 3.45 ERA, 89 Ks, 1.05 WHIP
SU	#65	Trevor May	32	RHP	4 SVs, 3.59 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#67	Seth Lugo	32	RHP	1 SV, 3.50 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
RP	#0	Adam Ottavino	36	RHP	11 SVs, 4.21 ERA, 71 Ks, 1.45 WHIP – BOS
RP	#62	Drew Smith	28	RHP	3-1, 2.40 ERA, 41 Ks, 1.06 WHIP
RP	#30	Joely Rodríguez	30	LHP	1 SV, 4.66 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.53 WHIP – TEX/NYY
RP	#43	Chasen Shreve	31	LHP	3-3, 3.20 ERA, 45 Ks, 1.26 WHIP – PIT
RP	#29	Trevor Williams	29	RHP	4-2, 4.35 ERA, 90 Ks, 1.49 WHIP – CHC/NYM
RP	#23	David Peterson	26	LHP	2-6, 5.54 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.40 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
SP	#48	Jacob deGrom	33	RHP	Shoulder strain Potential return in May
SP	#47	Joey Lucchesi	28	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss all of the season
RP	#72	Jake Reed	29	RHP	Oblique soreness Potential return in May

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Brett Baty (Third Base, Age: 22, L/R, MLB Rank: #27)
Mark Vientos (Infielder, Age: 22, R/R, NYM Rank: #4)
Nick Plummer (Outfield, Age: 25, L/L, NYM Rank: #8)
Jose Butto (Pitcher, Age: 24, RHP, NYM Rank: #12)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SP Jacob deGrom
Breakout Player: INF Mark Vientos
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 6th
Rotation Rank: 1st
Bullpen Rank: 5th

You can argue the Mets had the MLB’s best off-season, and yes I’ll be the first one to agree with the argument. Several disappointing years in a row has left a sour taste in the mouth of new owner Steve Cohen and he was determined to spend on all of the needs the team has. On the offensive front, Starling Marte signed a 4-year, $72m deal, and Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar were added on 2-year deals to help beef up the infield and lineup depth. Three moves that were incredibly needed in a division against the new look Phillies and the reigning champion Braves. Then on the pitching side, the greatest pitcher of our generation, Max Scherzer, was signed to an incredible 3-year deal, making roughly $43m per year. Adding him to Jacob deGrom makes for one of the best one-two punches we’ve seen in a long time across the league. All-star Chris Bassitt was also added via trade with the Athletics to give the Mets a rotation of five former all-stars and two multi-Cy Young award winners. In the bullpen, veterans Adam Ottavino and Chasen Shreve will add depth to an already solid back end of Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, and Trevor May.

Sure anytime huge money is dished out like this there will always be some concerns, the biggest one being paying a 37-year-old staring pitcher $40m+ per season. But these are moves the team had to make, as the rotation was beginning to look depleted after losing Noah Syndergaard. They have also desperately needed a high stolen base/defensive CF for a long time and got that in Starling Marte. Things weren’t working with the offense and pitching that the team has had over the past five years, and re-shuffling the deck was much needed to try to bring a winning culture back to Queens. I have extremely high hopes for this team, and if they stay healthy, their floor should be a Wild Card and the ceiling should be a World Series appearance. No way around it.

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Philadelphia Phillies

Manager: Joe Girardi (3rd year in PHI, Career record: 1,098-906, Team record: 110-112) – AGE: 57

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#37	Odúbel Herrera	30	L/R	.260 AVG, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 6 SB
2B	#2	Jean Segura	32	R/R	.290 AVG, 14 HR, 58 RBI, 9 SB
RF	#3	Bryce Harper	29	L/R	.309 AVG, 35 HR, 84 RBI, .429 OBP
C	#10	J.T. Realmuto	31	R/R	.263 AVG, 17 HR, 73 RBI, .343 OBP
LF	#8	Nick Castellanos	30	R/R	.309 AVG, 34 HR, 100 RBI, .362 OBP – CIN
DH	#12	Kyle Schwarber	29	L/R	.266 AVG, 32 HR, 71 RBI, .435 OBP – WAS/BOS
1B	#17	Rhys Hoskins	29	R/R	.247 AVG, 27 HR, 71 RBI, .334 OBP
SS	#18	Didi Gregorius	32	L/R	.209 AVG, 13 HR, 54 RBI, .270 OBP
3B	#28	Alec Bohm	25	R/R	.247 AVG, 7 HR, 47 RBI, .305 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#21	Garrett Stubbs	28	L/R	6/34, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .222 OBP – HOU
UTIL	#7	Johan Camargo	28	S/R	0/16 – ATL
2B/SS	#29	Nick Maton (R)	25	L/R	.256 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .323 OBP
OF	#16	Mickey Moniak (R)	23	L/R	3/33, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .167 OBP
OF	#19	Matt Vierling (R)	25	R/R	.324 AVG, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#45	Zack Wheeler	31	RHP	14-10, 2.78 ERA, 247 Ks, 1.01 WHIP
SP	#27	Aaron Nola	28	RHP	9-9, 4.63 ERA, 223 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
SP	#44	Kyle Gibson	34	RHP	10-9, 3.71 ERA, 155 Ks, 1.22 WHIP – TEX/PHI
SP	#55	Ranger Suárez	26	LHP	8-5, 1.36 ERA, 107 Ks, 1.00 WHIP
SP	#56	Zach Eflin	27	RHP	4-7, 4.17 ERA, 99 Ks, 1.25 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#52	Brad Hand	32	LHP	21 SVs, 3.90 ERA, 61 Ks, 1.27 WHIP – WAS/TOR/NYM
SU	#31	Jeurys Familia	32	RHP	1 SV, 3.94 ERA, 72 Ks, 1.42 WHIP – NYM
RP	#23	Corey Knebel	30	RHP	3 SVs, 2.45 ERA, 30 Ks, 0.97 WHIP – LAD
RP	#46	José Alvarado	26	LHP	5 SVs, 4.20 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.60 WHIP
RP	#58	Seranthony Domínguez	27	RHP	1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 K, 0.00 WHIP
RP	#54	Sam Coonrod	29	RHP	2-2, 4.04 ERA, 48 Ks, 1.32 WHIP
RP	#75	Connor Brogdon	27	RHP	1 SV, 3.43 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
RP	#60	Ryan Sherriff	31	LHP	1 SV, 5.52 ERA, 16 Ks, 1.57 WHIP – TB
RP	#61	Cristopher Sánchez (R)	25	LHP	1-0, 4.97 ERA, 13 Ks, 1.82 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#79	JoJo Romero	25	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in August

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Bryson Stott (Short Stop, Age: 24, L/R, MLB Rank: #45)
Logan O’Hoppe (Catcher, Age: 22, R/R, PHI Rank: #5)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: RF Bryce Harper
Breakout Player: 2B Nick Maton
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 4th
Rotation Rank: 8th
Bullpen Rank: 8th

The Phillies definitely saw the Braves and Mets come out hot in free agency and felt like they had to respond after yet another mediocre year. Entering year 4 of the Bryce Harper era, Philly added sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos to an already stacked lineup. It looks like they may have gone a little too far into the excitement of the new DH as the team has two guys who are deemed as positionless. And when it comes to one of the worst defenses in baseball last season, you can’t help but think the team will take even more of a step back in that regard. But they truly believe that it won’t matter, as a middle of the order of Harper, Castellanos, Schwarber, and Realmuto has the ability to outscore the best of them. But the pitching is more of the issue as the team will rely heavily on Ranger Suarez and Zach Eflin to support the top end of Wheeler, Nola, and Gibson. Nola has been taking steps backwards over the last couple of years and it’s tough to imagine Zack Wheeler not taking a step back after back-to-back years of no injuries. Regardless their bullpen struggled last year and they got a bit better by adding veterans Brad Hand, Jeurys Familia, and Corey Knebel to beef up the back end.

