By Carlos Marcano (@camarcano)
AL East: Toronto has made everything this off-season to reinforce an already loaded team: after losing Robbie Ray as a FA, they quickly got the equally great Kevin Gausman to fill that hole, they also extended José Berríos and added a deluxe 3B as Matt Chapman, whose defensive prowess instantly improves the infield (and the pitching staff, directly). A blend of young stars and proven veterans, the Blue Jays is the team to beat.
AL Central: I hate to rain on my friend’s Mike Carter and his beloved Chicago White Sox parade but after getting, against any projection, the amazing Carlos Correa as a free agent, besides a very underrated arm like Sonny Gray, I believe the Minnesota Twins placed themselves as the frontrunners for this division, just needing a little luck on the injury side (yes, Byron Buxton, we are talking about you here).
AL West: As an Oakland A’s fan, who would’ve thought a couple of years ago that I’d be picking the Seattle Mariners ahead of them to win the AL Westin 2022. Well, that’s where Billy Beane’s “magic” has taken me to as, opposite to the A’s continuous dismantling the Mariners added Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, traded for Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker, still kept powerful sluggers Mitch Hanger and Ty France, while having two of the most appreciated prospects in the whole league as Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodríguez are. They’ll be fun to watch except for us the fans of the other teams in their division.
AL Wild Cards: Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees.
NL East: Although I love what Miami is doing with their young but full of talent starting pitching staff, plus a couple of solid additions like Avisail García and Jorge Soler to accompany the very high upside young slugger Jesús Sánchez, the moves made by the Atlanta Braves who even after losing (very probably by design) their franchise player Freddie Freeman to free agency, added younger star Matt Olson and other important players like Eddie Rosario and Kenley Jansen, moves that keep them as the guys to beat for the title.
NL Central: With an All-Star pitching rotation commanded by reigning Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes and having just a little luck on the hitting side, I don’t think the Brewers will have too much trouble in fetching this division.
NL West: There was a time when we thought that San Diego was turning into the powerhouse that would lead them all in this division but a series of underperforming seasons from their pitchers and a, what we can already call, injury tendency from their top (and one of the best in all MLB) player Fernando Tatis Jr., leaves the Dodgers once again as the team to beat, no questions.
NL Wild Cards: Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals
AL MVP: Luis Robert. Having to fight this prize with the Japanese Unicorn, Shohei Ohtani, will always be a really hard battle, but if health stays on his side, the capability shown by Robert when on the field is just overwhelming: a stellar Golden Glove defender, he is one of those 30/30 endangered players still around. We should be excited for him.
NL MVP: Bryce Harper, as long as his back allows it, should be a top 3 MVP contender for some more years. Seriously, he is so good that it’s funny to think of him as underrated but that seems to be the case; losing more than 20 games last year due to some minor and/or freak injuries, did not deter him to put on a fWAR of 6.6, almost effortlessly. Bring the hardware to Philly.
AL CY YOUNG: I’ll go bold and will put all my chips on Nick Pivetta, here. He is terrific striking out people, plays for a good team and, most importantly, seems to be reverting his high walk percentage trend. I cannot tell you how much I like him.
NL CY YOUNG: Keeping the “go bold of go home” theme, I like Alex Wood to be a serious contender for this prize. Everything seems to be aligning for Wood, starting with a match made in heaven with his arrival to SF, where he fits more than graciously. Wood has the balance between velo and deception in his pitches, and makes batters hit enough ground balls to enjoy the prowess in that field from the Giants offense. Just don’t get injured, Alex.
AL ROY: Bobby Witt Jr. Not too much to add.
NL ROY: Keibert Ruiz had a semi rough adjustment period last season but still got a solid B-, in his first stint as the Nationals’ catcher. A pedigree contact hitter, Ruiz has also developed good power which is a nicely welcome surprise to an already palatable profile. Batting after modern-age Teddy Williams, I mean Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Bell will always provide great protection to an already good batter.
AL Champion: Toronto is heavily invested in a Win Now mode, and the product they are putting out on the field shows it. May the Baseball Gods reward their eagerness to win.
NL Champion: As much as we all (at least, most of us) like to hate the Dodgers, we’ll, reality is a harsh thing: they are good, very good. Even with a diminished Clayton Kershaw, they have enough arms to help them coast to the title, including an always promising and still intriguing recently arrived Andrew Heaney. I find no holes in this team as of today, to be honest.
World Series Winner: The Los Angeles Dodgers