The seasons a few weeks away and most of the key free agents have found new homes, so its Blake Treinen Jersey time to start taking a look at the key questions in each division.Lets start with the NL East.The Braves won the World Series and lost Freddie Freeman. Whats in store in 2022?Lets start here: Theyll win more regular-season games than they did in 2021.Remember, the Braves didnt climb over the .500 mark last year until August. Yeah, August. They had an oddly incredible July stretch when they alternated wins and lo ses for 18 consecutive games. The Braves that cruised through August (18-8), September (16-10) and steamrolled everyone in the postseason didnt exist from April to July.FOSTER: That likely wont be the case this year. Sure, they lost Freddie Freeman but they replaced him with a younger first baseman who hit more home runs and had a better WAR last year. Thats not to say Matt Olson is a better player Freemans consistency cannot be understated but at the very least, its not a giant drop-off. The lineup this year features four sluggers who had at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs last year Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Adam Duvall and that doesnt include Ronald Acua Jr., who hit 24 homers in 82 games.Will Philadelphias defense-be-damned approach result in a playoff berth?The Phillies scored at least six runs in a game 48 times last year that was tied with Cleveland and Detroit for 19th-most in MLB and they went 40-8 in those contests. On the flip side, the Phillies allowed at least six runs in a game 54 times last year tied with Cleveland for 12th-most in MLB and they had a .241 winning percentage (13-41) in those games. Thats actually the best winning percentage of any team with 54 or more such games.So the Phillies know theyre at least capable of winning slugfests from time to time.Theyve spent their post-lockout days leaning into that, signing two of the best bat-first players on the market, first Kyle Schwarber and then Nick Castellanos. Most days, one will play left field and Brett Anderson Jersey the other will DH. Theyre both mostly competent in the field, but neither will be a contender for a Gold Glove during his years in Philly.But adding to their offense is good, because the Phillies will almost certainly need it. When they scored three or fewer runs last year, the club had just a .219 winning percentage. Basically, they were more likely to win a game 7-6 than to win a game 3-2. They still have Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola atop the rotation, and if they stay healthy theyll have a full year from Ranger Suarez (who was in the bullpen most of 2021) and Kyle Gibson (a trade pickup). Plus they added Corey Knebel, Jeurys Familia and Brad Hand to the bullpen, which should help.But Phillies fans have heard about free-agent signings which should help the bullpen in recent years and that wasnt the case. So, yeah, the fans will probably remain skeptical.Will the real Francisco Lindor please step up?In Year One with the Mets, Lindor was fine. Thats about it. Fine. OK. An above-average MLB Sean Manaea Jersey shortstop 3.1 bWAR, 2.7 fWAR but well below his average season and way, way below expectations created by the 10-year, $341 million contract he signed before ever playing a game in a Mets uniform. The 2021 season was his fifth full season in the majors not counting 2015, when he wasnt called up until mid-June, or the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and he posted career lows in games played (125), on-base percentage (.322), OPS+ (101), average (.230), doubles (16) and stolen bases (10), to name a few.Expectations are the Year Two with the Mets will be better, and that the Mets will get into the postseason after mi sing in 2021. And theres no reason to think that wont be the case. Lindor is heading into his Age 28 season his prime and the Mets added all around the diamond this offseason. Max Scherzer and Chris Ba sitt join Jacob deGrom in the rotation, Starling Marte becomes the much-needed impact center fielder and Eduardo Escobar arrives to solidify third base, though he can play other positions if the need arises.But for the Mets to be Peak Mets no, not that way they need their shortstop to be Peak Lindor. How good can the Marlins be?Ill say this right off the bat: The Marlins are better than you probably think they are. They will not be an afterthought in the NL East like they were in 2021.Look at the top of their rotation, which starts with the criminally underrated Sandy Alcantarra, who had a 3.19 ERA in 33 starts. Then theres lefty Trevor Rogers, who had a 2.64 ERA in 25 starts as a rookie and Pablo Lopez, who had a 3.07 ERA in 20 starts. Thats legit good. If Jesus Luzardo finds the stuff that made him a top prospect in Oakland hes just 24 years old the Marlins can throw out a rotation that rivals any in the division.The Marlins scored the fewest runs in the NL East Jose Canseco Jersey last year, but they added Avisail Garcia (29 homers) and Jorge Soler (World Series MVP) to the outfield/DH mix and traded for veterans Jacob Stallings and Joey Wendle. And rising star Jazz Chisholm who had 18 homers and 23 stolen bases last year is just scratching the surface of what hes capable of.In my mind, they Matt Olson Jersey enter 2022 as legitimate wild-card contenders.How good can Juan Soto be? The Nationals are in a weird spot. They traded pretty much everyone they could before the end-of-July deadline last year. Contending seems unlikely.Juan Sotos still there, though, and he just might be the best hitter in baseball, despite that hes just 23 years old. He led the majors with a .465 on-base percentage; only two other players Bryce Harper (.429) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.401) topped the .400 mark in baseball. But he was kind of alone in the lineup, so the Nationals smartly signed Nelson Cruz to hit behind Soto, but also to be a veteran leader in the clubhouse. Most of the veterans were traded away last July, or left when Ryan Zimmerman retired.Even with Cruz there, Soto wont get a ton of pitches to hit, which means he cant mi s the good ones when he sees them. That sounds challenging until you remember thats basically what he did after the trade deadline, and all he did in August through the end of the year was bat .335 with a .528 on-base percentage and 1.107 OPS.So, yeah, were all very excited for his Age 23 season.