I’m definitely being very critical of the Phillies but it’s tough not to be when the team isn’t completely well rounded. I think they’ll do a great job of scoring runs, and have the ability of have two or three all-stars in their lineup. But defense is going to be tough to imagine improving from an all-time horrible performance last year. It’s going to take a lot for them to catch up to the Braves and Mets in the division but if all goes right they should be a Wild Card contender.

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Washington Nationals

Manager: Dave Martinez (5th year, Career/Team record: 266-280) – AGE: 57

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
LF	#28	Lane Thomas	26	R/R	.235 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 6 SB – STL/WSH
SS	#3	Alcides Escobar	35	R/R	.288 AVG, 4 HR, 28 RBI, .340 OBP
RF	#22	Juan Soto	23	L/L	.313 AVG, 29 HR, 95 RBI, .465 OBP
DH	#23	Nelson Cruz	41	R/R	.265 AVG, 32 HR, 86 RBI, 3 SB – MIN/TB
1B	#19	Josh Bell	29	S/R	.261 AVG, 27 HR, 88 RBI, .347 OBP
2B	#1	César Hernández	31	S/R	.232 AVG, 21 HR, 62 RBI, 1 SB – CLE/CWS
C	#20	Keibert Ruiz (R)	23	S/R	.273 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .333 OBP – LAD/WSH
3B	#6	Maikel Franco	29	R/R	.210 AVG, 11 HR, 37 RBI, .253 OBP – BAL
CF	#16	Victor Robles	24	R/R	.203 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI, .310 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#38	Tres Barrera (R)	27	R/R	.264 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .374 OBP
INF	#2	Luis García	21	L/R	.242 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI, .275 OBP
UTIL	#5	Ehire Adrianza	32	S/R	.247 AVG, 5 HR, 28 RBI, .327 OBP – ATL
LF	#29	Yadiel Hernandez	34	L/R	.273 AVG, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 3 SB
OF	#17	Andrew Stevenson	27	L/L	.229 AVG, 5 HR, 23 RBI, .294 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#46	Patrick Corbin	32	LHP	9-16, 5.82 ERA, 143 Ks, 1.47 WHIP
SP	#32	Erick Fedde	29	RHP	7-9, 5.47 ERA, 128 Ks, 1.44 WHIP
SP	#40	Josiah Gray	24	RHP	2-2, 5.48 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.36 WHIP – LAD/WSH
SP	#30	Paolo Espino	35	RHP	5-5, 4.27 ERA, 92 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
SP	#34	Aníbal Sánchez	38	RHP	DNP – SAT OUT

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#67	Kyle Finnegan	30	RHP	11 SVs, 3.55 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.48 WHIP
SU	#33	Steve Cishek	35	RHP	0-2, 3.42 ERA, 64 Ks, 1.49 WHIP – LAA
RP	#36	Will Harris	37	RHP	6 IP, 9.00 ERA, 9 Ks, 1.67 WHIP
RP	#49	Sam Clay	28	LHP	0-5, 5.60 ERA, 34 Ks, 1.71 WHIP
RP	#63	Sean Doolittle	35	LHP	1 SV, 4.53 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.47 WHIP – CIN/SEA
RP	#73	Hunter Harvey	27	RHP	8.2 IP, 4.15 ERA, 6 Ks, 1.27 WHIP – BAL
RP	#21	Tanner Rainey	29	RHP	3 SVs, 7.39 ERA, 42 Ks, 1.71 WHIP
RP	#71	Mason Thompson	24	RHP	1-3, 4.01 ERA, 23 Ks, 1.91 WHIP
RP	#50	Austin Voth	29	RHP	4-1, 5.34 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.48 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#37	Stephen Strasburg	33	RHP	Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Potential return in May
SP	#41	Joe Ross	28	RHP	Elbow injury Potential return in June
3B	#8	Carter Kieboom	24	R/R	Forearm injury Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Cade Cavalli (Catcher, Age: 23, R/R, MLB Rank: #39)
Gerardo Carillo (Pitcher, Age: 23, RHP, WSH Rank: #7)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: RF Juan Soto
Breakout Player: SP Josiah Gray
Grade: C-
Lineup Rank: 11th
Rotation Rank: 14th
Bullpen Rank: 12th

The Nats enter the new season just three years removed from their World Series title and already set to enter a rebuild. After a mediocre start to last season, Washington decided to blow it all up by trading franchise icons Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers. This vaulted a rebuild that will lead into this season with young star Juan Soto as the key piece to build around. Now that the DH has been added league-wide, Nelson Cruz has rejoined the National League with the Nats. He’ll join a lineup with Soto, young first baseman Josh Bell, and a couple of veterans in Alcides Escobar and Maikel Franco. Keibert Ruiz was one of the key returns in the Scherzer deal and will look to break out in his first fill season as the starting catcher.

The rotation is very decimated, with only Patrick Corbin and the always injured Stephen Strasburg remaining from their championship team. Josiah Gray was another big prospect they received via trade and will look to make steps in the right direction. Veterans Steve Cishek and Sean Doolittle were brought in to add depth to a bullpen full of young guys trying to make a name for themselves. It’s a weird mix of veteran talent and unproven youngsters on this Washington team, just enough to make it very tough to predict what they will do. My guess is they’ll be hoping for good first halves from Nelson Cruz, Escobar, and Hernandez and try to deal them at the deadline for more prospects. Corbin and Strasburg are not on team friendly deals and will probably not have any suitors to take them off of Washington’s hands. It’s a tough division and the Nats are starting from scratch, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be seeing much of a run from them in 2022.

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Chicago Cubs

Manager: David Ross (3rd year, Career/Team record: 105-117) – AGE: 45

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#66	Rafael Ortega	30	L/R	.291 AVG, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 12 SB
DH	#16	Patrick Wisdom	30	R/R	.231 AVG, 28 HR, 61 RBI, .305 OBP
LF	#8	Ian Happ	27	S/R	.226 AVG, 25 HR, 66 RBI, .323 OBP
C	#40	Willson Contreras	29	R/R	.237 AVG, 21 HR, 57 RBI, .340 OBP
RF	#27	Seiya Suzuki (R)	27	R/R	DNP – NPB
1B	#18	Frank Schwindel	29	R/R	.326 AVG, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 2 SB – OAK/CHC
3B	#24	Jonathan Villar	30	S/R	.249 AVG, 18 HR, 42 RBI, 14 SB – NYM
SS	#19	Andrelton Simmons	32	R/R	.223 AVG, 3 HR, 31 RBI, .283 OBP – MIN
2B	#1	Nick Madrigal	25	R/R	.305 AVG, 2 HR, 21 RBI, .349 OBP – CWS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#7	Yan Gomes	34	R/R	.252 AVG, 14 HR, 52 RBI, .301 OBP – WSH/OAK
INF	#2	Nico Hoerner	24	R/R	.302 AVG, 0 HR, 16 RBI, 5 SB
1B/OF	#67	Alfonso Rivas (R)	25	L/L	14/44, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .388 OBP
RF	#22	Jason Heyward	32	L/L	.214 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI, .280 OBP
LF	#77	Clint Frazier	27	R/R	.186 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI, .317 OBP – NYY

