6 crucial MLB players for 2022
There will always be a you-neverknow factor that can’t be legislated out of baseball, which is why the gift of hindsight can be so humbling.
For all its hopes of placing superstars on a platform, there’s still no predicting that come the end of 2021, Tyler Matzek would matter more than Mike Trout, Framber Valdez a more important piece than Bryce Harper.
So call us crazy, then, for aiming to identify six players who will prove most pivotal to the fates of their divisions and, ultimately, World Series chances. At the risk of looking foolish come October, here’s a half-dozen stars whose performance and health may determine how the bigger picture shakes out:
Christian Yelich, Brewers: There’s nothing not to like about the Brewers, from their organically grown rotation, to their shutdown bullpen to a sense of abandon that doesn’t hesitate to add a valued veteran like Andrew McCutchen to patch a one-year hole.
They should bulldoze to another NL Central title, but they can also go from good to great pretty quickly with one quick fix: Yelich.
It’s easy to forget he was arguably baseball’s best player before the pandemic, winning consecutive batting titles and leading the majors in OPS before a foul ball off his knee ended a 44-homer campaign three weeks early. A back injury and COVID-19 positive test created a virtually lost 2021 for Yelich; his OPS fell to a career-low .736 even as Milwaukee won 95 games.
Now, still just 30, Yelich has lineup protection around him, a stellar pitching staff to take on the heat and an eminently winnable division.
Anthony Rendon, Angels: There’s one thing for which Rendon shouldn’t have to apologize: He’s definitely not Gerrit Cole.
The Angels’ failed pursuit of that rotation ace and their $245 million investment in Rendon as a consolation prize of sorts did nothing to bring a long-awaited ace to Anaheim, and Rendon’s uneven play since then did not help matters.
Yet pieces are starting to fall into place. Reid Detmers may yet be a reliable, homegrown pitcher. Noah Syndergaard is extra salty on a one-year deal, ready to prove his worth. Shohei Ohtani is the greatest player on the planet, scarcely pausing to heist that title from teammate Mike Trout.
So, what of Rendon?
Injuries kept him out of 104 games last season, as hip surgery, a groin, a knee, a hamstring – they all conspired to sideline him.
If Ohtani is merely 75% of his 2021 self for the next decade, the organization will be thrilled. That leaves Rendon with plenty to prove – and perhaps holding the keys to the Angels’ long-awaited turn toward contention.
Joey Gallo, Yankees.
The Yankees’ No. 3 hitter has averaged 41 home runs over 162 games in his career. He’s played in 95% of his teams’ games the past two seasons. Shaved his beard for the part.
So why does it seem like so much uncertainty in this very uncertain Yankee season ride on Gallo’s shoulders?
Well, his 58-game post-deadline debut in pinstripes scarcely inspired hope – he batted .160/.303/.404, but did hit 13 homers. This time around, though, it feels like the Yankees’ fate is rather closely tied to Gallo finding his level of All-Star production if the Yankees are to avoid being a $250 million, stuck-in-the-middle flop.
An easy thing to forget about the uneven, 92-win, wild-card losing Yankees is that their strange season came about despite great health and production from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who played in 148 and 139 games, respectively, and combined to hit 83 homers.
Ranger Suarez, Phillies.
Oh, you haven’t heard of Suarez? Let’s take care of that quickly by noting the lefty was simply the greatest pitcher in baseball last season.
OK, OK, bit of an overstatement, but: Suarez in 2021 became the first pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1968 – and just the fourth in the last 102 years – to make at least 10 starts, throw 100 or more innings, and post an ERA of less than 1.50.
Sound a little arbitrary? Not when you consider what the Phillies asked him to do last year – and what they’re aiming for in 2022.
Suarez gradually worked his way into higher-leverage and more extended roles in the Philly bullpen before they finally decided, well heck, let’s just hand him the ball and let him start.
And in that role, he just kept going: A 1.51 ERA in a dozen starts, with 65 strikeouts in 651⁄3 innings.
Dylan Cease, White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox’s 93 wubs were due in no small part to lefty Carlos Rodon’s “throw ‘til you blow” mentality that produced 127 elite innings pitched, and reliever Michael Kopech’s ability to produce zeroes at the most crucial points in the game.
Now, the White Sox must replace both elements without disrupting what was a tenuous but occasionally dominant formula in 2021.
Rodon is gone, signing a two-year $44 million deal with the Giants. Kopech’s 100-mph stuff has been summoned from the bullpen to hold down one of the five rotation spots.
And that’s where the White Sox need to stop the slippage.
No starter may be more pivotal than Cease, who dominated at times, striking out 226 in 1652⁄3 innings and winning 13 games.
Brandon Belt, Giants.
Nobody could have seen this coming as late as 2022, but here we are: The Belt Wars are back, baby.
Perhaps the most polarizing player in San Francisco Giants history, Belt saved the best for last, producing a .988 OPS over his final two seasons as a lineup linchpin for the Giants’ stunning 107-win machine in 2021. Long loved or loathed for his exacting plate discipline, it looked like gold watch time for the Captain.
But the Giants did not hesitate to extend him the qualifying offer and Belt accepted, the only major leaguer to return on a one-year, $18.4 million deal.
It’s what happened next – and didn’t happen – that became so crucial.
Buster Posey retired. Kris Bryant departed for the Colorado Rockies. Trevor Story flirted with the Giants but landed with Boston. Evan Longoria needs surgery on a finger.