Welcome to another season of Razz-matazz Fantasy Baseball! Now with less social distancing! Maybe. Hey hey, you’re too close man, too close! So, despite the pandemic, here we are with another year of staff picks because staff picks and pandemics go together amazingly well. I mean, have you seen the roll we’ve been on the last few years? Covid and us are like this man. And talking about rolling… it’s how residents in Indiana get down a hill, or so I’ve heard. Technically I’ve never been there since I only like visiting places that have paved roads and not Duke. Another fun fact! Did you know that despite the modern advancement of technology and science, we still have no way to have every writer provide their extended take on every single player in the MLB? I mean, what would you have us do, write more? Crazy! And so we have this quick-and-easy presentation that provides you, the Razzmatazzball community, a viewer-friendly and succinct breakdown of how we all feel about the upcoming season.

So without further ado, here are our Official 2022 Razzball Picks! (Be sure to share yours in the comments section!) And be sure to add exclamation marks, we have a quota to fill people!

2022 MLB Staff Picks

National League Rookie of the Year

“I think C.J. Abrams starts with the Padres Opening Day and they find a way to keep him in the lineup once Tatis returns from his injury. The Padres need to get off to a quick start and GM A.J. Preller is on the hot seat this year after their lackluster end to the season last year. Abrams has 80 grade speed and has already shown off his power stroke by hitting a couple of HR’s in the spring forcing the Padres hand to keep him up on the ML squad.” – JTells.

“There’s nothing negative to say about a guy who went after pick 200 in most industry drafts. Seiya Suzuki’s got a history of great contact and can steal a bag or two. The Cubs can quietly make a run for the NL Central title, and Suzuki might sneak to the top of the lineup in a playoff chase, giving fantasy teams meaningful at-bats during the crucial playoff run”. – EWB.

National League Cy Young

“I was the first to take Freddy Peralta in TGFBI so I’m speaking this one into existence for the benefit of my team. I love his raw stuff, talk about filth and he took a big leap last season. This is the year he takes another step and puts it all together, bringing home a Cy Young for himself and a championship for me. Book it!” – Butters.

 

2022 Fantasy Staff Picks

Break Out Player of The Year (Sleeper)

You might think we’re describing someone who breaks through walls and then falls asleep really fast. Which seems weird. So I wouldn’t really put it past us… To limit the confusion, I’d better point out that these are our potential breakout candidates that you should be grabbing long and grabbing hard.

Most Overrated Player of The Year (Bust)

These are the guys being held on a pedestal, who will, in return for all your worship and sacrifice, ruin everything thing you hold dear. See: 2014, Fielder, Prince. Or 2015, Longoria, Evan. Take heed Razzballers, avoid these guys at all costs.

I Think I Love You, So What Am I So Afraid Of? (Infatuation)

Yep, we all have one. Find out which player your Razzball writer has an undying love for, despite any rational reason or purpose.

Come Back Player of The Year (Come Back)

Again, pretty easy to figure out what this one means.

Most Valuable Fantasy Pitcher (MVFP)

This is where things get sticky. (That’s what she said.) Technically, this could be the best pitcher overall… but the key word here is value. You know this because I underlined it. While the vanilla top-5 pitcher pick could still technically be the most valuable pitcher at the end of the year, there’s still enough room in the definition to allow the possibility that Rod Beck will come out of retirement, have an ERA of 1.50 and get 40 saves. Seeing as his ownership rate historically always stood in the nothing-to-negative digits since he’s been retired for an entire era, a performance like that would be the most valuable in the history of mankind. And probably destroy the universe as we know it.

“Jesus Luzardo is my Most Valuable Pitcher this year. Luzardo is showing added velocity and improved control thus far in Spring Training. Look for Jesus to rise from the dead last year (6.61 ERA, minors demotion), and realize his former top prospect potential with the Marlins year. Jesus Luzardo can be had for very cheap so far in drafts but his increased velocity and ADP should help place your faith in Jesus this draft season!” – Scar.

“The guy to own in the Minnesota to rotation this season will be Bailey Ober. His profile and makeup reminded me of fellow power/control artist Shane Bieber and is primed for a big 2022 season.” – Jeremy.

Most Valuable Fantasy Hitter (MVFH)

Same thing as the Most Valuable Pitcher, but with hitters. CRAZY, I know.

“I chose Adolis Garcia as the MVFH this season because his draft price makes no sense. He had 31 homers and 16 steals in his de facto rookie season and is usually going outside the top 200 in drafts. The lineup around him is even better this year and he’d be the steal of the draft if he duplicates what he did last year, let alone get better. This is the Cuban everyone wanted Yasiel Puig to be.” – The Real Joey Bart.

“Matt Chapman has been hurt/recovering and still has been showing off elite exit velocity and surprising sprint speed. Don’t forget he’s in Toronto now and you can get him as, like, the 16th 3B-eligible guy off the board. Would a return to Top 10 3B status surprise anyone? Shouldn’t.” – JKJ.

What are your picks for the year? Tell us below!

Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell. You can follow him on Twitter @jaywrong.