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#28	Kyle Hendricks	32	RHP	14-7, 4.77 ERA, 131 Ks, 1.35 WHIP
SP	#0	Marcus Stroman	30	RHP	10-13, 3.02 ERA, 158 Ks, 1.15 WHIP – NYM
SP	#20	Wade Miley	35	LHP	12-7, 3.37 ERA, 125 Ks, 1.33 WHIP – CIN
SP	#11	Drew Smyly	32	LHP	11-4, 4.48 ERA, 117 Ks, 1.37 WHIP – ATL
SP	#71	Keegan Thompson	27	RHP	3-3, 3.38 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.48 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#60	Mychal Givens	31	RHP	8 SVs, 3.35 ERA, 54 Ks, 1.37 WHIP – COL/CIN
SU	#58	Chris Martin	35	RHP	1 SV, 3.95 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.27 WHIP – ATL
RP	#37	David Robertson	36	RHP	0-0, 4.50 ERA, 16 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – TB
RP	#50	Rowan Wick	29	RHP	5 SVs, 4.30 ERA, 29 Ks, 1.35 WHIP
RP	#39	Manuel Rodríguez (R)	25	RHP	1 SV, 6.11 ERA, 16 Ks, 1.70 WHIP
RP	#43	Jesse Chavez	38	RHP	3-2, 2.14 ERA, 36 Ks, 0.98 WHIP – ATL
RP	#49	Daniel Norris	28	LHP	2-3, 6.16 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.49 WHIP – DET/MIL
RP	#35	Justin Steele	26	LHP	4-4, 4.26 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.35 WHIP
RP	#30	Alec Mills	30	RHP	6-7, 5.07 ERA, 87 Ks, 1.44 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
UTIL	#13	David Bote	29	R/R	Shoulder injury Potential return in May
SP	#73	Adbert Alzolay	27	RHP	Shoulder strain Potential return in July
RP	#12	Codi Heuer	25	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Will miss all of the season
RP	#38	Brad Weick	30	LHP	Elbow strain Potential return in May

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Brennen Davis (Outfield, Age: 22, R/R, MLB Rank: #15)
Caleb Killian (Pitcher, Age: 24, RHP, CHC Rank: #4)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: C Willson Contreras
Breakout Player: 2B Nick Madrigal
Grade: C
Lineup Rank: 12th
Rotation Rank: 10th
Bullpen Rank: 10th

The Cubs enter the new year in a weird situation where it seemed as thought the team was embracing a rebuild by trading away their star pieces last deadline, but were not shy on bringing in a bunch of veterans. They signed Marcus Stroman, Japanese phenom Seiya Suzuki, Jonathan Villar, Andrelton Simmons, Mychal Givens, and Chris Martin to deals in hopes of bolstering the team’s depleted roster. After their fire sale last deadline, Oakland reject Frank Schwindel and journeyman Patrick Wisdom got increased playing time and ended up having stellar years. These two bats will be looked on as potential young cornerstone pieces to go along with veterans Ian Happ and Willson Contreras. Clint Frazier was also brought in after being non-tendered by the Yankees and will fight for an outfield spot with a crowded group of talent.

On the pitching side, Hendricks was retained purposely due to the fact he is on a team friendly deal and can build a rotation around him. Another all-star ground ball pitcher was added in Stroman, and vets Miley and Smyly will add depth. There will not be a ton of strikeouts in this Cubbies rotation, but when you have Andrelton Simmons manning short you don’t have to worry too much about balls getting past the infield. Add these veterans to a decent amount of young talent and you definitely don’t have a huge contender, but rather a solid team that could try to hover around .500. Is this team a playoff team? Probably not, but the Cubs don’t think they’re too far away from a contender again and are pushing off a true rebuild, at least for the time being.

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Cincinnati Reds

Manager: David Bell (4th year, Career/Team record: 189-195) – AGE: 49

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#6	Jonathan India	25	R/R	.269 AVG, 21 HR, 69 RBI, 12 SB
SS	#17	Kyle Farmer	31	R/R	.263 AVG, 16 HR, 63 RBI, .316 OBP
1B	#19	Joey Votto	38	L/R	.266 AVG, 36 HR, 99 RBI, .375 OBP
3B	#9	Mike Moustakas	33	L/R	.208 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI, .282 OBP
DH	#16	Colin Moran	29	L/R	.258 AVG, 10 HR, 50 RBI, .334 OBP – PIT
CF	#12	Tyler Naquin	30	L/R	.270 AVG, 19 HR, 70 RBI, 5 SB
C	#37	Tyler Stephenson	25	R/R	.286 AVG, 10 HR, 45 RBI, .366 OBP
LF	#28	Tommy Pham	34	R/R	.229 AVG, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 14 SB – SD
RF	#4	Shogo Akiyama	33	L/R	.204 AVG, 0 HR, 12 RBI, .282 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#76	Aramis García	29	R/R	.205 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .239 OBP – OAK
INF	#7	Donovan Solano	34	R/R	.280 AVG, 7 HR, 31 RBI, .344 OBP – SF
UTIL	#32	Max Schrock	27	L/R	.288 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .328 OBP
CF/2B	#15	Nick Senzel	26	R/R	.252 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .323 OBP
OF	#27	Jake Fraley	26	L/L	.210 AVG, 9 HR, 36 RBI, .352 OBP – SEA

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#58	Luis Castillo	29	RHP	8-16, 3.98 ERA, 192 Ks, 1.36 WHIP
SP	#30	Tyler Mahle	27	RHP	13-6, 3.75 ERA, 210 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
SP	#31	Mike Minor	34	LHP	8-12, 5.05 ERA, 149 Ks, 1.24 WHIP – KC
SP	#21	Hunter Greene (R)	22	RHP	MLB Rank: #22
SP	#53	Vladimir Gutierrez	26	RHP	9-6, 4.74 ERA, 88 Ks, 1.41 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#54	Hunter Strickland	33	RHP	3-2, 2.61 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.16 WHIP – TB/LAA/MIL
SU	#85	Luis Cessa	29	RHP	5-2, 2.51 ERA, 54 Ks, 1.14 WHIP – NYY/CIN
RP	#34	Justin Wilson	34	LHP	1-1, 5.29 ERA, 29 Ks, 1.41 WHIP – NYY/CIN
RP	#39	Lucas Sims	27	RHP	7 SVs, 4.40 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
RP	#46	Buck Farmer	31	RHP	0-0, 6.37 ERA, 37 Ks, 1.73 WHIP – DET
RP	#75	Trey Wingenter	27	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery – SD
RP	#77	Art Warren	29	RHP	3-0, 1.29 ERA, 34 Ks, 0.90 WHIP
RP	#64	Tony Santillan	24	RHP	1-3, 2.91 ERA, 56 Ks, 1.27 WHIP
RP	#23	Jeff Hoffman	29	RHP	3-5, 4.56 ERA, 79 Ks, 1.58 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SS	#2	José Barrero	24	R/R	Hamate injury Potential return in May
SP	#38	Justin Dunn	26	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in June
RP	#70	Tejay Antone	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Will miss the entire season

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Nick Lodolo (Pitcher, Age: 24, LHP, MLB Rank: #42)
Brandon Williamson (Pitcher, Age: 23, LHP, CIN Rank: #5)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 1B Joey Votto
Breakout Player: SP Hunter Greene
Grade: C
Lineup Rank: 9th
Rotation Rank: 13th
Bullpen Rank: 11th

The Reds enter the new season with another shaken up roster with hopes to continue on a solid path. As the team is definitely not in a full rebuild, they have been active in the trade market, shopping star pitcher Luis Castillo and other high quality bats. They dealt Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to the Mariners in a package that included young pitching prospect Justin Dunn, who can become a reliable piece of Cincinnati’s future. We also will see the emergence of highly anticipated flame-thrower Hunter Greene, nearly five years removed from when he was selected second overall by Cincinnati in the 2017 draft. The lineup should be able to tack on runs and despite losing Castellanos, Suarez, and Winker, they brought in Colin Moran and still have a top of the order of India, Farmer, Votto, and Moustakas.

The rotation should be solid and depending on how the season goes we may see them go into a full young rotation. As well as Hunter Greene, baseball’s 42nd prospect Nick Lodolo will look to join the rotation sometime mid-season. The bullpen also should be solid with a few good veteran additions in Hunter Strickland, Buck Farmer, and the return of Justin Wilson. I like the Reds’ team and I think they have a solid squad. Now no one expects them to be a true contender this year but being one of baseball’s surprise teams could happen if things click on all cylinders. It will be tough to bank on that though, so I’ll have to put them in the same class as the Cubs, maybe slightly better.

