The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be the team to beat, but as we all know, the games are played on the field and not on the statistical sheets, so they will have their work cut out this summer as they look to win their second World Series title in the last three years. No doubt the team is loaded and even their manager, Dave Roberts has said they will get it done this year and win the trophy.
The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves will likely have something to say about it all as they will attempt to win their fifth consecutive National League East division title. They bolstered an already air tight bullpen by picking up closer Kenley Jansen (formerly of the Dodgers) and also got first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland A's to make up some for the loss of Freddie Freeman, who signed a huge free agent contract with the (you guessed it) Los Angeles Dodgers.
The New York Mets will look to battle the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East and signed pitcher Max Scherzer and picked up Chris Bassitt from Oakland to go with Jacob deGrom on a strong starting pitching staff. However, deGrom was recently shut down for at least the next four weeks with arm troubles and Scherzer has had hamstring issues so far this spring. Not a good thing if they want to hang around in a tough division. Meanwhile, the Phillies signed sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos to an already potent lineup to try and make the playoffs for the first time in eleven years.
Over in the American League, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, who both are usually very involved in free agent signings, were pretty quiet this time around when the frenzy began with the later start of spring training. Boston did get shortstop Trevor Story, who had been with the Colorado Rockies. Story will move over to second base because Xander Bogaerts is the shortstop in Beantown. The Yankees should get a post-season spot as long as they can avoid injuries to key players.
The American League East is perhaps the best division in the majors and both the Yankees and Red Sox will have their hands full with the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto bolstered their pitching staff and also has a formidable lineup with Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette leading the charge. Tampa Bay just keeps on chugging along as they once again made the post-season in 2021 and will likely be right there again this summer in the rugged division battle.
The Chicago White Sox should win the AL Central again, but the Minnesota Twins and perhaps the Detroit Tigers will have something to say about that. The Twins snagged the biggest free agent this year, getting shortstop Carlos Correa (formerly of the Houston Astros) while dealing away Josh Donaldson to the Yankees for catcher Gary Sanchez. The Twins have a strong lineup and should the pitching hold up this season, they could give the ChiSox a run for their money.
The White Sox signed reliever Joe Kelly along with picking up Kendall Graveman and already have premier closer Liam Hendricks along with a plethora of middle inning guys who form perhaps the best bullpen in the American League, if not all of the majors. They also just dealt Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers for outfielder A.J. Pollock. If they stay healthy and play to their capabilities, the White Sox could make it to the World Series this time around after getting stomped by Houston last year in the American League Division series.
Speaking of Houston, they will have starter Justin Verlander back this season after he missed all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. That will help in that area and their batting order is solid even without Correa. The Astros should win the AL West again, but the Seattle Mariners will be right there again and the Los Angeles Angels, with super stars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani (the reigning AL MVP) will likely be in the mix as well. Texas spent a ton of money on free agents, but the big question will be how the pitching holds up after they come off a 100-plus loss season.
All in all, it looks to be an exciting season coming up this summer, so here goes nothing in picking the winners in the division races with some playoff predictions as well. This season, there are 12 playoff teams (six in each league) and two teams will get a bye round and take on the winners of the wild card round (best of three series) in the division series. Next will be the league championship series and finally the World Series.
(wild card teams are listed in italics)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East - 1. Toronto 2. NY Yankees 3. Tampa Bay 4. Boston 5. Baltimore
Central - 1. Chicago 2. Minnesota 3. Detroit 4. Cleveland 5. Kansas City
West - 1. Houston 2. LA Angels 3. Seattle 4. Texas 5. Oakland
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East - 1. Atlanta 2. Philadelphia 3. NY Mets 4. Miami 5. Washington
Central - 1. Milwaukee 2. St. Louis 3. Chicago 4. Cincinnati 5. Pittsburgh
West - 1. LA Dodgers 2. San Diego 3. San Francisco 4. Colorado 5. Arizona
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wild Card Round - Chicago over LA Angels; Tampa Bay over NY Yankees
Divisional Series - Toronto over Tampa Bay; Houston over Chicago
ALCS - Toronto over Houston
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wild Card Round - Philadelphia over Milwaukee; St. Louis over San Diego
Divisional Series - Atlanta over St. Louis; LA Dodgers over Philadelphia
NLCS - LA Dodgers over Atlanta
WORLD SERIES
Los Angeles Dodgers over Toronto Blue Jays (4-2)
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