From 2019 to 2020, Semien was a minus-12 at shortstop, according to outs above average, fifth worst in the majors. -- Gonzalez, One (realistic) bold prediction: Harper, Castellanos and Schwarber each hit 40 home runs, making them the fourth team with three players to hit 40 -- joining the 1973 Braves (Henry Aaron, Darrell Evans, Davey Johnson), 1996 Rockies (Ellis Burks, Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga) and '97 Rockies (Larry Walker, Castilla, Galarraga). I stink at predictions, so I have taken the George Costanza approach. Perry: I think predicting postseason outcomes, particularly now that we've added another best-of-three layer to it, is generally a fool's errand. Nathaniel Lowe adds more loft to his swing and becomes a 30-homer dude. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. The Braves have no such concerns. Shop hoodies, shirts, and more here . The Reds capture a wild card and then, to top it all off, majority owner/CEO Bob Castellini decides to sell the team. The Phillies set a modern (since 1901) franchise record for runs scored with Bryce Harper, Nicholas Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber combining for 115 home runs. Costanza went with chicken salad on untoasted rye, and Im going with Boston over St. Louis -- its 2013 all over again, except Jon Lester has changed sides. -- Schoenfield, Weakness that could stop them: With a veteran-heavy rotation and a new veteran closer in Melancon, you can see Arizona's plan to push into the middle of the pack on the pitching side. Let the wild card weekend begin. Also, pour one out for Michael Shapiro, who is now working for the Houston Chronicle after a great five-year run as a Sports Illustrated MLB roundtable staple. (Elizabeth Baugh, Scott Beaman, Jason Benetti, Tristan Cockcroft, Gregg Colli, Joe DeMartino, Bradford Doolittle, Dave Flemming, Doug Glanville, Alden Gonzalez, Paul Hembekides, Eric Karabell, Tim Keown, Tim Kurkjian, Joon Lee, Matt Marrone, Daniel McCarthy, Kiley McDaniel, Dan Mullen, Jacob Nitzberg, Buster Olney, Phil Orlins, Jeff Passan, Kyle Peterson, Karl Ravech, David Schoenfield, Matthew Stupienski, Rachel Ullrich, Matt Vasgersian, Ben Ward, Clinton Yates), (Tory Barron, Brendan DeAngelis, Jesse Rogers, Enrique Rojas), ALDS: Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox, (Barron, Baugh, Beaman, DeAngelis, Doolittle, Flemming, Glanville, Gonzalez, Hembekides, Karabell, Keown, Kurkjian, Marrone, McCarthy, McDaniel, Mullen, Olney, Orlins, Passan, Ravech, Rojas, Schoenfield, Ullrich, Vasgersian), (Bonzagni, Benetti, Cockcroft, Colli, DeMartino, Lee, Nitzberg, Peterson, Rogers, Stupienski, Ward, Yates), The Astros are the popular pick here -- why do you think the White Sox can advance? Shop hoodies, shirts, and more here . -- Doolittle, Most likely 2022 award winner: It's often difficult to project a player coming from overseas, but Steamer has Suzuki contributing a .287/.387/.534 slash line with 29 home runs as a rookie for the Cubs this season. Now, with Seager at short, Semien is a long-term second baseman -- and that's his better position. One drawback: He will no longer be pitching to Buster Posey. It's going to be hard to score on this group, especially as it's backed by terrific defense. Prediction: Dodgers over Astros in seven gamesMVP: Mookie Betts. ), so some of these are bound to be incorrect. Remember, this is the first time in MLB history that two 105-plus win teams have been in the same league, let alone the same division. Joe Ryan, with his invisiball, emerges as the staff ace and competes for Rookie of the Year honors. Burnes and Peralta averaged more than 12 K's per nine innings, with Woodruff checking in at a meager 10.6. Ian Happ puts it all together and slugs 35 home runs, and hotshot prospect Brennen Davis comes up at midseason and rakes, giving the Cubs the best outfield in the NL. They didnt have any starters who could make it past the fourth inning last October and still, they got all the way to Game 6 of the Fall Classic. The Post's sportswriters - Ken Davidoff, Greg Joyce, Dan Martin, Ian O'Connor, Mike Puma, Joel Sherman and Mike Vaccaro - make their predictions for the 2021 MLB Playoffs: Ken Davidoff ALDS. With this rotation heading into October at relatively full strength? The Maulers (4-6) clinched their berth in the USFL North division championship . Verlander caps his vintage season with one award hes never won -- World Series MVP -- as Dusty Baker wins the title hes deserved for