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Milwaukee Brewers

Manager: Craig Counsell (8th year, Career/Team record: 529-479) – AGE: 51

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#16	Kolten Wong	31	L/R	.272 AVG, 14 HR, 50 RBI, 12 SB
SS	#27	Willy Adames	26	R/R	.262 AVG, 25 HR, 73 RBI, 5 SB – TB/MIL
RF	#22	Christian Yelich	30	L/R	.248 AVG, 9 HR, 51 RBI, .362 OBP
1B	#11	Rowdy Tellez	27	L/L	.242 AVG, 11 HR, 36 RBI, .305 OBP – TOR/MIL
DH	#12	Hunter Renfroe	30	R/R	.259 AVG, 31 HR, 96 RBI, .315 OBP – BOS
3B	#2	Luis Urías	24	R/R	.249 AVG, 23 HR, 75 RBI, .345 OBP
C	#10	Omar Narváez	30	L/R	.266 AVG, 11 HR, 49 RBI, .342 OBP
LF	#15	Tyrone Taylor	28	R/R	.247 AVG, 12 HR, 43 RBI, 6 SB
CF	#6	Lorenzo Cain	35	R/R	.257 AVG, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 13 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#28	Pedro Severino	28	R/R	.248 AVG, 11 HR, 46 RBI, .308 OBP – BAL
1B/2B	#18	Keston Hiura	25	R/R	.168 AVG, 4 HR, 19 RBI, .256 OBP
UTIL	#20	Mike Brosseau	28	R/R	.187 AVG, 5 HR, 18 RBI, .266 OBP – TB
INF	#14	Jace Peterson	31	L/R	.247 AVG, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 10 SB
LF	#24	Andrew McCutchen	35	R/R	.222 AVG, 27 HR, 80 RBI, .334 OBP – PHI

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#39	Corbin Burnes	27	RHP	11-5, 2.43 ERA, 234 Ks, 0.94 WHIP
SP	#53	Brandon Woodruff	29	RHP	9-10, 2.56 ERA, 211 Ks, 0.96 WHIP
SP	#51	Freddy Peralta	25	RHP	10-5, 2.81 ERA, 195 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
SP	#37	Adrian Houser	29	RHP	10-6, 3.22 ERA, 105 Ks, 1.28 WHIP
SP	#52	Eric Lauer	25	LHP	7-5, 3.19 ERA, 117 Ks, 1.14 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#71	Josh Hader	27	LHP	34 SVs, 1.23 ERA, 102 Ks, 0.84 WHIP
SU	#38	Devin Williams	27	RHP	3 SVs, 2.50 ERA, 87 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
RP	#45	Brad Boxberger	33	RHP	4 SVs, 3.34 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
RP	#35	Brent Suter	32	LHP	1 SV, 3.07 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.31 WHIP
RP	#58	Miguel Sánchez	28	RHP	2-1, 4.15 ERA, 23 Ks, 1.58 WHIP
RP	#31	Jandel Gustave	29	RHP	1-2, 3.44 ERA, 13 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
RP	#55	Hoby Milner	31	LHP	0-0, 5.40 ERA, 30 Ks, 1.52 WHIP
RP	#26	Aaron Ashby	23	LHP	1 SV, 4.55 ERA, 39 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
RP	#32	José Ureña	30	RHP	4-8, 5.81 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.60 WHIP – DET

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#56	Justin Topa	31	RHP	Flexor Tendon Strain Potential return in May

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Brice Turang (Short Stop, Age: 22, L/R, MIL Rank: #4)
Ethan Small (Pitcher, Age: 25, LHP, MIL Rank: #7)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SP Corbin Burnes
Breakout Player: LF Tyrone Taylor
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 10th
Rotation Rank: 2nd
Bullpen Rank: 3rd

Coming off of a division crown and an unforgettable season, the Brewers enter the new campaign hungry for a NL pennant and a chance at the title. The team is looking fairly similar to last year, with the only big addition being Hunter Renfroe who will add pop to a middle of the order with sluggers Christian Yelich, Rowdy Tellez, Willy Adames, and Omar Narvaez. Pedro Severino, Andrew McCutchen, and Mike Brosseau were all also added for depth on the bench and can provide solid innings in case of injury. On the rotation front, Milwaukee had the most efficient in all of the league last year and will look to tack onto the progress they’ve started. Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta created a murderers row last year of three of the best young arms in the entire game. Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer were no slouches either, and to be completely honest, any of these five would be the aces of the Royals rotation… Add that to having the best closer in baseball in Josh Hader and one of the best set up men in Devin Williams and the team looks to be unhittable if you can’t knock their starter out by at least the fifth inning.

This squad is still the best in the Central and should have a very good shot of winning another division crown. St. Louis will always be a thorn in your side and both Chicago and Cincinnati will look to try to play spoiler. All and all I like this Milwaukee squad a lot, and I think very, very soon it could be their time to make that push for the World Series.

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Pittsburgh Pirates

Manager: Derek Shelton (3rd year, Career/Team record: 80-142) – AGE: 51

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
RF	#3	Cole Tucker (R)	25	S/R	.222 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI, .298 OBP
3B	#13	Ke’Bryan Hayes	25	R/R	.257 AVG, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 9 SB
CF	#10	Bryan Reynolds	27	S/R	.302 AVG, 24 HR, 90 RBI, .390 OBP
DH	#19	Daniel Vogelbach	29	L/R	.219 AVG, 9 HR, 24 RBI, .349 OBP – MIL
1B	#25	Yoshi Tsutsugo	30	L/R	.217 AVG, 8 HR, 32 RBI, .307 OBP – TB/LAD/PIT
LF	#18	Ben Gamel	29	L/L	.247 AVG, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 3 SB – CLE/PIT
2B	#2	Michael Chavis	26	R/R	.248 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB – BOS/PIT
C	#55	Roberto Pérez	33	R/R	.149 AVG, 7 HR, 17 RBI, .245 OBP – CLE
SS	#27	Kevin Newman	28	R/R	.226 AVG, 5 HR, 39 RBI, 6 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#5	Michael Perez	29	L/R	.143 AVG, 7 HR, 21 RBI, .221 OBP
INF	#64	Diego Castillo (R)	24	R/R	PIT Rank: #21
UTIL	#26	Josh VanMeter	27	L/R	.212 AVG, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 3 SB – ARI
OF	#6	Anthony Alford	27	R/R	.233 AVG, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 5 SB
OF	#24	Greg Allen	29	S/R	10/37, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 5 SB – NYY

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#34	J.T. Brubaker	28	RHP	5-13, 5.36 ERA, 129 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
SP	#62	José Quintana	33	LHP	0-3, 6.43 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.73 WHIP – LAA/SF
SP	#23	Mitch Keller	25	RHP	5-11, 6.17 ERA, 92 Ks, 1.79 WHIP
SP	#32	Bryse Wilson	24	RHP	3-7, 5.35 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.45 WHIP – ATL/PIT
SP	#29	Wil Crowe	27	RHP	4-8, 5.48 ERA, 111 Ks, 1.57 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#46	Chris Stratton	31	RHP	8 SVs, 3.63 ERA, 86 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
SU	#51	David Bednar	27	RHP	3 SVs, 2.23 ERA, 77 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
RP	#53	Heath Hembree	33	RHP	9 SVs, 5.59 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.19 WHIP – NYM/CIN
RP	#54	Sam Howard	29	LHP	3-4, 5.60 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.49 WHIP
RP	#52	Anthony Banda	28	LHP	2-2, 4.28 ERA, 32 Ks, 1.54 WHIP – NYM/PIT
RP	#56	Duane Underwood Jr.	27	RHP	2-3, 4.33 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.43 WHIP
RP	#57	Luis Oviedo	22	RHP	1-2, 8.80 ERA, 31 Ks, 1.99 WHIP
RP	#39	Zach Thompson	28	RHP	3-7, 3.24 ERA, 66 Ks, 1.21 WHIP – MIA
RP	#38	Dillon Peters	29	LHP	1-2, 3.71 ERA, 23 Ks, 1.35 WHIP

