Fitz On Sports: 2022 MLB Midseason Report Card

This is my third straight week of writing a column, albeit with a slight delay in publishing on Sunday due to various other commitments. Still, progress is progress!

The only problem coming into this week was I initially didn’t know what to write in my spare time. The last two weeks touched on the NBA and NCAA sports (Okay, it was mostly NCAA Football for the last column). You can probably guess who we’ll talk about next week.

Anyway, we’re going to try (keyword, TRY) to do a quick team-by-team report card right around mid-season and with the All-Star break finally upon us.

On the suggestion of editor Brandon Lewis, I’m going to go a little more in the style of my ‘Where Things Stand’ series, albeit with less humor and snark to an extent.

We’re going to go on a tier list, from ‘World Series Contenders’ to ‘Bottom of the Barrel.’ We’ll go in alphabetical order for each tier.

Let the fun and games begin!

World Series Contenders

Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees

If you’re a long-time reader of mine, you know there’s a few teams on this list I am not fond of *Cough* Houston *Cough*.

Sentiment notwithstanding, the Braves have benefitted from having a solid lineup, including Austin Riley proving last year’s breakout wasn’t a fluke and playing on an MVP-caliber level. Kyle Wright finally breaking out has been a long time coming, pairing with Max Fried near the front of the rotation, with Mike Soroka due back in August.

Houston won’t say die. They lose Carlos Correa and George Springer, and yet, they still compete with the best of them. That includes the Dodgers perennial juggernaut, and the Mets (dare I say) finally putting it together. I can already hear the cheers for Steve Cohen giving no flying F*CKS about the luxury tax on the march to a World Series.

Last but not least, the Yankees. Everyone knows they’re good. This was the expectation for the past four to five years, but they’re finally here. God forbid they choke in the playoffs, lest America deal with the insufferable Bronx faithful for an entire calendar year about their 28th World Series title.

There is very little doubt about these five. While most of these rosters do have a hole or two, it can be patched up easily.

Playoff Contender

Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays

I know an admission and two notable omissions are going to get me killed here, but let me explain first!

The AL Central is a crapshoot, with the White Sox underperforming, and the Twins not exactly a picture of consistency. The Guardians are going to pull off one blockbuster move for the here and now with an eye on the future by acquiring a corner bat or catcher, with their enviable prospect depth providing trade partners good value. Seriously, they have too many good prospects and not enough roster spots. Call it homerism if you want, but the best manager in the division is Terry Francona. If he gets reinforcements, including from the recently promoted Nolan Jones and outside sources, all bets are off.

The Brewers seem like the best team in the NL Central. They have the reigning NL Cy Young in Corbin Burnes with a good rotation and solid lineup. I’ll be shocked if they collapse, but crazier things have happened.

The Phillies seem like a contender after firing Joe Girardi. I know Bryce Harper is injured, but the Phils have a gutsy squad. They aren’t going to nab the division, but they will make some noise with their starting pitching.

On the west coast, the Padres have rebounded despite having gone the entire season without Fernando Tatis Jr. It’s an impressive enough showing I believe that they won’t collapse given the presence of Bob Melvin as manager, and while the Giants have taken a step back, they still have the roster to make noise in October. I don’t think they’ll go out quietly.

Tampa Bay is Tampa Bay, and Toronto is a team I think will catch fire in the second half following the dismissal of Charlie Montoyo. I keep waiting for Nate Pearson to finally break out for the Blue Jays, a la Byron Buxton in Minnesota… when healthy.

I skipped over the Mariners because they weren’t contenders for the first two months or so. Robbie Ray looked off, Eugenio Suarez was still in an absolute funk, and Mitch Haniger got injured (again) after a healthy 2021 campaign.

Now, it looks like the M’s may finally break baseball’s longest playoff drought. They have an active 14 game win streak headed into the break, and Robbie Ray is looking like his Cy Young self. If Seattle can just get Jarred Kelenic right, I think Houston should start sweating bullets.

