Top Ten Teams to Watch in 2022

After the most frustrating winter in the history of Major League Baseball, we finally can get excited about the upcoming season and hall of the endless possibilities that come with it. As players finally start to sign with new teams for the first time since November, we have a much stronger idea of which teams will be fun to watch and witch teams will, well, not be ( sorry Reds’ and Orioles’ fans).

These rankings are in every possible way subjective, and so the criteria is really more about what I enjoy in a team than anything else. This generally includes multiple fun starting pitchiers (I LOVE good pitching), a super magnetic star or two, a generally interesting lineup, and even some outside factors such as the quality of their broadcast team or what the atmosphere of the games is like. Also, the St. Louis Cardinals, who would be my obvious number one since I care more about their calendar than my academic one, are disqualified because that is not int he spirit of the list. Anyway, without further ado, here are my rankings:

Honorable Mention: Washington Nationals

The Washington Natinals do not have a roster that is in anyway exciting. They’re in a complete rebuild, and the only young and exciting up and comers this season are likely going to be Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz, neither of whom are exactly top shelf talent. Still, they have Juan Soto, and so I will likely tune in extremely frequently. The team itself isn’t good enough to be on the list, but Juan is too good not to be. Honorable mention is the only fair middle ground.

10. Texas Rangers

I don’t exactly know what got into the Rangers’ front office this offseason, but I am 100% for it. They gave massive deals to Marcus Semien and Corey Seager out of nowhere, and also paid big for their new ace(I guess) by getting Jon Gray. They also pulled off a huge trade with the Twins, getting Mitch Garner for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. These moves give them one of the most interesting lineups in baseball, as they’re adding Seager, Semien and Garner to a lineup that already had Adolis Garcia, Nate Lowe and Nick Solak. Their rotation, on the other hand, is pretty much one big experiment. Chris Martin is the only known quantity they have. They’re taking a huge gamble on Gray, who was never able to put it together in Colorado. They’re rounding out the rotation with extremely young pitchers Dane Dunning, AJ Alexy and Taylor Hearn. The Rangers are basically going to be one giant experiment, and, even if it doesn’t work, I can’t imagine it not being fun. to watch.

9. New York Mets

The Mets lineup bores me. They have Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, who both are very fun in their own ways. They have Starling Marte, who was a renaissance last year and can be one of the more entertianing players in baseball when he’s got it going right. Other than that though, they just don’t have the names to really be that worth watching. This doesn't matter though, because their pitching staff has Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, who are two of the best and most exciting players in the entire league. They also have Carlos Corrasco, Chris Bassit, and Tylor Megan, who each have their own entertaining quirks. Even with a less than thrilling lineup and an absolute lunatic owner, I still won’t be able to keep myself away from watching this rotation as often as possible.

8. New York Yankees.

The Yankees are the opposite of the Mets. Their rotation will have some fun dudes, with Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino pumping fastballs and Nester Cortez just sort of doing his thing. I am also a fan of Luis Gill, who I expect will be much more involved with the big league club this year. Really though, its the offense I can’t wait for. They acquired Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (37 hours after being traded from the Rangers) from the Twins, which only adds to the already combustive lineup that includes Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Joey Gallo, Luke Voit (maybe) and Antony Rizzo, whom they just resigned for two more years. While Covid vaccinations could hold back the number of games these guys play together, which would be extremely disappointing over a shot in the arm, they still have one of the most watchable teams on paper for anyone who loves to see balls flying over fences and doesn’t mind seeing 14 strikeouts a game.

7. Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays’ roster is, on paper, pretty unexceptional. Shane Mclanahan, Drew Rassmussan and Luis Patino are all going to get their first real shots at big league rotations, and who knows how that will go. Their lineup has fun guys like Brandon Lowe, Randy Arozarena and of course Wander Franco. My reason for putting them so high really has very little to do with the names though, and more to do with my faith that they will once again turn no-name guys I haven’t heard of into all-star caliber talents. Plus, even if they don’t, they’ll have a competitive roster and one of the most fun young stars in the league in Franco, so I’m pretty excited to watch them play. I might try and aim for road games, though, since they have the least exciting atmosphere in baseball in the Trop.