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Matt Frazier (Outfield, Age: 24, L/R, PIT Rank: #10)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: CF Bryan Reynolds
Breakout Player: SS/RF Cole Tucker
Grade: F
Lineup Rank: 15th
Rotation Rank: 15th
Bullpen Rank: 15th

Yeah this team is not good, and quite frankly, it’s not worth a deep dive into, but I’ll do a semi-deep dive anyway. It’s franchises like the Pirates and their ownership that are the reason that the MLB lockout took so long and almost cost us games. Going into this season, the team’s highest paid player will be catcher Roberto Perez at $5 million. Now I know the argument is that they’re going through a deep rebuild and that’s why they don’t want to make any long-term commitments, but the bottom line is they don’t want to make those commitments even when they’re winning. Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Gerrit Cole, and I’m sure in the next year or two Bryan Reynolds as well are all prime examples of homegrown Pirates who had to be abandoned because their price was too high. Now they did give an extension to Cutch, but he was dealt immediately at the first sign of a fold in return for another rebuild. There’s one thing to be a small market team, but there’s another to refuse to spend completely as an American professional sports franchise that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact they haven’t paid a player more than Perez’s whopping $5m since Starling Marte made $10m in 2019. But looking at the team in whole, the lineup is awful, the rotation is awful, and the bullpen is awful. The only saving graces are Bryan Reynolds and their young talented infielders Cole Tucker and Ke’Bryan Hayes. The likelihood of this team having the worst record in all of baseball is pretty high, and for that I give them the only F this year. On to the Cardinals…

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St. Louis Cardinals

Manager: Oliver Marmol (1st year) – AGE: 35

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
2B	#19	Tommy Edman	26	S/R	.262 AVG, 11 HR, 56 RBI, 30 SB
RF	#3	Dylan Carlson	23	S/L	.266 AVG, 18 HR, 65 RBI, .343 OBP
3B	#28	Nolan Arenado	30	R/R	.255 AVG, 34 HR, 105 RBI, .312 OBP
1B	#46	Paul Goldschmidt	34	R/R	.294 AVG, 31 HR, 99 RBI, 12 SB
LF	#27	Tyler O’Neill	26	R/R	.286 AVG, 34 HR, 80 RBI, 15 SB
DH	#25	Corey Dickerson	32	L/R	.271 AVG, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 6 SB – MIA/TOR
C	#4	Yadier Molina	39	R/R	.252 AVG, 11 HR, 66 RBI, .297 OBP
SS	#11	Paul DeJong	28	R/R	.197 AVG, 19 HR, 45 RBI, .284 OBP
CF	#48	Harrison Bader	27	R/R	.267 AVG, 16 HR, 50 RBI, 9 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#7	Andrew Knizner	27	R/R	.174 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .281 OBP
C	#47	Ivan Herrera (R)	21	R/R	STL Rank: #4
1B	#5	Albert Pujols	42	R/R	.236 AVG, 17 HR, 50 RBI, 2 SB – LAA/LAD
INF	#63	Edmundo Sosa	26	R/R	.271 AVG, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 4 SB
OF	#21	Lars Nootbaar (R)	24	L/R	.239 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI, .317 OBP

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#50	Adam Wainwright	40	RHP	17-7, 3.05 ERA, 174 Ks, 1.06 WHIP
SP	#39	Miles Mikolas	33	RHP	2-3, 4.23 ERA, 31 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
SP	#32	Steven Matz	30	LHP	14-7, 3.82 ERA, 144 Ks, 1.33 WHIP – TOR
SP	#43	Dakota Hudson	27	RHP	8.2 IP, 2.08 ERA, 6 Ks, 0.92 WHIP
SP	#40	Jake Woodford	25	RHP	3-4, 3.99 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.34 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#65	Giovanny Gallegos	30	RHP	14 SVs, 3.02 ERA, 95 Ks, 0.88 WHIP
SU	#56	Ryan Helsley	27	RHP	1 SV, 4.56 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
RP	#12	Jordan Hicks	25	RHP	10 IP, 5.40 ERA, 10 Ks, 1.50 WHIP
RP	#92	Génesis Cabrera	25	LHP	4-5, 3.73 ERA, 77 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#38	Kodi Whitley	27	RHP	0-0, 2.49 ERA, 27 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
RP	#30	Nick Wittgren	30	RHP	1 SV, 5.05 ERA, 61 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – CLE
RP	#62	T.J. McFarland	32	LHP	4-1, 2.56 ERA, 21 Ks, 1.06 WHIP
RP	#67	Aaron Brooks	31	RHP	DNP – KBO in 2020/2021
RP	#34	Drew VerHagen	31	RHP	DNP – NPB in 2020/2021

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#22	Jack Flaherty	26	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in May
RP	#29	Alex Reyes	27	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Nolan Gorman (Second Base, Age: 21, L/R, MLB Rank: #33)
Matthew Liberatore (Pitcher, Age: 22, LHP, MLB Rank: #43)
Juan Yepez (Utility, Age: 24, R/R, STL Rank: #6)
Alec Burleson (Oufield, Age: 23, L/L, STL Rank: #10)
Brendan Donovan (Infielder, Age: 25, L/R, STL Rank: #12)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 3B Nolan Arenado
Breakout Player: SP Matthew Liberatore
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 3rd
Rotation Rank: 4th
Bullpen Rank: 6th

The Cardinals enter the new year fresh off of one of the best second half runs we’ve seen in recent memory, leading to an NL Wild Card spot. Subsequently, Mike Shildt was let go after four winning seasons with the franchise and was replaced by the younger bench coach Oliver Marmol. A move that left many baseball fans scratching their heads, it’s tough to doubt a franchise who hasn’t had back-to-back losing seasons since the 1950’s. The team looks relatively similar, the same slashing lineup with stars Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt and last year’s breakout stars Dylan Carlson, Tommy Edman, Tyler O’Neill, and Harrison Bader. Veteran lefty bat Corey Dickerson was added to provide some depth in the outfield, as well as franchise icon 42-year-old Albert Pujols in what looks to be his final run in the bigs. Dickerson and Pujols should be the primary platoon DH’s with an outfield littered with young talent. Baseball’s 33rd prospect Nolan Gorman should also be on his way this year to put Paul DeJong’s job at short in question.

On the pitching side, another franchise icon in Adam Wainwright will be back for one more year after a stellar age-39 season. Waino, Yadi, and Pujols all rejoin for one more run on the franchise where they won two World Series titles; a true story book ending. The rest of the rotation should be solid with a healthy Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson, as well as newly signed lefty Steven Matz. The team will await another one of baseball’s top 50 prospects in Matthew Liberatore, who will be poised to replace Wainwright in the rotation for years to come. The Cards will be in an all out battle with the Brewers for the Central crown, but I’d tend to give the edge to Milwaukee as they look to be the deeper team. St. Louis is still a playoff squad though, and a run is never out of the question for the red birds.

