2022 Fantasy baseball predictions for the National League
Dalton Del Don looks into his crystal ball and reveals his fantasy baseball takes for every National League team. Go here for the American League Preview.
NL East
2. Philadelphia Phillies (Wild Card)
Comments/Fantasy Predictions:
Braves: The World Series champs return with Kenley Jansen added as further depth to a loaded bullpen and superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. coming back from injury … Charlie Morton finishes with more fantasy value than Max Fried, while Huascar Ynoa has more than Ian Anderson … Matt Olson saw a real nice upgrade in home parks with his move to the Braves, but Austin Riley fails to live up to his lofty fantasy expectations ... Atlanta is loaded, but they are coming off a World Series run that lasted until November, and the Phillies improved and enter as real threats. But at least the Mets are already doing Mets things.
Phillies: I bet on Rhys Hoskins (50/1) and Kyle Schwarber (25/1) as long shots to be the MLB home run leader and the Phillies to win the World Series at 25/1 … Aaron Nola finishes as a top-five fantasy pitcher in a dominant 2022, while Zach Eflin shocks everyone and has a better season than Zack Wheeler. Zach > Zack … Jean Segura finishes with more fantasy value than Tommy Edman, while Corey Knebel records 30+ saves.
Mets: New York had potential to field an epic rotation, but Jacob deGrom is already down and Max Scherzer is dealing with a hamstring issue. Scherzer couldn’t pitch in Game Six of the NLCS thanks to a dead arm, and he also led MLB in K-BB percentage (30) during full counts (next best was 20%! h/t Phil Dussault), so there are a couple of red flags for the 37-year-old who costs a top-20 draft pick … I bet Pete Alonso to win MVP at 30/1, but I liked it more when the Mets were healthier and division favorites … Carlos Carrasco outperforms Chris Bassitt, while J.D. Davis goes down as one of this season’s biggest breakout hitters … Edwin Diaz has the best entrance music in sports right now.
Marlins: After losing 95 games last year, Miami enters 2022 as a Wild Card threat (Fangraphs projects 83 wins), but the team’s bullpen situation looks like a fantasy nightmare (coming from Anthony Bender’s biggest fan). As the season nears, the list of declared MLB closers is somehow shrinking even further … While Trevor Rogers and Pablo Lopez have both experienced velocity concerns during spring, Jesus Luzardo has seen a big increase in his fastball MPH. Miami’s rotation has a ton of upside should health cooperate … Garrett Cooper outproduces Jazz Chisholm Jr., and I’ll give Elieser Hernandez a 33% chance of having a better fantasy season than the overrated Sandy Alcantara.
Nationals: Washington has fallen off quickly, with quite possibly the worst staff in baseball … Nelson Cruz records 35+ homers and 100+ RBI yet again, while Cesar Hernandez is a sleeper ... Keibert Ruiz finishes as a top-five fantasy catcher, but Lane Thomas disappoints while platooning toward the bottom of Washington’s lineup. Alek Thomas > Lane Thomas.
NL Central
3. Chicago Cubs
Comments/Fantasy Predictions:
Brewers: With three elite front-end starters and a loaded bullpen, the Brewers are built for the postseason (I bet on them at 18/1), and a soft NL Central will ensure they get there easily. Corbin Burnes is coming off a historically great season in which he posted the fourth-best K-BB% of all time; he should be an easy top-five overall pick … Aaron Ashby joins the rotation after the All-Star break and is a top-30 fantasy starter in the second half, while Andrew McCutchen records 100 RBI.
Cardinals: With Jack Flaherty battling shoulder woes, St. Louis’ rotation is going to be in a lot of trouble if Adam Wainwright can’t repeat last year’s unexpected success; something highly unlikely during his age-41 season … Paul DeJong finishes with more fantasy value than teammate Tommy Edman.
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Cubs: Seiya Suzuki just edges out CJ Abrams to win Rookie of the Year, but this is a shaky Cubs staff. David Robertson leads the team in saves … While Chicago has a thin rotation, potentially helpful fantasy hitters like Jonathan Villar and Clint Frazier are fighting for playing time on offense. And eventually, the team will be calling up top prospect Brennen Davis, who’ll immediately become an extremely popular waiver wire add.
Reds: Tyler Mahle is traded to the Mets and becomes a top-20 fantasy starter, while Nick Senzel goes 20/20 … Tommy Pham benefits from a huge upgrade in home parks (and not having to recover from a stabbing), finishing as a top-25 fantasy outfielder … Mike Moustakas swats 35 homers after going pick 325 in NFBC Main Events.
