One month into the 2022 Major League Baseball, some teams are showing that they will be competitors for the long haul; others, not so much. Some players are also putting up early impressive numbers, putting themselves in contention for post-season awards. Despite it being a little early, here are some predictions for this year in the MLB. 

The World Series contenders can be almost any team as of now, but there are a few teams that have put themselves in the front runners’ position. The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Tampa Bay Rays are all performing well and looking primed to make the playoffs. After that group, it’s anyone’s guess which other teams could make a run for postseason play.

New Yorkers would no doubt love to see a Yankees/Mets match-up in the World Series, and Angelenos are hoping for an Angels/Dodgers showdown. Two teams from the same city battling in the Championship game; you can’t get much better than that. Yet, the prediction here is that it will be the Blue Jays and the  Dodgers in the Fall Classic. 

As far as the Most Valuable Player Awards, races in both leagues will be competitive. Yankees Outfielder Aaron Judge leads the majors with 12 home runs and is flirting with a .300 batting average, putting himself atop the MVP candidates in the American League. Angels outfielder  Mike Trout, no stranger to the MVP Award, is batting .337 with nine home runs and should be giving Judge a run for his money throughout the season. However, the prediction here is Blue Jays First Baseman Vladamir Guerrero Jr. who was snubbed for the award last season after coming close to winning the Triple Crown. Vlad is currently hitting .286 with seven home runs, and the expectation here is that he will only heat up as the season progresses. 

Over in the National League, Padres third baseman Manny Machado looks to be running away from the rest of the pack. Currently leading the Senior Circuit in hitting at .383, Machado has seven home runs, just two off the lead in the National League. Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron is Machado’s closest competition at this point, batting .292 with a league-leading nine home runs. The prediction here is for Machado to stay hot and win the NL MVP.

The Cy Young winner is a tough award to predict. There are many pitchers that are doing extremely well, but at any moment any one of them could give up 10 runs, torpedoing their Cy young hopes. In the American League, the three being targeted here are the Yankees’ Nestor Cortes (1.41 ERA with 42 strikeouts), the Blue Jays’ Alex Manoah (1.75/35), and the Houston Astros’ ageless wonder Justin Verlander (1.55/36). Look for Nasty Nestor to continue to dominate hitters and take the American League Cy Young.

The National League Cy Young frontrunners appear to be the Miami Marlins’ Pedro Lopez (1.00/35), last season’s winner Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers (1.86/50), and the Giants’ Carlos Rodon (1.80/53). While Lopez won’t keep up with the other two on the strikeout count, as long as he keeps his ERA at the current miniscule number, he should win the Cy Young in the National League. 

All in all, this year should be a great year for baseball, despite the rocky start due to the player lockout. Players and teams will shine above others. and more and more people will advocate for an automatic strike zone after every game Angel Hernandez is the home plate umpire, but that’s another story.