The long 162-game regular season is over and it’s finally time to start making some serious MLB playoff predictions for 2022. Of course, with the expanded field, there are 12 teams in the playoffs and no more one-game Wild Card games.
That gives all 12 teams a fighting chance, complicating the World Series odds just a little compared to past years.
It also means there will be more games, which will hopefully lead to the 2022 playoffs giving us some of the best playoff games of all time.
MLB playoff predictions 2022
But the truth is that we’ve never had a 12-team playoff before. Even in 2020, there were 14 teams, not 12. That could make MLB postseason predictions a little more difficult to make this year because there are more teams and more games than ever.
However, with a new format and a rather unpredictable postseason ahead of us, we decided to come up with 10 bold MLB playoff predictions for 2022.
All four Wild Card Series go three games
More than anything, this is wishful thinking on our part. Outside of the 2020 season when eight teams from each league made the playoffs, we’ve never had a three-game Wild Card Round before.
Since none of the races to get into the postseason came down to the final game of the season, the Wild Card Round will help make up for it with plenty of drama. Plus, in 2020, only two of the eight series in the first round went to a third game. But looking at the matchups in the Wild Card Round, it’s hard to find a series that couldn’t go either way, which should lead to each series going the distance.
Three Wild Card Series end in walk-off fashion
Not only will the Wild Card Round see each series last three games but there will be walk-off drama in three of the four.
Of course, we’re not saying that these series will end on a walk-off home run. It could be another hit, a walk, or even a walk-off balk. But one way or another, three of the four series in the Wild Card Round will end with the home team scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth (or later) and the visiting team walking off in defeat.
Albert Pujols has game-winning RBI in Wild Card Series
We’ll throw you a bone and get specific with one of these Wild Card series. After an amazing and improbable season at age 42, Albert Pujols will become a playoff hero for the Cardinals by knocking in the game-winning run in Game 3 of the Wild Card Round.
After the season he’s had and getting to 700 career home runs, Pujols surely has one more magical moment in him, and we expect to see that happen against the Phillies in the Wild Card Round.
Mariners finally win a Playoff Series
It’s been an epic drought for the Mariners, who are in the postseason for the first time since 2001. That was the year they set a record with 116 wins during the regular season but lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.
It’s taken more than two decades for Seattle to get back to the postseason, so the Mariners should probably seize the opportunity and at least win a series. It won’t be easy doing so in Toronto, but the Mariners have been surprising people for most of the year, so why not pull off one more surprise?
There is a Postseason no-hitter
To be clear, we’re not saying who will pitch the no-hitter. But baseball seems due for another postseason no-hitter since the late Roy Halladay threw one in 2010.
Other than wishful thinking, more postseason games this year increases the chances of this actually happening. Plus, it seems like every team in the playoffs has two or three pitchers who are capable of throwing a no-hitter if they bring their best stuff, so it’s far from impossible to see this happening.
Aaron Judge hits three home runs in a game
After a historic regular season, why shouldn’t Judge have a historic postseason as well? He’s already put himself in the same conversation as the great Roger Maris, so it seems only natural for Aaron Judge to equal Mr. October himself Reggie Jackson, and hit three home runs for the Yankees in a playoff game.
There were 11 games this season in which Judge homered twice, including two games in September when pitchers should have known better. In the postseason, Judge will face elite pitchers who will trust their stuff and won’t back down. That will end up being their downfall when he cranks three homers into the stands in one game.
Yankees sweep Astros in ALCS
The Astros beat the Yankees in the ALCS in both 2017 and 2019, not to mention the 2015 Wild Card Game. While there are other good teams in the American League, these teams have been on a collision course with one another all season, so it feels inevitable that they will meet in the ALCS again.
With the revelations about the Astros cheating in 2017, the Yankees might take a rematch personally and be even more motivated to beat Houston. On paper, this seems like it would be an equal series that’s likely to last six or seven games. But fueled by their hatred of the Astros because of their sign-stealing ventures in 2017, the Yankees will sweep Houston in the ALCS this year.
Braves and Mets meet in NLCS
The Dodgers enter the postseason as the team to beat in the National League, but the Mets will shock them in the NLDS behind Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. That will up a matchup in the NLCS against the Braves after Atlanta stole the NL East crown from them during the final week of the regular season.
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It’s been a long time since the Braves-Mets rivalry took center stage, but it remains one of the best rivalries in the National League, especially with both teams winning 101 games this year. They haven’t met in the postseason since 1999, so this is bound to be a special series.
Return of the Subway Series
Speaking of things that happened over 20 years ago, the 2022 World Series will be the second-ever Subway Series. As mentioned, the Yankees will sweep the Astros in the ALCS. Meanwhile, the Mets will sneak past the Braves in a contentious NLCS, setting up a Subway Series in the World Series.
Obviously, neutral fans outside of New York City and the Tri-State area won’t be particularly pleased with the matchup. But the Mets and Yankees have been two of the best teams in baseball all season, so this isn’t a farfetched scenario. Of course, it will be a special occasion for New York and the baseball world.
Starling Marte wins World Series MVP, leads Mets to Championship
This is by far the boldest of our MLB postseason predictions. Starling Marte has been on the IL since September 10 because of a broken middle finger. The Mets have surely felt his absence, which is a big reason why they let the NL East crown slip through their fingers during the final week of the season.
But Marte will have a chance to return at some point during the playoffs. He’ll be a huge mid-postseason addition for the Mets, ultimately playing the role of hero and being named World Series MVP after the Mets beat the Yankees in seven games.
Admittedly, this is unlikely to happen, but this is as bold as it gets without getting crazy.
