There’s one thing we can say about Major League Baseball with absolute certainty: There’s no shortage of young stars to build the game around.
It seems every season someone new bursts onto the scene and immediately dazzles. The current talent pool across MLB is as impressive and as deep as it’s been in years, and perhaps no exercise highlights this reality more than trying to pinpoint which players will bring home hardware when the dust settles.
Our NESN Digital staff already offered their World Series predictions. Now, let’s move on to our “expert” picks for who will win MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year for the American League and National League in 2022.
Lauren Campbell
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians
NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer, New York Mets
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
NL Rookie of the Year: Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates
Jenna Ciccotelli
AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians
NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer, New York Mets
AL Rookie of the Year: Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
Mike Cole
AL MVP: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
NL MVP: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
AL Cy Young: Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox
NL Cy Young: Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
NL Rookie of the Year: Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
Ricky Doyle
AL MVP: George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays
NL MVP: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians
NL Cy Young: Carlos Rodón, San Francisco Giants
AL Rookie of the Year: Julio RodrÃguez, Seattle Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year: Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds
Scott Edwards
AL MVP: Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
NL Cy Young: Julio UrÃas, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year: Julio RodrÃguez, Seattle Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
Adam London
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
NL MVP: Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
AL Cy Young: Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year: Spencer Torkelson, Detroit Tigers
NL Rookie of the Year: Joey Bart, San Francisco Giants
Sean McGuire
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Cy Young: Jose BerrÃos, Toronto Blue Jays
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
Scott Neville
AL MVP: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians
NL Cy Young: Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers
AL Rookie of the Year: Luis Gil, New York Yankees
NL Rookie of the Year: Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
Marcus O’Mard
AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year: Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
Ben Watanabe
AL MVP: Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers
NL MVP: Tyler O’Neill, St. Louis Cardinals
AL Cy Young: Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer, New York Mets
AL Rookie of the Year: Julio RodrÃguez, Seattle Mariners
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
BREAKDOWN
Now that each person’s picks have been revealed, here’s a top-level overview of the responses, by award.
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3), Shohei Ohtani (2), Rafael Devers, (2), George Springer (1), Wander Franco (1), Marcus Semien (1)
NL MVP: Juan Soto (4), Freddie Freeman (2), Fernando Tatis Jr. (1), Mookie Betts (1), Matt Olson (1), Tyler O’Neill (1)
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber (4), Gerrit Cole (2), Dylan Cease (1), Shane McClanahan (1), Jose Berrios (1), Lucas Giolito (1)
NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer (3), Walker Buehler (3), Aaron Nola (1), Carlos Rodón (1), Julio UrÃas (1), Corbin Burnes (1)
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr. (3), Julio RodrÃguez (3), Adley Rutschman (2), Spencer Torkelson (1), Luis Gil (1)
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki (5), Hunter Greene (2), Oneil Cruz (1), Nick Lodolo (1), Joey Bart (1)
