Four teams ended 2021 with 90-plus wins. With plenty of changes sure to happen, one of those teams look to change the landscape at the top.
The AL East sent 3 teams to the playoffs in 2021. As fun as it would be to see another year with teams replicating the divisional success, reality states it won’t happen. With the new year started and the lockout firmly in place, it’s time to think about resolutions for all five teams heading into the 2022 season. Every team has resolutions for improvement. Is your team able to achieve resolution success?
Tampa Bay Rays – See a Starting Pitcher Win More Than 10 Games in 2022
Tampa fans (all 9281 of them – the average game attendance) deserve to see starting pitching. They’ve grown accustomed to seeing the bullpen pitch entire games. Kevin Cash is more than just the originator of, “Bullpen Days.” He’s the master of having multiple games in a week designated as a bullpen day. Because of his game management madness, the Rays only saw their starting pitchers throw 33 Quality Starts. Adding insult to the starting pitching woes, only 1 regular SP could collect 10 wins. Despite these horrible stats, the Rays won 100 games en route to another AL East title. However Cash has managed to overcome the lack of wins from his starters, fans deserve to see these numbers improve. Getting Corey Kluber to travel south could help. Hopefully Shane Baz, Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen will grow under the tutelage of Kluber. Discussing Wander Franco and Randy Arozerena is just too easy to talk about. So, wins from starting pitchers winning is the resolution. And in 2022, fans should look forward to a few extra games where their starting pitcher goes more than 5 innings – that is if Cash can look past some of the metrics creating these numbers.
What to expect from Wander Franco in 2022:
.309/.364/.512
18 HR
102 R
92 RBI
9 SBFranco never hit below .313 in the minors & it took him only 2 months to reach that level in MLB.
Wander is already a star, but let’s see just how bright he can shine in his sophomore year. pic.twitter.com/aFYarADNZP
— Matt Williams (@MattWi77iams) January 5, 2022
Boston Red Sox – Boom or Bust on the Mound
There appears to be a lot of turnover in the rotation this year for the Red Sox. Losing Eduardo Rodriguez hurts while potentially losing Garrett Richards and Martin Perez, there is a fairly large hole needing filled in Bean Town. In planning for these losses, Brian O’Halloran jumped into the free agent market before the lockout was implemented. However, James Paxton, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill combined do not replace the win total of Rodriguez in 2021. It is very possible all three of these guys return to their former selves (2017 and 2018 selves), but age and injury are not their friends. As such, my resolution for Red Sox fans is to invest heavily in antacids. The offense should be really good again. Your top 5 in MLB offense is returning all its starters. Sure Kyle Schwarber could be leaving but he was a bonus bat that helped get you to the playoffs. What the team needs is Chris Sale to be just as dynamite as he was upon his return and to see one of the free agent newcomers to be worth the investment. Additionally, one of the prospects (Chris Murphy or Jay Groome) needs to be a surprise success story. I wish you, Red Sox fans, a couple extra dollars on the paycheck to help supply your antacid intake this year.
New York Yankees – Improve the Starting Pitching…Or the Whole Pitching Staff
Every team needs pitching. Typically teams will focus on one aspect of their pitching staff. Then you look at the consortium the Yankees have and realize it’s the whole staff that needs help. Yes, the Yankees made it back to the postseason. That success was really due to the success of the pitching staff. Yet, that MLB 6th best ERA doesn’t appear to be sustainable. Corey Kluber needs to not get injured, Gerrit Cole needs to continue dominating and how much longer can Aroldis Chapman be this reliable? The team used just 30 pitchers in 2021 (below the league average of 32) and most of that was on the backs of the veterans and Chad Green. Known players and their consistency is indeed a security blanket. However, relying on that security blanket can be dangerous. Yankees fans, I resolve for you to pray your team hits the free agent market immediately upon the lockout conclusion and sign a starter or two while including a reliever. The young guys like Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil should be ready and hopefully they will add security to the blanket that has been this pitching staff.
Toronto Blue Jays – Stop Looking Up
Despite making the playoffs three times in the last ten years, 2016 was the last time before the abbreviated 2020 season appearance. Fans have become familiar with looking up at other teams when looking at the standings. May you resolve to stop doing that in 2022. With the third youngest offensive core in the majors (headlined by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) there is no reason the looking up trend continues. Losing Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien will hurt, however Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.and Teoscar Hernandez have the youth and hunger to overcome any offensive setback. The addition of Kevin Gausman could be Cy Young worthy and should make up for the loss of Ray. He’ll fit in great with Ross Stripling and Hyun Jin Ryu to once again hold an AL Top 5 ERA. So Blue Jays fans, resolve to start looking at the standings with your team atop the standings and not looking up.
Baltimore Orioles – Trey Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle Every Night
There was no better story in MLB in 2021 than that of Trey Mancini. The added bonus was watching Rookie of the Year candidate Ryan Mountcastle crushing a team leading 33 HR’s. That youth is going to be fun to watch. They are the youngest offensive squad in the AL while they aren’t that much older on the mound. The oldest player on the squad is presumed closer, Cole Sulser at 31 years old. He also is the only player over the age of 30. If experience is a helper in winning games, the Orioles will increase their 2021 win total of 52. It might not be a significant increase, but it will be more. And, Orioles fans will have the chance to watch the rebuild draw closer to the playoffs. So for you Orioles fans, enjoy the warm summer nights watching some fun baseball – even if it may be gut wrenching at times. Know that the youth of today should give you more to cheer about this year moving forward for the next couple of years.
Trey Mancini's career home game HR with Camden's new dimensions: https://t.co/vd6eTaVBUQ #Birdland
This is great @AndrewPerpetua! https://t.co/eMulqgZTWp pic.twitter.com/CTKgzXWY3R
— MLBdream (@MLBdream) January 15, 2022
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