6. Los Angeles Dodgers

I know the Dodgers check every single box. They have one of the most fun rosters in baseball, with a lineup led by Trae and Justin Turner, Max Muncie and Mookie Betts. They have an awesome rotation with Buehler, Kershaw and eventually Dustin May, who is one of the most fun young guys in the league. Their broadcast team is excellent and they have absolutely electric crowds. I know all of that. I’m also not putting them higher than sixth, because I hate watching them win and don’t want to do it anymore. I surely will plenty anyway, but I refuse to put them higher on the list out of spite.

5. San Francisco Giants

The Giants are awesome. They have five starting pitchers that I’m really excited about watching. Logan Webb is my absolute favorite kind of pitcher, as he puts ridiculous movement on the ball and can place it on a dime when he’s going right. They signed Carlos Rodon, who is a wonderfully explosive lefty with a knee-buckling slider. They have Anthony DeSclafani, who has huge breaking pitches that just dance around the plate. In the back end, they’ll have the two awkward lefties in Alex Cobb and Alex Wood. It’s just a delightful blend of talent and guile, and there will never be a game where I won’t be interested in whose pitching. Their lineup is fun too, as I am very curious how Brandon Crawford and Lomante Wade Jr. come back from their surprisingly successful 2021 campaigns. Really, though, they could have AA guys out their with this staff and I’d still love every second.

4. San Diego Padres

Last year, this was the team I was most excited about by far. This year, with the early injury to Fernando Tatis Jr. sidelining him for the foreseeable future, it just isn’t quite the same. I am not worried that they’ll be the team they were late last season, as I think a number of wild factors led to that outcome that won’t exist this year, and I still love some of the guys they’re gonna be sending out such as Jake Cronenworth and Wil Meyers. Yu Darvish, Mike Clevinger and Blake Snell will make for a fun rotation as long as they can stay healthy. Really, though, I just know I’ll watch a ton of games when Nando comes back, and that’s why they’re still in the top five.

3. Seattle Mariners

Gosh this team is going to be fun. Jerry Dipoto took the plucky, scrappy team from last year that won 90 games seemingly through pure will-power and added the reining American League Cy Young winner in Robbie Ray, a plug anywhere all-star in Adam Frazier and a top 30 hitter in Jesse Winker. Through in a full season of Jarred Kelenic and the eventual call-up of Julio Rodriguez and who knows what this team is capable of. With the expanded play-offs, its quite likely that the Mariners’ historic play-off drought is over, and you can bet Seattle will go crazy when that happens. Also their booth is excellent, which is less important than everything else but it’s still nice.

2. Chicago White Sox

I have long been excited for this team, and I’m honestly surprised they’re not number one. Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez and Loan Moncada are the sort of young, vibrant players that I think baseball needs more of. Luis Robert is one of the most incredibly talented players in the entire league, and I seriously think this year he could fight for MVP votes. On top of that, this team just has a swagger that’s impossible to not enjoy. Whether its Liam Hendricks and Lance Lynn dropping f-bombs on the mound or their lineup seemingly competing for who can have the best bat-flip, this team has a fun chemistry that other teams just can’t replicate. Expect this team to be earning prime-time showings everywhere by the end of the season, because they’re just too gosh darn fun not to watch.

1. Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have everything. Vlad Guerrero Jr. is an absolute monster at the plate. Bo Bichette is the sort of wild athlete that is always fun to watch whether he’s blasting home runs or sprinting full speed around the bases. George Springer is the sort of complete player that every team wishes they had in centerfield. Even the pitching staff, which had been their biggest weakness for years, has not only survived losing the reigning Cy Young winner in Robbie Ray, but has actually built what will probably be the best rotion they’ve had in years. José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Yusie Kikuchi, Hyun Jin Ryu and Alex Monoah are as good a 1-5 as any team in baseball has. The bullpen is really the only complaint anyone could have about this team, but the rest of the roster more than makes up for it. This team has too many great guys and too much personality to not be a blast to watch, and I had no question that they were the team I am most excited to see.