decades. The Tampa Bay Rays lead all of baseball with 35 pitch clock violations. Start your free trial today. The Padres have the most loaded lineup in baseball once Tatis returns, and my title expectations for them assume they'll be aggressive in fortifying the rotation leading up to the trade deadline. -- Doolittle, Most likely 2022 award winner: Spencer Torkelson, Kiley McDaniel's seventh-highest-ranked prospect, posted a .935 OPS with 30 home runs in 121 games across three minor league levels last year and has been named the Tigers' Opening Day first baseman, taking the mantle from Miguel Cabrera. In the first Yankees-Dodgers World Series in over 40 years, Betts will shine on the biggest of stages and Los Angeles will wrap it up in Game 6 at Dodger Stadium. Atlanta outscored opponents 582-386. Ohtani was the unanimous AL MVP last year after putting together arguably the most impressive season in baseball history, OPSing .965, belting 46 home runs, stealing 26 bases as a hitter and striking out 156 batters in 130 innings and posting a 3.18 ERA on the mound. ET on ESPN Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. -- Gonzalez, One (realistic) bold prediction: Franco hits .325, the highest average by a 21-year-old in a full season since Albert Pujols hit .329 in 2001, and finishes second to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the batting race. Of course, the Cubs are trying to develop those kinds of hitters and if, for example, Davis is able to earn his way to Chicago in short order, then maybe the overall picture brightens. For every round, I made my choice and then wrote down the opposite. Prediction: Astros over Braves in seven gamesMVP: Yordan lvarez. 2022 MLB Playoffs: Seeding Predictions and Round-by-Round Picks The World Series will reward Dodgers fans on two fronts: Their revenge for 2017 will be complete, and the club will celebrate this time in front of the home crowd at Chavez Ravine, thanks in no small part to Turners hot bat. But upsets happen in October, and I like the way Cleveland's pitching staff stacks up against the Yankees. But if there is a certain amount of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" that ought to be baked into the decision-making of teams, then you have to wonder, because the Cardinals won with Shildt and arguably overachieved in doing so. He's already 24 and is extremely polished in every facet, bringing plus arm strength and defensive skills behind the plate and plus power and plate discipline in the batter's box. ALWC winner: Red SoxNLWC winner: CardinalsALDS: BOS-TB, Red Sox in 4ALDS: CWS-HOU, Astros in 5NLDS: STL-SF, Cardinals in 5NLDS: ATL-MIL, Braves in 5ALCS: BOS-HOU, Red Sox in 6NLCS: STL-ATL, Cardinals in 7WS: STL-BOS, Red Sox in 6WS MVP: Rafael Devers. I nearly picked theCardinalsto win it all, because this is the deepest team theyve had in some time, and it certainly would be fitting for Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina to win another ring in their final season. Could the Dodgers repeat? In 11 career postseason starts, he has a 2.35 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 61 innings, raising his strikeout rate from 9.8 per nine innings in the regular season to 12.2. They get big league production from the prospects they acquired in their trades: Cristian Pache hits enough to back up his potential Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field; Kevin Smith replaces Matt Chapman at third base and hits like his Triple-A line (.285/.370/.561) says he can; Shea Langeliers forces his way into sharing time with Sean Murphy. The strength out West seems unmatched. They outscored their opponents by a whopping 334 runs -- the highest differential since the 1939 Yankees. -- Gonzalez, One (realistic) bold prediction: Will Mondesi actually go 20-50? The Giants and Padres fall apart and the Rockies squeeze out a wild-card spot. The White Sox boast one of the most talented teams in baseball. -- Doolittle, Most likely 2022 award winner: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn't get a single MVP vote last year despite leading the AL in OPS (1.002) and leading the majors in home runs (48), which says a lot more about Shohei Ohtani's two-way prowess than it does about Guerrero's performance. -- Schoenfield, Weakness that could stop them: For a team coming off a franchise-record 107 wins, the Giants' forecast is awfully full of red flags. Teoscar Hernandez can mash but he's not likely to challenge for any Gold Gloves in right. Postseason predictions Ben Verlander and Alex Curry give their MLB playoff predictions as they go round by round until they pick a World Series champion. -- Schoenfield, Weakness that could stop them: Rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena will have a spotlight on him as he tries to replace perennial All-Star Carlos Correa. In the ALCS, the Rays reliance on the three outcomes will catch up to them, as the home runs will dry up and the strikeouts will pile up in a six-game loss to the Astros. 