MLB 2022 predictions: World Series, division winners, awards

We're counting down the hours until the first pitch of the 2022 baseball season with Red Sox-Yankees at 1:05 p.m. ET Thursday. Which means it's high time for some season predictions!

FOX Sports MLB Writers Jake Mintz, Pedro Moura, Jordan Shusterman and Ben Verlander began Monday by sharing 40 things they are watching this year. 

Today, they provide their forecasts for the 2022 MLB season, including postseason picks and award winners.

Let's go.

Watch "Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander" on YouTube, or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.

AL East

Jordan: Blue Jays
Jake: Rays
Pedro: Blue Jays
Ben: Blue Jays

That the Blue Jays could lose the Cy Young winner in Robbie Ray and an MVP candidate in Marcus Semien and somehow get better this year is difficult to comprehend. Now, you could argue that they didn't get that much better, but their ample offseason activity should put them on track to win as many (if not more) games as they did a year ago. Plus, the rotation is much deeper, Vlad Guerrero Jr. is now an automatic MVP candidate, and hopefully they can get a full healthy season from George Springer. And perhaps most importantly: The Jays will play all their home games in Toronto! What a concept! — Jordan Shusterman

NL East

Jordan: Braves
Jake: Braves
Pedro: Braves
Ben: Braves

The Braves lost the face of their franchise this offseason, but even so, I believe they have gotten better since they won the World Series. Ronald Acuña Jr. will be back, Mike Soroka will be back, and they added a bunch of good pieces, including Matt Olson, to fill the void left by Freddie Freeman. I love this Braves team and expect them to repeat as division champs despite a much-improved division. — Ben Verlander

AL Central

Jordan: White Sox
Jake: White Sox
Pedro: White Sox
Ben: White Sox

I wanted to pick the Twins here, but Chicago’s starting pitching — three frontline starters with Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease once Lynn gets off the injured list in a few months — should be so superior to Minnesota’s that I really had no choice. The lineups are somewhat comparable; Luis Robert and Byron Buxton are two of the only humans on planet earth who could rise to "best player in baseball" territory by the end of the season. Chicago probably has a slight offensive edge, thanks to its depth one through seven, but expect the Twins to put up runs in bunches, too. This race will be much closer than last year, but the White Sox just have too many elite players on both sides of the ball. — Jake Mintz

NL Central

Jordan: Cardinals
Jake: Brewers
Pedro: Brewers
Ben: Brewers

It was very difficult to get excited about the Cardinals for much of 2021 — until they won a billion games in a row down the stretch — but I'm much less hesitant to believe in St. Louis going into 2022. They have almost indisputably the best defense in baseball, and Tyler O'Neill is a bona fide third star alongside Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. This is also something of a bet on the Brewers' pitching regressing somewhat and their offense continuing to be lackluster. Plus, for Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright's last ride together, another divisional crown just feels right. — J.S.

AL West

Jordan: Astros
Jake: Astros
Pedro: Astros
Ben: Astros

This would be a much easier prediction to make if Houston had re-signed Carlos Correa, but even as things stand today, the Astros have the best chance to repeat as divisional winners. Their chief competitors enter this season with more questions, namely the Angels’ lack of depth and the Mariners’ unproven young talents. — Pedro Moura

NL West

Jordan: Dodgers
Jake: Dodgers
Pedro: Dodgers
Ben: Dodgers

The Dodgers didn’t win this division last year, but that’s far more of a statement on San Francisco’s success than it is Los Angeles' struggles. The Dodgers were excellent in 2021; the Giants were just a game better. By all means, we shouldn’t sleep on San Francisco any longer, but the Dodgers’ talent level remains superior. — P.M.

AL wild cards

Jordan: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees
Jake: Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox
Pedro: Rays, Mariners, Red Sox
Ben: Rays, Yankees, Mariners

The Yankees' really stunk last year. Despite having five hitters taller than a basketball hoop, they finished 19th in runs scored, an abysmal total for a team that hit 306 bombs (second-most all time) as recently as 2019. But while Josh Donaldson is the only obvious reinforcement to that lackluster situation, I expect a lot of the non-Aaron Judge and non-Giancarlo Stanton hitters to bounce back a smidge in 2022. Even though the rotation was outstanding last season, I’m going to wait and see how back-end arms such as Nestor Cortes and the back-from-injury Luis Severino start the season before I go all-in. Sure, they’ve underwhelmed in October recently, but this is the Yankees. They make the playoffs; that’s just what they do.

As for the Red Sox, well, the AL East dominance continues. I love how old this Sox team is. Their run to the ALCS last season caught so many people by surprise, and they’re bringing most of that core back, with free-agent signing Trevor Story swapped in for the departed Kyle Schwarber. Somehow, Rafael Devers is STILL the youngest player on this roster in his sixth big-league season. This is a ballclub with experience that "knows what it’s doing," which goes a long way in a close pennant race. — J.M.