The seasons a few weeks away and most of the key free agents have found new homes, so its Blake Treinen Jersey time to start taking a look at the key questions in each division.Lets start with the NL East.The Braves won the World Series and lost Freddie Freeman. Whats in store in 2022?Lets start here: Theyll win more regular-season games than they did in 2021.Remember, the Braves didnt climb over the .500 mark last year until August. Yeah, August. They had an oddly incredible July stretch when they alternated wins and lo ses for 18 consecutive games. The Braves that cruised through August (18-8), September (16-10) and steamrolled everyone in the postseason didnt exist from April to July.FOSTER: That likely wont be the case this year. Sure, they lost Freddie Freeman but they replaced him with a younger first baseman who hit more home runs and had a better WAR last year. Thats not to say Matt Olson is a better player Freemans consistency cannot be understated but at the very least, its not a giant drop-off. The lineup this year features four sluggers who had at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs last year Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Adam Duvall and that doesnt include Ronald Acua Jr., who hit 24 homers in 82 games.Will Philadelphias defense-be-damned approach result in a playoff berth?The Phillies scored at least six runs in a game 48 times last year that was tied with Cleveland and Detroit for 19th-most in MLB and they went 40-8 in those contests. On the flip side, the Phillies allowed at least six runs in a game 54 times last year tied with Cleveland for 12th-most in MLB and they had a .241 winning percentage (13-41) in those games. Thats actually the best winning percentage of any team with 54 or more such games.So the Phillies know theyre at least capable of winning slugfests from time to time.Theyve spent their post-lockout days leaning into that, signing two of the best bat-first players on the market, first Kyle Schwarber and then Nick Castellanos. Most days, one will play left field and Brett Anderson Jersey the other will DH. Theyre both mostly competent in the field, but neither will be a contender for a Gold Glove during his years in Philly.But adding to their offense is good, because the Phillies will almost certainly need it. When they scored three or fewer runs last year, the club had just a .219 winning percentage. Basically, they were more likely to win a game 7-6 than to win a game 3-2. They still have Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola atop the rotation, and if they stay healthy theyll have a full year from Ranger Suarez (who was in the bullpen most of 2021) and Kyle Gibson (a trade pickup). Plus they added Corey Knebel, Jeurys Familia and Brad Hand to the bullpen, which should help.But Phillies fans have heard about free-agent signings which should help the bullpen in recent years and that wasnt the case. So, yeah, the fans will probably remain skeptical.Will the real Francisco Lindor please step up?In Year One with the Mets, Lindor was fine. Thats about it. Fine. OK. An above-average MLB Sean Manaea Jersey shortstop 3.1 bWAR, 2.7 fWAR but well below his average season and way, way below expectations created by the 10-year, $341 million contract he signed before ever playing a game in a Mets uniform. The 2021 season was his fifth full season in the majors not counting 2015, when he wasnt called up until mid-June, or the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and he posted career lows in games played (125), on-base percentage (.322), OPS+ (101), average (.230), doubles (16) and stolen bases (10), to name a few.Expectations are the Year Two with the Mets will be better, and that the Mets will get into the postseason after mi sing in 2021. And theres no reason to think that wont be the case. Lindor is heading into his Age 28 season his prime and the Mets added all around the diamond this offseason. Max Scherzer and Chris Ba sitt join Jacob deGrom in the rotation, Starling Marte becomes the much-needed impact center fielder and Eduardo Escobar arrives to solidify third base, though he can play other positions if the need arises.But for the Mets to be Peak Mets no, not that way they need their shortstop to be Peak Lindor. How good can the Marlins be?Ill say this right off the bat: The Marlins are better than you probably think they are. They will not be an afterthought in the NL East like they were in 2021.Look at the top of their rotation, which starts with the criminally underrated Sandy Alcantarra, who had a 3.19 ERA in 33 starts. Then theres lefty Trevor Rogers, who had a 2.64 ERA in 25 starts as a rookie and Pablo Lopez, who had a 3.07 ERA in 20 starts. Thats legit good. If Jesus Luzardo finds the stuff that made him a top prospect in Oakland hes just 24 years old the Marlins can throw out a rotation that rivals any in the division.The Marlins scored the fewest runs in the NL East Jose Canseco Jersey last year, but they added Avisail Garcia (29 homers) and Jorge Soler (World Series MVP) to the outfield/DH mix and traded for veterans Jacob Stallings and Joey Wendle. And rising star Jazz Chisholm who had 18 homers and 23 stolen bases last year is just scratching the surface of what hes capable of.In my mind, they Matt Olson Jersey enter 2022 as legitimate wild-card contenders.How good can Juan Soto be? The Nationals are in a weird spot. They traded pretty much everyone they could before the end-of-July deadline last year. Contending seems unlikely.Juan Sotos still there, though, and he just might be the best hitter in baseball, despite that hes just 23 years old. He led the majors with a .465 on-base percentage; only two other players Bryce Harper (.429) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.401) topped the .400 mark in baseball. But he was kind of alone in the lineup, so the Nationals smartly signed Nelson Cruz to hit behind Soto, but also to be a veteran leader in the clubhouse. Most of the veterans were traded away last July, or left when Ryan Zimmerman retired.Even with Cruz there, Soto wont get a ton of pitches to hit, which means he cant mi s the good ones when he sees them. That sounds challenging until you remember thats basically what he did after the trade deadline, and all he did in August through the end of the year was bat .335 with a .528 on-base percentage and 1.107 OPS.So, yeah, were all very excited for his Age 23 season.