2022 MLB Playoffs: FOX Sports' experts pick the winners of every series -- Gonzalez, One (realistic) bold prediction: Pavin Smith has a breakout year at the plate, hitting .300 with 22 home runs and making the All-Star Game. Atlantas lineup is deep, the starting pitching is solid and the bullpen will be key to the championship run. The current stretch without a repeat World Series champion is the longest drought in the history of MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL. NFL. The Mariners are really good, have won seven of 10 and can win this series, but home-field advantage means the Jays win in three. -- Rogers, 2022 MLB playoffs: Our predictions from the wild-card games through the World Series, Ohtani K's 10, homers twice despite cracked nail, Guardians' Francona to stay in hospital overnight, Mets GM not panicking, backs skipper Showalter, Ohtani hasn't 'thought that far ahead' on HR Derby, Jays' Manoah allows 11 runs in rookie-level game, Escobar becomes U.S. citizen, returns to Angels, Tigers LHP Boyd to undergo Tommy John surgery, Diamondbacks place P Kelly (calf) on 15-day IL, Kurkjian: The beauty of the London Series, Padres-Dodgers NLDS is set: Everything you need to know about the eight remaining MLB playoff teams, The playoff field is set! ET on ESPN They always fail me, but I'm going back to the well. They will enter the postseason with the toughest path to a title. Ohtani, Trout and Rendon give L.A. one of the most dazzling power trios in the majors. American League Playoff Field 1 of 9 Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images Houston Astros (96-51): AL West Champion New York Yankees (88-58): AL East Champion Cleveland Guardians (79-67): AL. Heck, throw in Jared Walsh (.277/.340/.509, 29 home runs in 2021) and it's a fearsome foursome. The two biggest threats to them in my estimation, the Dodgers and Mets, have dealt with rotation injuries, a shaky ninth-inning picture (Dodgers) and the extra round throwing their rotation out of whack due to losing the division (Mets). Game Info Money Line O/U Expert Picks Boston 1 Chi. Yes, the Dodgers have the best relief ERA in the National League at 2.87 and a cornucopia of options from both sides: right-handers Evan Phillips, Chris Martin, Yency Almonte, Brusdar Graterol and Tommy Kahnle, left-handers Alex Vesia and David Price - all of whom theoretically could close in lieu of the deposed-but-still-around Craig Kimbrel. (The staff is presented in alphabetical order.). Each MLB prediction will have a full analysis for the pick as well as all of the need-to-know facts and figures about today's MLB matchups. The Marlins haven't finished above .500 in a 162-game season since 2009, averaging 91.4 losses in those 11 years (not including the COVID-shortened 2020). -- Schoenfield, Projected record: 96-66 (90.8% playoff odds), If everything goes right As Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said in spring training, "Last year was the trailer. No more, no less. (The 2019 A's, with Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman, were the first.) Meanwhile, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease are Cy Young contenders. David Adler @ _dadler The 2022 playoff projections are out on FanGraphs, and while some of the predictions will shock no one -- the Dodgers are the preseason World Series favorites -- there are also plenty of interesting projections, and some big surprises. Christian Yelich, while not quite his old MVP self, is better and Keston Hiura is back pounding baseballs like he did as a rookie in 2019. Get used to seeing them in these picks for a long time!) -- Gonzalez, One (realistic) bold prediction: Unfortunately, deGrom and Scherzer both miss some time, and Chris Bassitt ends up leading the Mets in both wins and innings pitched. The thing is, many or most of these issues seemed present when last season started. Plus, it hurts to lose Clayton Kershaw and especially Max Muncy. The Pirates win 75 games and