For those who love interleague play, the 2023 season will bring you a lot of joy. It has been announced that in 2023, there will no longer be 19 games each between division rivals like there are currently (such as Dodgers vs. Giants, Red Sox vs. Yankees, Cubs vs. Cardinals, etc.). Instead, there will be 12 games each between division rivals and every team will play all the other twenty-nine teams during the regular season. I'm not a fan of this news either as it takes away from the World Series. Also, it feels like it'd be much more of a pain as far as travel for teams and harder to make up any games that get rained out during the season.
* denotes Wild-Card
Corey Seager |
Seattle Mariners (87-75)*
Los Angeles Angels (83-79)
Texas Rangers (80-82)
Oakland Athletics (56-106)
The Houston Astros lost some key players during the offseason, but they get back starting pitcher Justin Verlander, who missed all of last season after having Tommy John surgery. Verlander was a free agent after the 2021 season, but Houston gave Verlander a big pay day too, by signing him to a 2 year, 50 million dollar contract (he can opt out after the first year if he wishes) to bring him back. If Spring Training is any indication, it looks like he is ready to go again at the age of 39. I almost picked the Seattle Mariners to finish in first place but then I remembered that they're the Seattle Mariners. The team definitely looks to have improved on paper though. But as they say, the game isn't played on paper. The Mariners brought over CY Young winner, Robbie Ray, to anchor their starting rotation. They also brought over big bats Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker in a trade with the Reds. Beyond Ray though, I'm not sure if their rotation has quite enough to reach the top. The Los Angeles Angels have a scary lineup that can hit the ball. Every season the question surrounding them always seems to be pitching. The Angels are hoping their gamble on Noah Syndegaard pays off for them. Once a star for the New York Mets, Syndegaard hasn't pitched a full season since 2019. Shohei Ohtani will continue to impress everyone with his hitting and pitching skills as arguably the best two-way player ever. How long his body holds up doing both is the only question. Mike Trout looks to rebound from a lost 2021 season in which he only played 36 games. After a calf injury, many speculate that he won't be the base stealing threat he was previously. The Texas Rangers spent a lot of money on two middle infielders when they acquired free agents shortstop, Corey Seager, and second baseman, Marcus Semien. While their offense should definitely see a boost in Texas, there is still plenty to be desired for the pitching staff. The ace of their starting rotation looks to be Jon Gray, who probably wouldn't be the ace of many other ballclubs. If you're an Oakland Athletics fan like me then you saw this coming. If you're an Oakland Athletics fan and didn't see this coming then you're not paying enough attention. Once again, the Athletics have traded away All-Star fan favorites during the offseason as they rebuild. On the plus side, they did get some good returns from the trades and helped a very depleted farm system. On the down side, they have upset a lot of their fan base once again. In a perfect world, owner John Fisher would sell the team. That doesn't appear likely. In June 2022, we'll have a better idea of how likely it will be of the Athletics getting a new ballpark in Oakland. (I sure hope they stay.) In 2022 though, fans should get a good look at new acquired prospect, Cristian Pache.