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Arizona Diamondbacks

Manager: Torey Lovullo (6th year, Career/Team record: 337-371) – AGE: 56

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
3B	#10	Josh Rojas	27	L/R	.264 AVG, 11 HR, 44 RBI, .341 OBP
2B	#4	Ketel Marté	28	S/R	.318 AVG, 14 HR, 50 RBI, .377 OBP
LF	#6	David Peralta	34	L/L	.259 AVG, 8 HR, 63 RBI, .325 OBP
1B	#53	Christian Walker	31	R/R	.244 AVG, 10 HR, 46 RBI, .315 OBP
DH	#26	Pavin Smith	26	L/L	.267 AVG, 11 HR, 49 RBI, .328 OBP
C	#16	Carson Kelly	27	R/R	.240 AVG, 13 HR, 46 RBI, .343 OBP
RF	#12	Daulton Varsho	25	L/R	.246 AVG, 11 HR, 38 RBI, 6 SB
CF	#8	Jordan Luplow	28	R/R	.202 AVG, 11 HR, 28 RBI, 1 SB – CLE/TB
SS	#13	Nick Ahmed	32	R/R	.221 AVG, 5 HR, 38 RBI, 7 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#85	Jose Herrera (R)	25	S/R	NO STATS
UTIL	#43	Sergio Alcántara	25	S/R	.205 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI, .303 OBP – CHC
1B	#28	Seth Beer (R)	25	L/R	4/9, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .500 OBP
SS	#2	Geraldo Perdomo (R)	22	S/R	8/31, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .378 OBP
OF	#30	Jake McCarthy (R)	24	L/L	.220 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#40	Madison Bumgarner	32	LHP	7-10, 4.67 ERA, 124 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
SP	#23	Zac Gallen	26	RHP	4-10, 4.30 ERA, 139 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
SP	#7	Luke Weaver	28	RHP	3-6, 4.25 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
SP	#29	Merrill Kelly	33	RHP	7-11, 4.44 ERA, 130 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
SP	#27	Zach Davies	29	RHP	6-12, 5.78 ERA, 114 Ks, 1.60 WHIP – CHC

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#34	Mark Melancon	37	RHP	39 SVs, 2.23 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.22 WHIP – SD
SU	#36	Ian Kennedy	37	RHP	26 SVs, 3.20 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.10 WHIP – TEX/PHI
RP	#48	J.B. Wendelken	29	RHP	2 SVs, 4.33 ERA, 39 Ks, 1.51 WHIP – OAK/ARI
RP	#24	Noé Ramirez	32	RHP	1 SV, 3.00 ERA, 29 Ks, 0.97 WHIP – LAA/ARI
RP	#35	Joe Mantiply	31	LHP	0-3, 3.40 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.56 WHIP
RP	#54	Humberto Castellanos	24	RHP	2-2, 4.93 ERA, 29 Ks, 1.38 WHIP
RP	#64	Sean Poppen	28	RHP	1 SV, 5.16 ERA, 26 Ks, 1.76 WHIP
RP	#25	Corbin Martin	26	RHP	0-3, 10.69 ERA, 13 Ks, 2.31 WHIP
RP	#31	Caleb Smith	30	LHP	4-9, 4.83 ERA, 124 Ks, 1.37 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#33	J.B. Bukauskas	25	RHP	Torn teres major Potential return in July

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Alek Thomas (Outfield, Age: 21, L/L, MLB Rank: #18)
Drey Jameson (Pitcher, Age: 24, RHP, ARI Rank: #6)
Brandon Pfaadt (Pitcher, Age: 23, RHP, ARI Rank: #10)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 2B/CF Ketel Marté
Breakout Player: 1B/OF Pavin Smith
Grade: C-
Lineup Rank: 14th
Rotation Rank: 11th
Bullpen Rank: 7th

The Diamondbacks enter the new year in a tough spot with a completely rebuilding squad in a division that is pretty unforgiving. Nevertheless, I do think they’re headed in the right direction, as young bats Christian Walker, Pavin Smith, and Josh Rojas show promise with veterans Ketel Marte and David Peralta. The lineup contains a solid young core of Zac Gallen and Luke Weaver to go along with veterans Madison Bumgarner and Merrill Kelly. Honestly, Arizona’s rotation I think is very solid and has the potential to be one of the better ones in the entire NL. If MadBum can get back on track and both Gallen and Weaver can stay healthy they should be in a good place. Bullpen-wise, they’re also pretty solid after adding two of the league’s better closers over the past three years in Mark Melancon and Ian Kennedy. At the very least, these two will be great trade pieces come deadline time for a contender who is in desperate need for bullpen help. J.B. Wendelken also got snagged from the Oakland Athletics in a really solid move last year; a guy that can easily become their future closer.

It’s going to be an extremely tough division led by the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers, but the Diamondbacks should not be as bad as last year. There isn’t much of a lane for them to win more than 75 games but being one of the worst in baseball shouldn’t occur again.

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Colorado Rockies

Manager: Bud Black (6th year in COL, Career record: 998-1,072, Team record: 349-359) – AGE: 64

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#15	Randal Grichuk	30	R/R	.241 AVG, 22 HR, 81 RBI, .281 OBP – TOR
3B	#23	Kris Bryant	30	R/R	.265 AVG, 25 HR, 73 RBI, 10 SB – CHC/SF
RF	#19	Charlie Blackmon	35	L/L	.270 AVG, 13 HR, 78 RBI, .351 OBP
1B	#25	C.J. Cron	32	R/R	.281 AVG, 28 HR, 92 RBI, .375 OBP
2B	#24	Ryan McMahon	27	L/R	.254 AVG, 23 HR, 86 RBI, .331 OBP
DH	#7	Brendan Rodgers	25	R/R	.284 AVG, 15 HR, 51 RBI, .328 OBP
SS	#11	José Iglesias	32	R/R	.271 AVG, 9 HR, 48 RBI, 5 SB – LAA/BOS
C	#35	Elias Díaz	31	R/R	.246 AVG, 18 HR, 44 RBI, .310 OBP
LF	#22	Sam Hilliard	28	L/L	.215 AVG, 14 HR, 34 RBI, 5 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#3	Dom Nuñez	27	L/R	.189 AVG, 10 HR, 33 RBI, .293 OBP
1B/OF	#9	Connor Joe	29	R/R	.285 AVG, 8 HR, 35 RBI, .379 OBP
UTIL	#1	Garrett Hampson	27	R/R	.234 AVG, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 17 SB
INF	#13	Alan Trejo (R)	25	R/R	10/46, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .260 OBP
OF	#2	Yonathan Daza	28	R/R	.282 AVG, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 2 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#48	Germán Márquez	27	RHP	12-11, 4.40 ERA, 176 Ks, 1.27 WHIP
SP	#26	Austin Gomber	28	LHP	9-9, 4.53 ERA, 113 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
SP	#21	Kyle Freeland	28	LHP	7-8, 4.33 ERA, 105 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
SP	#49	Antonio Senzatela	27	RHP	4-10, 4.42 ERA, 105 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
SP	#41	Chad Kuhl	29	RHP	5-7, 4.82 ERA, 75 Ks, 1.43 WHIP – PIT

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#52	Daniel Bard	36	RHP	20 SVs, 5.21 ERA, 80 Ks, 1.60 WHIP
SU	#37	Alex Colomé	33	RHP	17 SVs, 4.15 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.40 WHIP – MIN
RP	#40	Tyler Kinley	31	RHP	3-2, 4.73 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
RP	#54	Carlos Estévez	29	RHP	11 SVs, 4.38 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.49 WHIP
RP	#29	Robert Stephenson	29	RHP	1 SV, 3.13 ERA, 52 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
RP	#58	Lucas Gilbreath	26	LHP	1 SV, 3.38 ERA, 44 Ks, 1.31 WHIP
RP	#43	Jhoulys Chacín	34	RHP	3-2, 4.34 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#60	Ashton Goudeau	29	RHP	2-1, 4.19 ERA, 22 Ks, 1.19 WHIP – CIN/COL
RP	#20	Peter Lambert	24	RHP	5.2 IP, 11.12 ERA, 3 Ks, 2.47 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#45	Scott Oberg	32	RHP	Blood clots Potential to miss the entire season

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Elehuris Montero (Third Base, Age: 23, R/R, COL Rank: #4)
Ryan Rolison (Pitcher, Age: 24, LHP, COL Rank: #5)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: 3B/OF Kris Bryant
Breakout Player: SP Austin Gomber
Grade: C+
Lineup Rank: 8th
Rotation Rank: 12th
Bullpen Rank: 13th

The Rockies enter the new year fresh off of what many around baseball would call a successful season. After trading away franchise icon Nolan Arenado, everyone expected the worst from what looked to be a decimated Colorado team. They ended up piecing together 74 wins and got great productivity from some of the young talent in Ryan McMahon, Brendan Rodgers, German Marquez, and a bunch of their bullpen arms. Because of that the team decided to give Kris Bryant a 7-year, $182m deal, re-up Ryan McMahon on a 6-year, $70m extension, extend C.J. Cron for 2-years, and sign veterans Alex Colome and Jose Iglesias. So clearly the team does see some form of success coming soon, and of course numbers will always be inflated at the ban box at Coors Field. But I think the rotation and bullpen performance was the real surprise last season.