avoid last place. Perhaps it's unfair to place a polished 27-year-old who posted a 1.069 OPS in Japan last year in the Rookie of the Year discussion -- but Suzuki is eligible. Tampa Bay does run prevention first, then designs an offense around depth, platoon advantage and secondary skills. In left, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had good numbers a year ago but he's a converted infielder. MLB Playoff Predictor (MLB Season Picker) lets you pick every game of the MLB Season via a season Schedule. Sign up (now featuring keepers by round) , Weakness that could stop them: For all the hand-wringing we tend to do over Cleveland's outfield, this year's group at least looks athletic. 2021 predictions for divisions, MVP, Cy Young, World Series - MLB.com It feels like were headed for a rematch, with how dominant the Astros have been all year. All Rights Reserved. But Wheeler has operated at a similar level for a while. 2021 MLB playoff expert predictions That is the worst mark in baseball. Olson, born and raised in the Atlanta area, is a dangerous left-handed hitter and a plus defender at first base. Unheralded Freddy Peralta had a 2.81 ERA and a .165 average allowed. Season Schedule; 2022 Season. This World Series will be a repeat of 21, but with the Astros winning it this time. Theyre a first-half team! Theyre too old to withstand a full season! Their rotation is patchwork with a bunch of No. If the lineup can get hot like it did in the first half, this will be a tough team to stop, regardless of how up and down the second half of the season was. Before making any Braves vs. Phillies picks, be sure to check out the latest MLB predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model. Who will win the 2021 World Series? MLB Expert Picks - CBSSports.com Now he's on the first of up to three consecutive one-year contracts and will undoubtedly be motivated to prove he should be compensated among the highest at his position. Both squads are so strong and deep on both offense and pitching that I expect them to need all seven games to crown a champion. Atlanta closed the regular season by winning 12 of its last 14 games -- even hotter than Seattle (11-3) over that stretch. MLB playoffs predictions - Who will make the MLB playoffs in . They have a strong 1-2-3 punch atop the rotation (Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt) and they added a few much-needed lefty bats (Brandon Belt, Daulton Varsho) this offseason. 2022 MLB Playoffs: Schedule, predictions, favorite picks - amNewYork The Giants have been the best team in baseball all year and everyone is going to see why in October. Why did you choose the Cardinals? They call up Oneil Cruz and sign him to a long-term extension. He began by accumulating 58 strikeouts before issuing his first walk, then struck out 10 consecutive Cubs in August and threw the first eight innings of a no-hitter in September, cementing himself as the NL's most dominant pitcher. -- Doolittle, Most likely 2022 award winner: When Walker Buehler was named the Dodgers' Opening Day starter this spring, it was seen as a symbolic passing of the torch -- of Buehler overtaking Clayton Kershaw as the predominant ace of the Dodgers. Sure, breakouts from young outfielders Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell would help. Freeman is slashing .340/.427/.538 against right-handed pitching, an important slash line against the right-handed-heavyAstros. In the end, though, well say that this is the Rays year. The Rays always work around the problem, as this is clearly the result of a very long string of intentional choices. And which squad will be the last standing at the end of the postseason? National League: East Winner: Mets (2) Central Winner: Cardinals (3) West Winner: Dodgers (1) Wild Card 1: Braves (4) Wild Card 2: Padres (5) Wild Card 3: Brewers (6) Tom's Take: The Mets over the. From that perspective, my bracket plays it fairly safe. The bullpen is the best in the league with the additions of Kenley Jansen and Collin McHugh and -- just like 2021 -- dominates in October as the Braves become the first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees. MLB Odds 2023: Time to bet the surging Phillies? - Inquirer.com He is an exceedingly advanced hitter, both with his power and with his strike-zone awareness, and he should immediately post the type of numbers that will challenge for the AL Rookie of the Year Award. It prompted mechanical tweaks that involved changing the positioning of his