Preview of the 2022 National League season

“There are only two seasons – winter and baseball” – Bill Veeck

Today it is my absolute pleasure to announce the switch of the calendar from the former to the latter. The off-season has been bumpy to say the least, and we fans have actually had to grapple with the prospect of not seeing our teams on the field this spring. No fun! Today and for the rest of the season, let’s all be thankful that this game will be with us almost every day for the next six months.

Before we dive into the team breakdowns, let’s take a look at the splits for our futures markets.

All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds are subject to change.

World Series Splits

League Pennant Splits

MVP splits

Cy Young splits

Rookie of the Year Splits

winning totals

• Though the Mets lost their top two pitchers to injuries earlier in the season, the Mets’ 89.5 wins this season have slipped just a game since the line opened
• After winning an impressive 107 games last year, the Giants go into the year with a meager 86.5 wins (more on that later).

NL East

Atlanta Braves

The reigning World Series champions are the #2 favorites to make it back to the big dance. For fans, the loss of a franchise player can be painful, usually because the player replacing the local legend represents a significant loss of talent. Braves Country will certainly miss Freddie Freeman, but in his place they get Atlanta native Gold Glover Matt Olson, who’s about the best possible successor. In fact, Freeman (+1200) and Olson (+2200) currently sit sixth and eighth in the NL MVP ratings.

New York Mets

The Mets are starting the season in very Mets fashion. Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are all-time talents. Their names will surely be in the conversation as we look back at the best of the best in this era of baseball. They became teammates that winter. Then they were both scratched from the opening day start due to injury. Scherzer will miss only one game, after which he will start the season as a favorite of NL Cy Young (+600). deGrom’s absence will be felt for a little longer. But the star power doesn’t stop at the hill. Big bats include two guys who sit at #9 in MVP odds with Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso (+2800), and speedster Starling Marte is the #2 favorite for leader of stolen bases (+350). It will be fun to watch this team.

Philadelphia Phillies

Led by MVP candidate Bryce Harper (+900), the Phillies are a boom-or-bust style team with some big hitters and big arms. Ace Aaron Nola contends for the NL Cy Young (+1800), newly acquired first baseman Kyle Schwarber is a sneaky +3000 play for the home run leader as Castellanos has a deep left drive…..

Miami Marlin

The Marlins are rising quietly from the ashes after selling off a literal playoff team a few years ago. But enough about the past – remember Jorge Soler, last year’s World Series MVP? The one who hit 48 things in 2019? Yes, he is in their outfield now. I hope the Marlins are good this year because a good Marlins team means we get to see more Jazz Chisholm which is never a bad thing.

NL headquarters

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brew Crew return as clear favorites to win a weak division. Last year’s Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes returns to the mound at +700, followed by teammate Brandon Woodruff at +1000. After two downtimes, former MVP Christian Yelich is looking to get back to form alongside his new outfield partners Hunter Renfroe and Andrew McCutchen.

St. Louis Cardinals

The big offseason story for the Cardinals was Albert Pujols’ return to St. Louis. The all-new universal designated hitter rule could be a perfect opportunity for the 42-year-old to play in enough games to hit 21 homers and hit the legendary 700-HR milestone that puts him fourth-best ahead of Alex Rodriguez would bring MLB history!

FUN FACT: DraftKings offers these markets under “Seasonal Milestones”!

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs come out as a mediocre team with a bright future on the field. Kyle “The Professor” Hendricks and Marcus Stroman are leading the pitching team, with Japanese prospect and RoY favorite (+380) Seiya Suzuki expected to start in right field. 2018 first-round drivers Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal are looking to take the next step in their fledgling careers and help this team get back to their 2016 form.

Cincinnati Red

After a playoff run in the truncated 2020 season, the Reds are poised to repeat their mediocre results from last season. While they finished in the top 10 on most standard offensive stats last year, they lost Nick Castellanos to the Phillies and ceded lineup mainstays Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to the Mariners. Also on the mound, starter Sonny Gray and stud reliever Amir Garrett were dealt in exchange for a few pieces. The line-up remains solid, but there are still many questions about how this staff will fare this season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Unfortunately, the pirates don’t have much to do for this season. Still, they added more than they took away, bringing in several veterans for short-term deals, including starter Jose Quintana and first baseman Daniel Vogelbach. In a weak NL headquarters, the pirates have a real chance to disrupt the divisional picture.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers

Thanks to a wondrous 107-55 season by the Giants, the 106-win owner of the Dodgers decided they didn’t have enough MVPs on their list and grabbed 1B Freddie Freeman from the reigning World Series champ Atlanta Braves. Their current roster now includes three of the top six NL MVP favorites (Mookie Betts +900, Freeman +1200, Trea Turner +1400), not to mention Walker Buehler (+800) and Julio Urias (+2000) who are in the running are Cy Young and playing the standard All-Star level from their corner infielders (Max Muncy and Justin Turner). Despite losing longtime closer Kenley Jansen to the Braves, they mentioned picking up Craig Kimbrel from the White Sox to fit in the bullpen alongside Blake Treinen (1.99 ERA in 2021 with 7 saves). So overall… yes, they’re favorites to win the World Series for a reason.

San Diego Padres

The Padres are limping into the 2022 season thanks to an injury to star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. in spring training. However, they still have Manny Machado holding the hot corner (+3500 NL MVP) and added Luke Voit to fill the clean-up spot to fill. Former Cleveland pitcher Mike Clevinger is returning to the mound after a long absence on the injured list, and left Sean Manaea has been called in as part of the Oakland fire sale. If ace Yu Darvish (+3000 NL Cy Young) and Blake Snell (+2000) can return from underperforming years, watch out for this team being firmly in the playoff race when the calendar moves to September.

San Francisco Giants

Every few years, the giants seem to catch lightning in a bottle. Last year they smashed all expectations and poked fun at all the preseason numbers pundits chocked out. They go into this year behind the Dodgers again and without Kris Bryant, Johnny Cueto and Kevin Gausman, along with the perennial All-Star and backbone of their franchise, Buster Posey. They’ll be looking to compete again in the NL West this year with their ace Logan Webb (+1400 to win the Cy Young) and some fun new additions in Joc Pederson and Carlos Rodon, but overall the expectation is that the Blitz will put them in pass this year.

Colorado Rockies

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Rockies seem to really like paying big bucks to the franchise’s third basemen while failing to improve the rest of the team. They signed Bryant (+4500 NL MVP) to a $182 million contract. He joins a decent hitting formation, but the physics of Coors Field raises questions about the pitching staff’s ability to prevent runs.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Graduation with the D-Backs! The likely basement dwellers of the NL West are unlikely to attract much attention this year, but have some exciting players to watch. The future is bright in Arizona as top prospect first baseman Seth Beer (+3000 RoY) is set to make his MLB debut this season. Leadoff hitter Ketel Marte just signed a major contract extension with the team and is a core building block for the D-Backs’ future. He is currently +3000 for Hits Leader.

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