Jose Abreu |
Minnesota Twins (91-71)*
Detroit Tigers (83-79)
Cleveland Guardians (76-86)
Kansas City Royals (73-89)
The Chicago White Sox look to repeat being on top of the American League Central. Overall, the team has not lost many pieces from their
Kevin Gausman |
Tampa Bay Rays (92-70)*
New York Yankees (85-77)
Boston Red Sox (81-81)
Baltimore Orioles (77-85)
Trea Turner |
San Francisco Giants (89-73)*
Arizona Diamondbacks (83-79)
San Diego Padres (83-79)
Colorado Rockies (70-92)
Seiya Suzuki |
St. Louis Cardinals (91-71)*
Chicago Cubs (80-82)
Cincinnati Reds (69-93)
Pittsburgh Pirates (65-97)
Matt Olson |
Atlanta Braves (100-62)
Philadelphia Phillies (90-72)*
New York Mets (87-75)
Miami Marlins (78-82)
Washington Nationals (74-88)
The reigning World Series Champion, Atlanta Braves, will look to repeat in 2022. The face of their franchise, Freddie Freeman, and the Braves could not reach an agreement prior to Freeman going to the Dodgers. Instead, the Braves brought in first baseman, Matt Olson, in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. Olson provides gold glove defense at first base, a great eye at the plate, and tremendous power to all fields. Last year's closer, Will Smith, will move into a setup role now that the Braves signed Kenley Jansen to close out games. No, this Will Smith did not lose his job because he slapped somebody. The most exciting part as a Braves fan will be the return of Ronald Acuña, Jr. to the lineup after a horrific injury in 2021. Acuña is expected to rejoin the ballclub a couple weeks into the season. The Philadelphia Phillies have brought in Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber on deals and they should help the Phillies offense tremendously. Zack Wheeler looks to improve on a wonderful 2021 season as the ace of the pitching staff. It sounds like Corey Knebel will the be the Phillies closer, but even if he falters, they have other pitchers with closer experience. I was going to pick the New York Mets as the second place team, but recent news made me change my prediction. During the offseason, the Mets signed Max Scherzer and traded for All-Star starter, Chris Bassitt, from Oakland. Along with Jacob deGrom, that was going to give them arguably the best 1-2-3 starting rotation in baseball. However, deGrom recently was diagnosed with a stress reaction in the scapula (aka the shoulder blade) which will shut him down at least four weeks. To make matters worse for the Mets, it appears as though Scherzer is now questionable for opening day as well. However, it would be surprising to nobody if the Mets also pulled off another crazy trade to acquire some help if needed. I predict they'll come up short because they're still the Mets. The Miami Marlins have one of the more exciting players in Jazz Chisholm, Jr. and he should just keep getting better. Last year's World Series MVP, Jorge Soler, has now found himself in Miami, where he'll try to continue launching home runs. I'm curious how well starting pitcher, Jesus Luzardo, will do in his first full season with Miami. Luzardo, once a highly touted prospect, had his struggles with Oakland before being traded to Miami last season. Dylan Floro looks to be first in line for save opportunities out of the Miami bullpen. The Washington Nationals lost a Spring Training game to the Cardinals the other day by a score of 29-8. I know Spring Training games don't count, but if that's any indication of what to expect this season then things don't look too promising. The Nationals still have some pop in their lineup with Juan Soto and the soon to be 42-year old, Nelson Cruz. It will be weird to see the Nationals take the field without recently retired, Ryan Zimmerman. Ace starting pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, is almost fully recovered from an injury, but the Nationals are not going to push him back. When he is back though, they hope he has a season identical to the one he had in 2019 and can stay injury free the rest of the way.
Wild Card Round (Best of 3 Series)
Houston Astros vs. Seattle Mariners (Astros win 2-1)
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins (Rays win 2-1)
Milwaukee Brewers vs. San Francisco Giants (Brewers win 2-1)
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Phillies win 2-0)
Bye Round: Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves
Division Round (Best of 5 series)
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Houston Astros (Blue Jays win 3-2)
Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Rays win 3-1)
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers (Dodgers win 3-2)
Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Braves win 3-0)
Championship Round (Best of 7 series)
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Blue Jays win 4-2)
Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodgers win 4-3)
World Series (Best of 7 series)
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Blue Jays win 4-3)
2022 Season Awards
AL MVP: Matt Chapman, Toronto Blue Jays
NL MVP: Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies
AL CY YOUNG: Gerritt Cole, New York Yankees
NL CY YOUNG: Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL ROOKIE OF YEAR: Bobby Witt, Jr., Kansas City Royals
NL ROOKIE OF YEAR: Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
AL MANAGER OF YEAR: Scott Servais, Seattle Mariners
NL MANAGER OF YEAR: Craig Counsell, Milwaukee Brewers
AL COMEBACK PLAYER OF YEAR: Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
NL COMEBACK PLAYER OF YEAR: Mike Clevinger, San Diego Padres