Pirates: David Bednar finishes as a top-15 fantasy closer despite entering the year sharing duties on a Pittsburgh team projected to be the NL’s worst offense … A middle of the lineup featuring Yoshi Tsutsugo and Ben Gamel doesn’t exactly conjure memories of the 1927 Yankees. But bonus points if the Pirates bat Daniel Vogelbach leadoff … I can’t remember a bigger difference between projection systems (particularly THE BAT versus Steamer) when it comes to Oneil Cruz. Don’t be surprised if Roansy Contreras is Pittsburgh’s best rookie in 2022 … Mitch Keller’s stock is back on the rise with a huge jump in velocity this spring, and he’s well worth a flier in all fantasy leagues.
NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Francisco Giants (Wild Card)
3. San Diego Padres (Wild Card)
4. Colorado Rockies
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
Comments/Fantasy Predictions:
Dodgers: Walker Buehler wins the NL Cy Young, but Julio Urias’ decreased velocity that dates back to the end of last season is cause for concern … Will Smith finishes as the No. 1 fantasy catcher (he’s no slap hitter), while Max Muncy ends as a top-three fantasy second baseman … Mitch White becomes a popular add when he joins LA’s rotation at some point, while Tony Gonsolin vastly out-pitches Andrew Heaney, whose struggles with the long ball are an especially poor fit for his new home (only Cincinnati has increased homers more than Dodger Stadium over the last three seasons).
Clayton Kershaw reaches just 150 innings but is a top-15 fantasy starter anyway, while Craig Kimbrel leads the NL in saves … The Dodgers have an unfair lineup even if Cody Bellinger doesn’t bounce back. Bellinger has a .301 OPS with an 18:1 K:BB ratio in spring, and there’s a real chance Edwin Rios has more fantasy value this season (draft him in your final round).
Giants: The Giants somehow led the NL in homers last season and won 30 more games than their Vegas over/under, as the organization continues to get career-best seasons out of many players (including many in their mid-30s). Despite winning 107 games last year and adding Carlos Rodon during the offseason (admittedly losing Buster Posey and Kevin Gausman), San Francisco’s win total is 85.5. Rodney Dangerfield got more respect … Brandon Belt hit 29 homers over just 325 ABs last year and is behind only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper in wRC+ (163) over the last two seasons. It’s too bad Captain Belt can’t stay on the field.
The Giants’ platoon-heavy strategy isn’t ideal for fantasy, but Thairo Estrada is a super sleeper … Both Logan Webb and Rodon finish as top-10 fantasy starters, while newcomer Alex Cobb out-pitches the departing Kevin Gausman. Cobb cleaned up his delivery at Driveline during the offseason, is throwing harder than ever this spring and is absolutely worth a flier at 100/1 to win the Cy Young … Camilo Doval wastes little time replacing Jake McGee as San Francisco’s closer, establishing himself as one of baseball’s new elite shutdown relievers.
Padres: San Diego has a loaded rotation, although Mike Clevinger opens the season on the IL again while dealing with a sore knee, and Blake Snell remains a wild card. But SD’s new pitching coach guru has fixed MacKenzie Gore, who’s likely to open the season in long relief but has serious fantasy upside and is worth a 30/1 bet to win ROY … Meanwhile, C.J. Abrams has suddenly become a co-favorite to win the award in some places … Austin Nola finishes as a top-15 fantasy catcher, while Robert Suarez records 30+ saves … Yu Darvish bounces back with a huge performance (40/1 to be the strikeout leader is nice), as his stuff was still plenty good over the second half of last season when he was the only pitcher (min 100 IP) to finish with a sub 1.10 WHIP and a 4+ ERA.
Rockies: Brendan Rodgers will go 125+ picks earlier in 2023 fantasy drafts than he is now, while Randal Grichuk finishes as a top-30 fantasy outfielder … Austin Gomber is worth using in shallow mixed leagues while on the road, but Rockies relievers cause more harm than good when searching for saves from the team’s closer … Elias Diaz finishes as a top-10 fantasy catcher, while Charlie Blackmon provides more value than Kris Bryant at ADP.
Diamondbacks: David Peralta has a revamped swing and is the cheapest 25-80-80 source out there, while Alek Thomas will be worth adding as soon as he’s called up … Arizona is going to struggle mightily to win games in their division when not facing Colorado.
ALCS: White Sox over Blue Jays
NLCS: Dodgers over Phillies
World Series: Dodgers over White Sox
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki
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