The team had four starters in the 4.00 ERA range in Marquez, Freeland, Gomber, and Senzatela. I know to most that doesn’t seem great but for a franchise that can never attract good pitching due to inflated numbers, this was a big sign of improvement. The bullpen also remained solid with youngster Robert Stephenson, Carlos Estevez, Lucas Gilbreath, and Tyler Kinley showing a ton of promise. Once again, this division is fierce and similar to the D-Backs there isn’t much room for the Rockies to exceed 75 wins. But last year’s surge bred hope in the eyes of some and I think their core on both offense and defense are all pretty solid. I expect another competitive season from the Rockies, and things could start to trend up for the team.

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Los Angeles Dodgers

Manager: Dave Roberts (7th year, Career/Team record: 542-329) – AGE: 50

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
RF	#50	Mookie Betts	29	R/R	.264 AVG, 23 HR, 58 RBI, .367 OBP
SS	#6	Trea Turner	28	R/R	.328 AVG, 28 HR, 77 RBI, 32 SB – WSH/LAD
1B	#5	Freddie Freeman	32	L/R	.300 AVG, 31 HR, 83 RBI, .393 OBP – ATL
DH	#13	Max Muncy	31	L/R	.249 AVG, 36 HR, 94 RBI, .368 OBP
C	#16	Will Smith	27	R/R	.258 AVG, 25 HR, 76 RBI, .365 OBP
3B	#10	Justin Turner	37	R/R	.278 AVG, 27 HR, 87 RBI, .361 OBP
LF	#3	Chris Taylor	31	R/R	.254 AVG, 20 HR, 73 RBI, 13 SB
CF	#35	Cody Bellinger	26	L/L	.165 AVG, 10 HR, 36 RBI, .240 OBP
2B	#9	Gavin Lux	24	L/R	.242 AVG, 7 HR, 46 RBI, .328 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#15	Austin Barnes	32	R/R	.215 AVG, 6 HR, 23 RBI, .299 OBP
1B/OF	#43	Edwin Ríos	27	L/R	4/51, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .217 OBP
UTIL	#17	Hanser Alberto	29	R/R	.270 AVG, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 3 SB – KC
CF	#37	Kevin Pillar	33	R/R	.231 AVG, 15 HR, 47 RBI, .271 OBP – NYM

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#21	Walker Buehler	27	RHP	16-4, 2.47 ERA, 212 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
SP	#22	Clayton Kershaw	34	LHP	10-8, 3.55 ERA, 144 Ks, 1.02 WHIP
SP	#7	Julio Urías	25	LHP	20-3, 2.96 ERA, 195 Ks, 1.02 WHIP
SP	#23	Danny Duffy	33	LHP	4-3, 2.51 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.21 WHIP – KC
SP	#26	Tony Gonsolin	27	RHP	4-1, 3.23 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.35 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#46	Craig Kimbrel	33	RHP	24 SVs, 2.26 ERA, 100 Ks, 0.91 WHIP – CHC/CWS
SU	#49	Blake Treinen	33	RHP	7 SVs, 1.99 ERA, 85 Ks, 0.98 WHIP
RP	#41	Daniel Hudson	35	RHP	5-3, 3.31 ERA, 75 Ks, 1.08 WHIP – WSH/SD
RP	#44	Tommy Kahnle	32	RHP	1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 Ks, 2.00 WHIP
RP	#48	Brusdar Graterol	23	RHP	3-0, 4.59 ERA, 27 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
RP	#81	Victor González	26	LHP	1 SV, 3.57 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.44 WHIP
RP	#52	Phil Bickford	26	RHP	1 SV, 2.81 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
RP	#63	Justin Bruihl	24	LHP	0-1, 2.89 ERA, 11 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
RP	#28	Andrew Heaney	30	LHP	8-9, 5.83 ERA, 150 Ks, 1.32 WHIP – LAA/NYY
RP	#33	David Price	36	LHP	1 SV, 4.03 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.43 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#27	Trevor Bauer	31	RHP	Administrative Leave Potential return in May
RP	#85	Dustin May	24	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in August
RP	#40	Jimmy Nelson	32	RHP	Elbow surgery Potential return in August

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Bobby Miller (Pitcher, Age: 22, RHP, MLB Rank: #55)
Miguel Vargas (Infielder, Age: 22, R/R, MLB Rank: #94)
Ryan Pepiot (Pitcher, Age: 24, RHP, LAD Rank: #6)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: RF Mookie Betts
Breakout Player: SP Tony Gonsolin
Grade: A+
Lineup Rank: 1st
Rotation Rank: 3rd
Bullpen Rank: 1st

What can you say besides the rich just get richer? There’s no doubt the Dodgers have been one of the most stacked squads in baseball over the past several years, but when they landed Trea Turner and Max Scherzer at the deadline last year it seemed a bit unfair. Ultimately they didn’t end up making the World Series, and they answered back by adding the league’s best first baseman Freddie Freeman. A purely crazy move that the Braves would somehow let their star walk, but either way LA fans have to be feeling ecstatic. With a lineup led by Turner, Betts, Freeman, Muncy, and Will Smith, a rotation led by Buehler, Kershaw, and Urias, and a bullpen with a back end of Kimbrel, Treinen, and Hudson, it’s truly championship or bust for the Dodgers. I don’t think a single team in all of baseball has a target on their back or as high expectations as the Dodgers have going into this year. There’s no way, even with injuries, that this team shouldn’t win the pennant. But as we’ve seen all too many times, it is a long and treacherous season and whoever is hot at the right time tends to win it all. Which is what makes a World Series winner so impossible to predict. The team is going to have a ton of depth all throughout their lineup and their rotation, with pieces they can move all throughout the field and players they can bring up and down from the minors.

It’ll be a collective effort for Dave Roberts and squad to win another ring, but when you look at this team it’s very difficult to see them not making it to at least the NLCS. They SHOULD win the NL pennant, but that’s a far different meaning than “will”. At the end of the day they’ll need to be hot in October just as much as April through September.

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San Diego Padres

Manager: Bob Melvin (1st year in SD, Career record: 1,346-1,272) – AGE: 60

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#2	Trent Grisham	25	L/L	.242 AVG, 15 HR, 62 RBI, 13 SB
SS	#23	Fernando Tatis Jr.	23	R/R	.282 AVG, 42 HR, 97 RBI, 25 SB
2B	#9	Jake Cronenworth	28	L/R	.266 AVG, 21 HR, 71 RBI, .340 OBP
3B	#13	Manny Machado	29	R/R	.278 AVG, 28 HR, 106 RBI, 12 SB
1B	#30	Eric Hosmer	32	L/L	.269 AVG, 12 HR, 65 RBI, .337 OBP
DH	#45	Luke Voit	31	R/R	.239 AVG, 11 HR, 35 RBI, .328 OBP – NYY
RF	#5	Wil Myers	31	R/R	.256 AVG, 17 HR, 63 RBI, 8 SB
LF	#38	Jorge Alfaro	28	R/R	.244 AVG, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 8 SB – MIA
C	#26	Austin Nola	32	R/R	.272 AVG, 2 HR, 29 RBI, .340 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#17	Victor Caratini	28	S/R	.227 AVG, 7 HR, 39 RBI, .309 OBP
C	#21	Luis Campusano (R)	23	R/R	3/34, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .184 OBP
1B/OF	#27	Matt Beaty	28	L/R	.270 AVG, 7 HR, 40 RBI, .363 OBP – LAD
INF	#7	Ha-seong Kim	26	R/R	.202 AVG, 8 HR, 34 RBI, .270 OBP
UTIL	#10	Jurickson Profar	29	S/R	.227 AVG, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 10 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#11	Yu Darvish	35	RHP	8-11, 4.22 ERA, 199 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
SP	#4	Blake Snell	29	LHP	7-6, 4.20 ERA, 170 Ks, 1.32 WHIP
SP	#55	Sean Manaea	30	LHP	11-10, 3.91 ERA, 194 Ks, 1.23 WHIP – OAK
SP	#44	Joe Musgrove	29	RHP	11-9, 3.18 ERA, 203 Ks, 1.08 WHIP
SP	#59	Chris Paddack	26	RHP	7-7, 5.07 ERA, 99 Ks, 1.26 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#34	Craig Stammen	38	RHP	1 SV, 3.06 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.04 WHIP
SU	#14	Emilio Pagán	30	RHP	4-3, 4.83 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
RP	#25	Tim Hill	32	LHP	1 SV, 3.62 ERA, 56 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
RP	#36	Pierce Johnson	30	RHP	3-4, 3.22 ERA, 77 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#54	Austin Adams	30	RHP	3-2, 4.10 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
RP	#74	Nabil Crismatt	27	RHP	3-1, 3.76 ERA, 71 Ks, 1.36 WHIP
RP	#22	Nick Martinez	31	RHP	DNP – NPB
RP	#52	Mike Clevinger	31	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
RP	#29	Dinelson Lamet	29	RHP	2-4, 4.40 ERA, 57 Ks, 1.49 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#50	Adrian Morejón	23	LHP	Elbow injury Potential return in June
RP	#49	Michel Baez	26	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in June
RP	#15	Drew Pomeranz	33	LHP	Flexor-tendon surgery Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