NL wild cards

Jordan: Phillies, Mets, Giants
Jake: Giants, Padres, Phillies
Pedro: Giants, Mets, Phillies
Ben: Mets, Cardinals, Phillies

I love this Mets team and think they will compete with the Braves for the division title. The complete overhaul of this team has been incredible to watch. Also, most projections have the Brewers winning the NL Central by a good margin, but I’m not so sure about that. I like the Cardinals and think they'll make it interesting down the stretch. The injury to Jack Flaherty scares me a little, but if and hopefully when they get him back, this team will be a problem for all.

As for the third and final wild-card spot, for me, it came down to pitching. The Phillies' lineup is elite with the additions of Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. Pair the two of them with the reigning NL MVP, and we might just see 120 home runs from the three of them. The question for the team is pitching and whether it can hold up enough to let the offense carry the team into the playoffs. A top three of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson is pretty good, so I like the Phillies to grab the last wild-card spot. — B.V.

Cy Young awards (AL and NL)

Jordan: Lucas Giolito and Sandy Alcantara
Jake: Nathan Eovaldi and Zack Wheeler
Pedro: Shane Bieber and Corbin Burnes
Ben: Gerrit Cole and Walker Buehler 

I think this is the year Giolito elevates to an even higher level than he has established since his All-Star breakout in 2019. With Carlos Rodon in San Francisco and Lance Lynn out to start the season, I'm confident Giolito will be the clear ace of a White Sox team with World Series aspirations.

Alcantara is a long shot for a lot of reasons, but the talent is not in question. With Jacob deGrom out of the picture due to injury, the field is wide open. Is this pick disrespectful to Corbin Burnes? Probably. But unless you're a no-doubt Hall of Famer, winning back-to-back Cy Young Awards is extremely difficult to do, so I'll go with a fresh face here and take the flame-throwing Marlins ace, who will hopefully get more run support this year from Miami's offseason additions. — J.S.

Most Valuable Player awards (AL and NL)

Jordan: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper
Jake: Luis Robert and Juan Soto
Pedro: Mike Trout and Juan Soto
Ben: Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto

Trout was on the path to his best season yet before a calf strain sapped most of his 2021. He’s good enough and young enough that he should be able to bounce back to his previous record-setting heights. Yes, he has a very talented teammate, but Trout still owns a far longer track record. 

By Wins Above Replacement, Soto was the league’s most valuable position player a year ago, and I expect him to again put up the best statistics in 2022. He might once more be hampered by his team’s ineptitude, but if he performs like he can, even that won’t stop him. — P.M.

Rookie of the Year awards (AL and NL)

Jordan: Julio Rodríguez and CJ Abrams
Jake: Julio Rodríguez and CJ Abrams
Pedro: Julio Rodríguez and Seiya Suzuki
Ben: Spencer Torkelson and Oneil Cruz

Rodríguez, a gregarious 21-year-old, made the Mariners' roster out of spring training and should be the team’s starting center fielder on Opening Day. He is a potentially generational hitter with incredible power, superb bat-to-ball ability and the intelligence to make adjustments at the big-league level. There are a ton of other outstanding candidates in the American League that I’d take over anyone in the NL — Bobby Witt Jr. in KC, Spencer Torkelson in Detroit, Adley Rutschman in Baltimore and Jeremy Peña in Houston come to mind — but Julio is a game-changing talent with a smile bigger than the Space Needle. He’ll be a household name by August.

In the NL, Fernando Tatis Jr. won’t be healthy for a few months, which opens the door for CJ Abrams, San Diego’s top prospect. The 21-year-old is a dynamic talent with top-of-the-charts running speed that makes him a prototypical leadoff hitter. There’s raw power there that might actualize one day, but as a rookie, Abrams is going to be a must-watch, run-and-gun, bat control and foot speed guy. Comparing anybody to Kenny Lofton is lazy and absurd, but if everything clicks, that’s what Abrams could be. His incredible wheels should make the centerpiece of many a viral highlight, and he could move to the outfield whenever Tatis comes back. — J.M.

World Series

Jordan: Blue Jays over Dodgers
Jake: Braves over Blue Jays
Pedro: Dodgers over Blue Jays
Ben: Blue Jays over Braves

I love this Blue Jays team led by 23-year-old Vlad Jr. They lost Ray and Semien in free agency but made up for it with their offseason moves and got better in other areas. The pitching staff has quickly become one of the best in baseball, with the addition of Kevin Gausman, and adding Matt Chapman, MLB's best defender, at third base was a perfect move for Toronto. I like this team to win a tightly contested AL East. And I like them to win the 2022 World Series. — B.V.

And if the Canadian government continues its COVID policy, which precludes unvaccinated individuals from entering the country, that could provide the Jays with a huge home-field advantage by restricting unvaccinated players from playing in Toronto. That's a bit of good karma for a team that spent the past two years in Dunedin, Florida, and Buffalo, New York. — J.M.