The 2022 predictions thread

It’s time for our annual predictions thread. We also asked fans to chime in with their predictions.

You can see how wrong we were last year. Let’s start with Royals predictions!

Reader vote

Royals position player WAR leader: Bobby Witt Jr. 36.2%, Salvador Perez 21.6%, Adalberto Mondesi 18.1%, Whit Merrifield 11.8%, Nicky Lopez 4.9%, Andrew Benintendi 4.5%

Royals pitcher WAR leader: Zack Greinke 38.9%, Carlos Hernández 11.5%, Kris Bubic 10.4%, Brady Singer 10.4%, Daniel Lynch 9.7%, Scott Barlow 6.6%, Brad Keller 6.3%, Josh Staumont 3.1%

Royals wins:

More than 90: 3.8%

85-89: 19.4%

80-84: 46.7%

75-79: 24.6%

70-74: 5.5%

Less than 70: 0%

That may be enough to contend with an expanded playoffs! But who do we predict will make the post-season in the American League?

Reader vote

AL East: Blue Jays 53.7%, Rays 21.6%, Red Sox 13.9%, Yankees 9.8%, Orioles 1.0%

AL Central: White Sox 77.2%, Royals 11.1%, Twins 8.0%, Guardians 2.8%, Tigers 1.0%

AL West: Astros 47.2%, Angels 23.1%, Mariners 22.8%, Rangers 4.5%, Athletics 2.4%

AL Wildcards: Yankees 51%, Red Sox 46.6%, Rays 44.1%, Astros 25.2%, Royals 23.4%, Blue Jays 22.8%, Mariners 20.0%, Twins 19.0%, Angels 17.2%, White Sox 10.7%, Rangers 5.2%, Tigers 5.2%

Okay, what about the National League (now with a designated hitter!)

Reader vote

NL East: Braves 65.4%, Mets 18.7%, Phillies 12.1%, Marlins 2.1%, Nationals 1.7%

NL Central: Brewers 55.6%, Cardinals 36.5%, Cubs 4.9%, Reds 2.8%, Pirates 0.3%

NL West: Dodgers 87.9%, Padres 5.5%, Giants 4.2%, Rockies 1.4%, Diamondbacks 1.0%

NL Wlidcards: Padres 55.9%, Giants 52.1%, Cardinals 36.2%, Mets 34.5%, Braves 28.6%, Phillies 26.2%, Brewers 21.4%, Nationals 9.0%, Cubs 8.6%, Dodgers 7.9%, Reds 6.6%, Marlins 5.2%

What about award season?

Reader vote

AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR 35.1%; Shohei Ohtani, LAA 22.1%; Mike Trout, LAA 19.3%; Bobby Witt Jr. 8.8%; Wander Franco, TBR 3.5%

NL MVP: Juan Soto, WSN 24.5%; Ronald Acuña, Jr. 15.2%; Fernando Tatis Jr., SDP 12.1%; Freddie Freeman, LAD 10.6%; Bryce Harper, PHI 5.7%

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, NYY 24.3%; Shane Bieber, CLE 17.6; José Berríos, TOR 11.3%; Lucas Giolito, CHW 8.8%; Chris Sale, BOS 6.0%

NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, LAD 23.9%; Max Scherzer, NYM 16.9%; Corbin Burnes, MIL 15.5%; Jacob deGrom, NYM 11.3%; Max Fried, ATL 6.7%;

AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr., KCR 94.1%; Julio Rodriguez, SEA 2.8%

NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki, CHC 28.1%; Hunter Greene, CIN 17.2%: Sixto Sanchez, MIA 10.2%; Joey Bart, SFG 9.8%; Oneil Cruz, PIT 9.1%; C.J. Abrams, SDP 8.8%; Mackenzie Gore, SDP 5.2%

And who do we think will win it all this year?

Reader vote

American League pennant: Blue Jays 35.2%, White Sox 12.1%, Rays 11.4%, Royals 10.7%, Red Sox 10.0%, Yankees 5.9%

National League pennant: Dodgers 63.2%, Braves 8.3%, Brewers 5.9%, Padres 5.9%

World Champion: Dodgers 39.9%, Blue Jays 17.4%, Royals 9.0%, Rays 5.6%, Braves 5.2%

Any other predictions for this season?