As a professional sports writer, you like to think you know a thing or two about sports, and then you make predictions.
Let's get right to it, here are some of the worst predictions made in the Major League Baseball preview series for the 2022 season:
Scott Neville: The New York Mets will finish .500 after another strong offseason
Technically, the Mets could make this happen should they lose almost every single game this season. However the 84-48 Mets did in fact put it together after an offseason in which they acquired starters Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt, reliever Adam Ottavino, outfielders Starling Marte and Mark Canha among others.
Ben Watanabe: Texas Rangers' Marcus Semien and St. Louis Cardinals' Tyler O'Neill to win MVPs
Both Semien and O'Neill had fantastic 2021 seasons but did not come close to reaching similar success in 2022. Semien, who finished third in American League MVP voting a season ago, got off to such a bad start that he threw himself out of the running almost immediately. He's been better of late but is nowhere near MVP consideration with a .242 average, 45 extra-base hits and a .715 OPS.
O'Neill has had an even sharper decline for the Cards. After a season in which the two-time Gold Glove outfielder hit .286 with 62 extra-base hits including 34 home runs, 80 RBIs, and a .912 OPS, O'Neill is hitting just .227 with 22 extra-base hits, 53 RBIs and a .690 OPS.
Adam London: Detriot Tigers' Spencer Torkelson will become the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year
Predicting a rookie of the year is nothing short of a dart throw most seasons, as was the case here with Torkelson. Typically the No. 4 prospect in the MLB who makes the Opening Day roster would be the best-case scenario for the longshot award, but Torkelson never found his swing.
The rookie is hitting .197 with 11 doubles, five home runs, a depressing 76-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .577 OPS in 83 games. He got demoted at the All-Star break and only hit .229 at the Triple-A level before being recalled with the expanded rosters Thursday. It's safe to say he'll be on the outside looking in come award season.
Ben Watanabe: Chicago White Sox's Lucas Giolito will win 2022 American League Cy Young
One thing you definitely don't want out of your Cy Young selection is a negative WAR heading into the final month of the season. Giolito is 10-8 with a 5.27 ERA through 24 starts. He's maintained an elite strikeout rate but has allowed far more hits (144) than innings pitched (128) with 22 home runs allowed.
Sean McGuire: Toronto Blue Jay's José BerrÃos will win 2022 American League Cy Young
BerrÃos leads the AL in earned runs allowed (83) and home runs allowed (27) to collect a 5.32 ERA. He's maintained an elite 127-to-34 strikeout-to-walk ratio but that's about the only thing going well for the 28-year-old.
Scott Neville: Shohei Ohtani will regress in 2022
I hated this take at the moment and am even more ashamed now. Like Kansas City Chiefs quarter Patrick Mahomes' 50-touchdown, 5,000-yard debut season as a full-time starter, I thought Ohtani was due for some natural regression. Instead, the two-way sensation has maintained his elite power stroke while pitching like an ace. I did not expect Ohtani to receive Cy Young votes this season but here we are.
Here are a couple of high-quality predictions we stumbled upon:
Mike Cole: Chicago White Sox's Dylan Cease will win 2022 American League Cy Young
Whether or not Cease finishes the job and wins the award or finishes just shy, Mike absolutely crushed this prediction. There was not much to indicate a breakout season on the horizon for Cease, entering 2022 with a 22-18 career record and 4.39 ERA through 58 big league starts.
This year Cease has the second-best odds at +250 on DraftKings Sportsbook to take home the Cy Young, trailing only Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander. Verlander just went on the injured list, potentially opening a path for Cease to lock down the award.
Scott Neville: Mariners will break a streak of 20 years by making the postseason
I may have missed on the Mets but I believed in the Mariners all the way. Barring a massive collapse, this prediction looks to hold true as my best bold prediction heading into the season. Not only did rookie outfielder Julio RodrÃguez live up to the hype but he convinced the Mariners to offer him a massive deal that could impact the way contracts are constructed moving forward.