MacKenzie Gore (Pitcher, Age: 23, LHP, MLB Rank: #86)
Eguy Rosario (Infielder, Age: 22, R/R, SD Rank: #7)
Ethan Elliott (Pitcher, Age: 24, LHP, SD Rank: #13)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SS Fernando Tatis Jr.
Breakout Player: SP MacKenzie Gore
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 5th
Rotation Rank: 5th
Bullpen Rank: 9th

The Padres enter the new year coming off of a very disappointing season and a bit of a shake up. After being deemed as one of the league’s up and coming teams last season, they ended up finishing well under .500 with many issues that caused manager Jayce Tingler’s firing. Tatis’ injuries definitely did not help and it seems like it’s going to be all too similar at least to start the season with Tatis being on the shelf. Some bats took declines including veteran Eric Hosmer, but young power hitter Luke Voit was brought in to add some pop to the offense. Jake Cronenworth became an all-star, Manny Machado bounced back with a stellar season, and Wil Myers returned close to his old form. On the pitching side, the rotation once again has the potential to be one of the league’s best if healthy, with a top three of Darvish, Snell, and Manaea. The team hopes to see some bounce back from Chris Paddack after a terrible season last year, but that seems all too similar to the bad luck of pitching the Padres have had for a while. The bullpen looks solid but not great, and after losing star closer Mark Melancon, a closer by committee seems like the likely option until Drew Pomeranz is able to return.

All and all the Padres are going to compete hard for a playoff spot, but the injuries could be tough to handle. New manage Bob Melvin always seems to get the best out of his guys and that should be a positive that San Diego brings into the season. I have them third in the division, and a contender for a Wild Card spot.

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San Francisco Giants

Manager: Gabe Kapler (3rd year in SF, Career record: 297-249, Team record: 136-86) – AGE: 46

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
CF	#23	Joc Pederson	29	L/L	.238 AVG, 18 HR, 61 RBI, 2 SB – CHC/ATL
RF	#5	Mike Yastrzemski	31	L/L	.224 AVG, 25 HR, 71 RBI, .311 OBP
SS	#35	Brandon Crawford	35	L/R	.298 AVG, 29 HR, 90 RBI, 11 SB
3B	#10	Evan Longoria	36	R/R	.261 AVG, 13 HR, 46 RBI, .351 OBP
1B	#9	Brandon Belt	33	L/L	.274 AVG, 29 HR, 59 RBI, .378 OBP
DH	#41	Wilmer Flores	30	R/R	.262 AVG, 18 HR, 53 RBI, .335 OBP
2B	#18	Tommy La Stella	33	L/R	.250 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI, .308 OBP
LF	#31	LaMonte Wade Jr.	28	L/L	.253 AVG, 18 HR, 56 RBI, 6 SB
C	#21	Joey Bart (R)	25	R/R	2/6, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .333 OBP

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2021 Season Stats
C	#2	Curt Casali	33	R/R	.210 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI, .313 OBP
INF	#1	Mauricio Dubón	27	R/R	.240 AVG, 5 HR, 22 RBI, .278 OBP
1B/LF	#33	Darin Ruf	35	R/R	.271 AVG, 16 HR, 43 RBI, .385 OBP
OF	#6	Steven Duggar	28	L/R	.257 AVG, 8 HR, 35 RBI, 7 SB
OF	#13	Austin Slater	29	R/R	.241 AVG, 12 HR, 32 RBI, 15 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
SP	#62	Logan Webb	25	RHP	11-3, 3.03 ERA, 158 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
SP	#16	Carlos Rodón	29	LHP	13-5, 2.37 ERA, 185 Ks, 0.96 WHIP – CWS
SP	#26	Anthony DeSclafani	31	RHP	13-7, 3.17 ERA, 152 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
SP	#57	Alex Wood	31	LHP	10-4, 3.83 ERA, 152 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
SP	#38	Alex Cobb	34	RHP	8-3, 3.76 ERA, 98 Ks, 1.26 WHIP – LAA

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2021 Season Stats
CP	#17	Jake McGee	35	LHP	31 SVs, 2.72 ERA, 58 Ks, 0.91 WHIP
SU	#71	Tyler Rogers	31	RHP	13 SVs, 2.22 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
RP	#48	José Álvarez	32	LHP	5-2, 2.37 ERA, 42 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
RP	#66	Jarlín García	29	LHP	1 SV, 2.62 ERA, 68 Ks, 0.96 WHIP
RP	#52	Dominic Leone	30	RHP	2 SVs, 1.51 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.10 WHIP
RP	#75	Camilo Doval	24	RHP	3 SVs, 3.00 ERA, 37 Ks, 1.04 WHIP
RP	#46	Zack Littell	26	RHP	2 SVs, 2.92 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
RP	#59	John Brebbia	31	RHP	0-1, 5.89 ERA, 22 Ks, 1.58 WHIP
RP	#14	Tyler Beede	31	RHP	1 IP, 27.00 ERA, 2 Ks, 2.00 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#29	Matthew Boyd	31	LHP	Flexor tendon surgery Potential return in June

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2022:

Heliot Ramos (Outfield, Age: 22, R/R, SF Rank: #6)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:

MVP: SS Brandon Crawford
Breakout Player: C Joey Bart
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 7th
Rotation Rank: 6th
Bullpen Rank: 4th

And rounding out the recaps we have the San Francisco Giants who are coming off what was seen as one of the most surprising years in recent memory. A team that looked decimated and in all-around cap hell with a very lackluster farm system to look forward to, they bursted onto the scene winning close to 100 games last year. It was all thanks to their great performance from veterans Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, and Wilmer Flores whose careers don’t seem to be on the flip side. Along with amazing performances from journeymen LaMonte Wade, Darin Ruf, and Curt Casali, this team was truly the epitome of the underdog narrative. And on the pitching side, Logan Webb has become one of baseball’s bright young stars, and Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood provided solid depth around him. Kevin Gausman was their ace but after leaving in free agency, the team replaced him with Carlos Rodon. Veterans Matthew Boyd and Carlos Martinez were also brought in for depth and to possibly add to a bullpen headlined by Jake McGee who rejuvenated his career in the closer role last year.

It’ll be a very difficult division but I think the Giants are the second best team and a true Wild Card contender. It would be great to see them make a run at first place with the Dodgers but that just seems unrealistic at least heading into the season. Nevertheless I’m excited for where this team is headed and can’t wait to see where their ceiling will be in 2022.