MLB Expert John Bollman's World Series 2022 Futures

Now that we finally previewed every team in the league by going through every division, it is time to get into my World Series picks. I already laid out the roster construction of every team I liked, so in this article I will go over multiple “World Series caliber” teams and tell you why I am playing them or why I am staying off.

There are plenty of teams that have very good odds to win the World Series that I just don’t agree with, so I will get into those teams first. As you all know, getting off a play is just important as getting on one, so let’s talk about the World Series plays that I got off first. I will start with the Houston Astros.

I want to start with these two teams because I actually think they have the pieces to win the World Series, I just stayed off them this season for a couple reasons that I want to share with you. For these two teams, if you were already going to play them to win the World Series personally, go for it. However, I just have a couple things keeping me off. The Astros were dominant starting in 2017 and they have been to 5 straight ALCS and 3 World Series. However, they only managed to win one. This team was built to withstand turnover, and that is what they are doing after losing guys like George Springer and Carlos Correa the past couple years. They are more than capable of replacing those numbers, I just don’t see this being the year where they win that second World Series. They are just +1000 to win the World Series and favorites in the AL according to Caesars. There is no value there.

The White Sox are built like a World Series winning team and at +1200, they have the pieces. They return lots of players and I honestly think they could make a run this season. However, they just don’t have the playoff experience and I honestly think Tony La Russa is a poison to that clubhouse. They have made the playoffs the past two seasons, but they only won 1 game in each of the playoffs getting knocked out in the first round both times.

This team needs to win a playoff series first, and with a 3-game playoff series for the third best division winner, I could see anything happening if this team doesn’t get a first round bye. Tony La Russa is one of the greatest managers of all time, but he has so many young studs like Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. You have Tim Anderson who loves to have fun, and Liam Hendricks is very outgoing. La Russa is a great manager, but this is a different game. We saw how he affected the clubhouse last season after he called out Yermin Mercedes for swinging at a 3-0 pitch (which is ridiculous even to type), and I think he will be a problem again.

There are two other teams I wanted to tell yall to stay off, and the first one is quick. The Braves retooled this offseason, and they are +1200 to repeat as World Series champs, but I don’t see that happening. This team was under .500 for most of last season, and Matt Olson is not an upgrade over Freddie Freeman this season or next. They only won 88 games and needed a ridiculous playoff run and a bunch of trades to do it. Ronald Acuna will be out for a lot of the season and who knows how much he’ll play when he’s back. Stay away from the Braves.

The last team to stay off, and I mean stay OFF, is the Padres to win the World Series at +1800. The Padres will be missing Fernando Tatis Jr. for at least the first couple months of the season and maybe more. They get a couple key pitchers back and they added Bob Melvin who I think is one of the best managers in baseball right now. But this team plays in a beast of a division, and they only won 79 games last season. The Padres only semblance of success as a franchise recently was in a COVID shortened season where they won 37 of 60 games. Then they got swept by the Dodgers in the NLDS. Seriously, we have to go all the way back to 2006 to see the last time the Padres made the playoffs in a normal season. The problem with the Padres is durability and the toughness of their division, and those will continue to be problems this season. The last time they won their division was in 2006 and the last time they had a winning 162 game season, was in 2010. Stay away from the Padres at all costs.

There are three teams that stuck out to me when looking at World Series odds. The first team is probably the most obvious team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. This team won 106 games last season and they were really decimated by injuries by the end of their playoff series against the Braves. They replace Corey Seager with Trea Turner, and they add former MVP Freddie Freeman. There hasn’t been a ruling by the Commissioner’s office on Trevor Bauer yet, but if he does come back, he will be a massive boost. The Dodgers are +600 to Win the World Series and they are massive favorites. However, they are massive favorites for a reason. They will make the playoffs and they should avoid a 3-game Wild Card series, where anything can happen, as one of the top two teams. Their value will only go down by the time they make the playoffs, so we will play it now.

The Second team is the Milwaukee Brewers to win the World Series at +1600. This is a team that has been knocking on the door for a very long time now, and I think this could finally be the year. They have the pitching staff to match up with anyone in the league and they will only improve with better seasons by Christian Yelich and Keston Hiura. They have made the playoffs in four straight seasons, and they won’t have much competition in the NL Central other than the Cardinals. I have a feeling whoever wins this division could win the National League, which is why I like both them and the Cardinals. However, the Brewers are coming off a 95-win season and I think they have a very good chance to avoid the 3-game Wild Card series as well.

My final World Series play is on the New York Mets at +1100. This is a team that has all the pieces, on paper they are one of the best teams in the league. However, they are coming off a losing season, so they still need to prove it. If everything goes right, this team will be the representative out of the National League in the World Series. Their pitching staff is just too much at the top with Jacob Degrom and Max Scherzer. However, the Mets are a tricky franchise, and we never really know what we’re gonna get out of them.

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