hands to make him quicker to the ball. Shane Bieber has been on fire. No one is set up better to mix and match on the pitching side. I had the Astros beating Atlanta at midseason, but that was beforeSeattleacquired Luis Castillo. The 29-year-old right-hander finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting last year, winning 13 games, posting a 3.37 ERA, striking out 10 batters per nine innings and making -- Gonzalez, One (realistic) bold prediction: Unfortunately, the A's lose 100 games for the first time since the 1979 team went 54-108. While both sides are missing their excellent first basemen, the Dodgers are also down Clayton Kershaw, which hurts the one clear advantage they had over the Giants -- the rotation. Stephen Pianovich: Is picking the Angels to make the playoffs so we get to watch Shohei Ohtani play meaningful high-stakes baseball again after his thunderous World Baseball Classic wishful thinking? Ohtani becomes the first back-to-back MVP winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012-13 as he hits .276 with 42 home runs and goes 13-4 with a 2.99 ERA as a pitcher. It's risky to bet on a team to go all the way that's in a wild-card game and will be without its most productive position player for a bit. And over the final 112 games of the season, the Braves went 78-34. The reason: A .254 batting average over the past two years, 41 points lower than his career average heading into the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Latest 2022 MLB Playoff Predictions and World Series Pick With 1 Month Best 2022 MLB Draft picks for each team - MLB.com The MLB postseason begins two days after the regular season ends, which is Sunday, Oct. 1. But home runs matter. Playoff odds tell how likely an MLB team will win the division, wild card berth or win the World Series. '22 rankings: Head-to-head | Points In 2021, he played a full season for only the second time in seven years and finished fifth in AL MVP voting with a near-six-win season, per FanGraphs. But it's Justin Verlander. Prediction: Braves over Yankees in seven gamesMVP:Dansby Swanson. -- David Schoenfield, (Baugh, DeMartino, Doolittle, Gonzalez, Kurkjian, McDaniel, Nitzberg, Passan, Rojas, Ward), (Beaman, Cockcroft, Colli, Hembekides, Karabell, Lee, Olney, Orlins, Ullrich), (Bonzagni, Flemming, Glanville, Marrone, Mullen), Are games too long? The Giants are the best team in baseball. Whatever the preseason expectations were, its long past time to accept that this is an extremely good baseball team. -- Doolittle, Most likely 2022 award winner: Late last year, with Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber gone and the front office clearly looking ahead, opposing teams attacked the Nationals with one goal: not letting Juan Soto beat them. By Neil Raymond | Oct 5, 2022 WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 12: The MLB logo in the on deck circle during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park on June 12,. The 2017 rematch everybody wants to see. He has been one of the best pitchers in the league, totally fearless, totally oblivious to the pressure. The rotation, next-to-last in the majors in innings in 2021, stays healthy and leads the NL in ERA (Mike Clevinger has a nice return from Tommy John surgery and Nick Martinez wins 15 games after coming over from Japan). That will leave us with the Evan Longoria Revenge Series (or the Matt Wisler Revenge Series, if youre a real one), during which Kevin Cash will infuriate everyone by removing Shane McClanahan or someone while hes dealing in Game 6. Wilder things have already happened. If that's the case, then so much rides on their star hitters staying on the field. 2022 MLB Playoffs predictions - Marlin Maniac After falling short in the World Series in 2019 and 2021, the Astros go all the way -- ensuring Dusty Baker's status as a Hall of Famer. Here at CBS Sports, our MLB staff has put together our 2023 season predictions. It's not clear that any of that applies to the Nationals. We should want them to hand out nine-figure contracts to the best players, because that's who makes your team good. If that's the case, he could make a run for the MVP. The 2021 MLB Playoffs start Oct. 5 and 6 with the AL and NL Wild Card games. Forecast from How this works: Elo ratings are a measure of team strength based on head-to-head results, margin of victory and quality of opponent. So that leaves it up to Max Scherzer to stay healthy and dominate and hope deGrom can return in the