CLEVELAND — Baseball's back, and WKYC Studios is ready!
Like you, we can't wait for take in all the action at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. The team name may have changed to the Guardians, but the spirit of the game remains the same.
That means it's time for one of our favorite traditions: Our 3News staff predictions! We asked some of our top personalities and sports analysts how they felt the Guardians would do this season, and they did not disappoint.
Without further adieu, here are our best guesses for the 2022 campaign!
Jay Crawford
- Final record: 74-88, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Franmil Reyes
- Breakout star: Triston McKenzie
- Additional thoughts: "What could have been again had the team only spent some dough on a few outfield bats. Maybe next year."
Betsy Kling
- Final record: 73-89, 4th in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Shane Bieber
- Breakout star: Amed Rosario
- Additional thoughts: "There will be five walk-off wins."
Dave 'Dino' DeNatale
- Final record: 80-82, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Cal Quantrill
- Additional thoughts: "Terry Francona and the starting pitching will keep the Guardians relevant, but there’s simply not enough punch in the lineup outside of José Ramírez and Franmil Reyes for this team to compete for the postseason. It will be interesting to watch how quickly some of the organization’s young position players develop."
Laura Caso
- Final record: 85-77, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: Lose in Wild Card Series
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Bobby Bradley
- Additional thoughts: "The season is going to surprise us and with the signing of José Ramírez we will definitely knock it out of the park and help the team in a positive way! Go Guardians!"
Nick Camino
- Final record: 82-80, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Shane Bieber
- Breakout star: Steven Kwan
- Additional thoughts: "A quiet offseason following the MLB lockout is certainly testing even die-hard fans' patience at this point. However, with a terrific starting rotation and a Hall of Fame manager in the dugout, the new-look Guardians could stay in the postseason mix well into September."
Sara Shookman
- Final record: 85-77, 4th in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Shane Bieber
- Breakout star: Steven Kwan
- Additional thoughts: "I keep thinking how my mom loves to say, 'You get what you pay for,' but I'm hopeful the Guardians have a good showing. I'm excited about this new name and chapter."
Tyler Carey
- Final record: 84-78, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Shane Bieber
- Breakout star: Steven Kwan
- Additional thoughts: "The starting rotation remains a strength, but even with J-Ram extended and young talent on the way, that lineup just doesn't have enough to get this team where it needs to go."
Stephanie Haney
- Final record: 84-78, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: "I predict we make a late-season run to get into the playoffs and get through the Wild Card Series. From there, I leave it up to the baseball powers that be!"
- Team MVP: "José Ramírez is the obvious answer for team MVP, and apparently a safe jersey to buy now that he’ll be here for the next seven years!"
- Breakout star: "I hear good things about Steven Kwan, which means he was the first person to come up when I googled 'Most exciting rookies Cleveland Guardians.' Apparently, 'he snares corkscrewing deep flies and blazes liners into the gaps,' according to coveringthecorner.com, so I stand by this very informed choice!"
- Additional thoughts: "I'm looking forward to an exciting season of Guardians baseball! It's going to be a great 2022, with lots of sunny days, winning games, and plenty of fireworks to close out the home games at night! Of course we want to win, but I think a baseball game is more about the experience. We're lucky to have a team in town, so I plan to enjoy them as much as possible! GO GUARDIANS!"
Danny Cunningham
- Final record: 77-85, 4th in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Steven Kwan
- Additional thoughts: "The Guardians are going to take a step back this season as they pivot towards younger players after a less-than-intimidating lineup doesn't fare well early in the season. The future is bright for the franchise with José Ramírez locked up long-term, but this isn't the year they break the sport's longest championship drought."
Mike Polk Jr.
- Final record: 77-85, 4th in AL Central
- Playoffs?: "I fear the Guardians will have October off this year... convalescing."
- Team MVP: Shane Bieber
- Breakout star: "I'm going with reliever Konnor Pilkington, not only because he apparently had a really nice spring but also a pretty rad name. Even if he doesn't work out and he gets sent back down within the first month and is never heard of again, it will be entertaining for someone to see his funny name here if they read this article a year from now."
- Additional thoughts: "I'm obviously happy about the José extension. The pitching should be dynamite. I'm looking forward to the season and I love watching baseball in Cleveland.
"That said, it's not breaking news that we're still one of the youngest and most poorly-funded teams in the league. I don't care how they spin it, I don't care how many times the apologists and baseball experts try to tell me that it's not as bad as it seems and that the complex economics of baseball are simply beyond my feeble civilian mind. I'm not buying it. We're trying to exist in a league where we are supposed to compete against teams that have payrolls nearly six times as large as ours.
"It's like if you were to play a game of Monopoly in which one player starts with $6,000 and you start with $1,000. Technically, if absolutely everything breaks well for you and poorly for them, you can still win. But you are at such a distinct initial disadvantage that, regardless of the outcome, it can hardly be called a fair competition.
"If a game is truly fair, one shouldn't have to rely on logistical miracles to prevail. All The Angels, Yankees, and Red Sox have to do is just recklessly buy every piece of property they land on. The Guardians have to be far more discerning. We can't afford Park Place and Boardwalk, so we just have to pray that people keep landing on our Baltic and Mediterranean properties again and again.
"Okay, even I'm exhausted by my own analogy at this point, and I'm tapping out. Go Guards."
David Kinder
- Final record: 82-80, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Shane Bieber
- Breakout star: Myles Straw
- Additional thoughts: "Shane Bieber has an injury-free and historic season. He wins his second Cy Young and throws the team's first no-hitter since 1981. However, there's not enough offense to go along with good pitching, and the team has an average season and is out of the Central race early."
Shawn Dunagan
- Final record: 80-82, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Franmil Reyes
- Breakout star: Amed Rosario
- Additional thoughts: "Starting pitching gets the Guardians off to a surprising start, but the offense can't keep up and they fall short of the playoffs."