Just a Bit Outside

Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals

This is controversial, and I know I’m getting panned. I do not trust Boston or St. Louis. Both playoff squads in 2021, there’s something about those two teams where I can’t buy in. The Cardinals are in a weak division, but I can’t put my finger on it. Boston is in the equivalent of the NFL’s ‘Division of Death’ that is now the AFC West over in MLB’s AL East.

Minnesota and Chicago are either battered by injuries or fading down the stretch. See above for the rest.

The Marlins may seem like a surprise here, but they’re only three games out of a Wild Card before play on July 15. They have pitching, and the hitting has come around. If you can add one more bat (maybe two), they won’t make it easy for the Braves and Mets. Alas, Miami ends up just outside.

Wait until next year

Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals

Kansas City has talent, but they aren’t near ready yet. Detroit was the team I pegged for a bigger step forward, but injuries to their rotation and underperformance have me soured on their outlook.

BUT THE ORIOLES?! I wanted to list them in the tier above, but that wouldn’t have been fair. Adley Rutschman has arrived, Cedric Mullins is legit, and there’s more to come for the O’s. Getting above .500 just before the All-Star break via a 10-game win streak is shocking. I do think Trey Mancini and Jorge Lopez will find new homes to help ensure by next year the Orioles are true contenders in the AL East. Give them some kudos for now because 2023 is when the real expectations take root.

Purgatory

Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals

Colorado inspires no confidence, Arte Moreno’s teams keep wasting Mike Trout’s prime and Shohei Ohtani’s brilliance, and the Rangers need more pitching.

The Nationals are stuck here because of one player: Juan Soto. He’s a game changer, and the squad as constructed is terrible, though if he extends–

Okay, Juan Soto and Scott Boras are out of their freaking minds! YOU TURNED DOWN A $440 MILLION EXTENSION?!?!

I mean, how?! Why?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!

If someone put a $440 million dollar extension to lock me up to the team I debuted with, I’d take it in a heartbeat! If you don’t fall off the proverbial cliff, you’re an automatic Hall of Fame lock.

While the Lerner ownership selling the franchise likely impacted Soto’s thinking to some extent, who pays up that money now? Because I sure as hell know the Nationals are not going to find a suitable trade partner who will pony up a godfather package of five or more Top 100 prospects AND pay Soto $500 million at the bare minimum.

Get your popcorn ready, folks. Plans may have changed.

Bottom of the Barrel

Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates

All of these teams suck. I don’t want to waste my breath on the Diamondbacks since the other four are far more intriguing.

The Cubs signed a few guys this offseason, with Marcus Stroman being average at best after getting his pay day. They do have some interesting pieces like Christopher Morel, who has a speed/power blend that could be deadly if he can cut back on the strikeouts.

The Reds absolutely obliterated their roster. It’s going to take until Joey Votto retires or leaves the organization for anything to happen. Hunter Greene and their pitching prospects are intriguing, but unless Nick Senzel has a late-career breakout, this team isn’t doing anything other than trading Luis Castillo for more prospects to accelerate the rebuild.

Oakland is a team that while they are a shell of their prior selves, time and again, they rise from the ashes. Gone are Matt Olson and Chapman, Chris Bassit, Sean Manaea and others. They’re yesterday’s news. A new core is going to emerge no later than 2025 or 2026, with a three-year window to get to the Fall Classic before hitting the reset button yet again. We know what Billy Beane is capable of.

The team that may be closest to contention are the Pirates. Oneil Cruz has provided a jolt at shortstop, they have a few interesting young arms, and Brian Reynolds still hasn’t made it to arbitration. Now, the Bucs need to unlock Ke’Bryan Hayes’ power, and they’ll be unstoppable once the reinforcements arrive.

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Sean Fitzgerald is an award-winning journalist, writer, sports reporter, voice over talent and co-host of The Weekenders Podcast with Mitch Spinell. Follow him on Twitter @fitzonsportsbsr for insights, articles and occasional livestreams, as well as weekly columns here on medium.com.