second half and perform like he did in the first half of 2021. I believe Carlos Correa, a phenomenal postseason performer who is soon hitting free agency, is going to put on quite a show. The Braves have so much youth and upside, plus they're great already. But because I think those things, the opposite is bound to happen. MLB predictions 2023: Final standings, playoff projections, World Minter, Dylan Lee and Tyler Matzek - are all, with the exception of Lee, proven veterans or playoff-tested. Nobody can touch Scherzer and deGrom in the postseason and the Mets throw a ticker-tape parade shredding actual dollar bills from Steve Cohen's vault. And they have hit the most in the NL while giving up the fewest in all of baseball. SD-NYM 7:30 p.m. With Major League Baseball's new expanded playoff system, the postseason kicks off with four best-of-three wild card series. Were I not doing the opposite, I would be picking the Dodgers over the White Sox in a five-game World Series. But here are the only two things you need to know about my picks: World Series pick: Dodgers over Blue Jays. They cruise to their fifth straight NL East title behind the big bats of Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna, who rediscovers his 2020 offense. Only the Yankees scored more runs in the American League this year than the Jays. The only other team with two players that young to hit 25 or more: the 1966 Red Sox with Tony Conigliaro and George Scott. Ian Andersons return should give the Braves the rotation depth needed to navigate the NL playoffs. -- Doolittle, Most likely 2022 award winner: After an arduous rebuild, the Mariners marked their arrival as legitimate contenders by splurging on Ray and trading for Winker. -- Gonzalez, One (realistic) bold prediction: Soto's final line of .352/.527/.644 wins him unanimous MVP honors. Still, for Milwaukee to get over the hump in October, they'll need their core veteran hitters to meet or exceed their projections, or else the Brewers' offense profiles as another below-average outfit. Since the Orioles lost the 2016 AL wild-card game, they've dropped 104 of every 162 games they've played. MLB Playoff Predictor - MLB 2023 Season - Playoff Predictors Faded prospect Senzel could break out in center. I try not to factor in regular-season success too much into postseason predictions because, as the Braves proved last year, it's often about hitting your stride at the right time. It could work out. 3s! Boy were we wrong. section: | slug: 2022-mlb-playoff-predictions-picks-for-every-round-of-the-postseason-bracket | sport: baseball | route: article_single.us | -- Schoenfield, Make your picks and compete for a chance at $1,000! The Pirates not only don't trade Bryan Reynolds, they sign him to a long-term extension. One (realistic) bold prediction: Matt Olson leads the NL with 45 home runs and 124 RBIs and finishes second in the MVP voting. The Braves are better than last year when they won it all. Division SeriesALDSCLE-NYY: Guardians in 5TOR-HOU: Astros in 4, NLDSSTL-ATL: Braves in 3NYM-LAD: Mets in 4, World SeriesNYM-HOU: Astros in 6WS MVP: Justin Verlander. Pitchers feared challenging Soto within the strike zone, and yet Soto, at that point only 22 years old, ventured outside the strike zone far less than anybody. -- Gonzalez. That doesn't mean it can't excel -- last year's Mariners bullpen was a recent example of an anonymous relief crew providing elite production. In the AL divisional round, Tampa Bay will exploit Boston's suspect pitching, while the possible farewell tour of the Jose Altuve-Carlos Correa double-play combo in Houston will help sweep Chicago. Even over 162 games, surprises abound. Their lineup is deep with low-strikeout hitters who also hit for power, and they can run power arm after power arm after power arm at you. Facebook; Twitter; Facebook Messenger; Pinterest; Email; print; The 2022 MLB playoffs begin Friday afternoon, debuting a new format with 12 teams hoping to raise this year's World Series trophy . The Astros are really really good. -- Schoenfield, MLB offseason grades for all 30 teamsFrom the front offices that scored big with major moves to the clubs that failed completely, we grade every franchise's hot stove haul. With Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez out for large stretches, the team didn't have its full-strength lineup for much of this season. Itll work. Cron proves last year's 130 OPS+ was legit, and Ryan McMahon out-WARs Nolan Arenado. Who will win each round?