MLB Awards 2022: ‘Expert’ Picks For MVP, Cy Young, Rookie Of The Year

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

World Series Predictions: Our ‘Expert’ Picks As 2022 MLB Season Begins

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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 Rodríguez, 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 Urías, Los Angeles Dodgers

AL Rookie of the Year: Julio Rodríguez, 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 Berríos, 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

MLB Preview: Nine Bold Predictions For 2022 Season

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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 Rodríguez, 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 Urías (1), Corbin Burnes (1)

AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr. (3), Julio Rodríguez (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)