Following the previous installments, this one features the Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals. How will the Seattle Mariners, who bid farewell to Kyle Seager in 21 years, reinvigorate themselves in the 2022 season? And what kind of new season outlook does the St. Louis Cardinals, who are about to usher in the 22-year veteran drama, have? Let's take a look!
2021 Season Review
The Mariners' performance in the 2021 season thrilled fans, with more than 90 wins expected in the regular season, which is also the Mariners' best regular season record in eighteen years, regaining the second place in the division after four years, and this time only two wins away from knocking on the door of the playoffs. The team's growth has been remarkable, with Mitch Haniger making the league's home run 39 in a single season, winning 42 reverse wins throughout the year, and achieving positive results for four consecutive months in the second half of the season, squeezing out the Athletics on the final day of the road to compete for the American League wild card.
Personnel changes
Several core positions on the Mariners' lineup have changed compared to last season. Let's start with the strike side: As one of the top pillars of the playing line, Kyle Seager retired with 35 hits and 101 RBIs in 2021, becoming a veritable lifelong sailor. Seeger's departure is undoubtedly worse for the already weak-hit Sailors, so who will carry the banner of the offensive end of the new season? The answer is in the Reds. The Mariners traded two Gunners from the Reds: outfielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez will take over from Siege town to defend third base, and Wink's arrival will directly lift the outfield by a notch. You must know that last season, the two of them worked together to cut 55 bombs and 150 hits in the Reds!
Key stars
Mitch Haniger, outfielder
Speaking of the long-hitting heavy gunners, we have to mention that Mitch Hanniger, who broke out last season, has experienced the team's ups and downs and many serious injuries, and the former All-Star has recovered with amazing perseverance and made a comeback! 39 boom + 100 points, all the hit results have set a new career high, maybe this is just a successful start? After Sieg retired, he needed to be relied on to lead the new wave of success for the Sailors.
Adam Frazier, second baseman/outfielder
Fraser, an All-Star second baseman traded from the Padres, is also an indispensable part, last year's Mariners' average shooting percentage and baseboarding rate were in the bottom of the league, and it is necessary for this new classmate to play his best first baseman ability, with Suarez, Vink, Hanniger's long-hit ability to score, the problem of weak blows is bound to be solved.
Robbie Ray, starting pitcher
On the pitch side, while The departure of Yusei Kikuchi has left the rotation one less stable left-handed, the Mariner signed the market's most popular Cy young prize winner on a five-year contract to start with a left-handed shot, and it was the top pitcher who contributed 248 strikeouts in 193.1 innings last year and had a 2.84 ERA! This signing is a huge boost to rotation. Judging by the current roster, the Mariners will return to the traditional five-man rotation in the new season.
Dark Horse Candidate: Logan Gilbert, pitcher
In addition, the second year of super rookie Logan Gilbert is well worth looking forward to. His 2021 season was a success, the last 120 innings of the first shot is a good 4.68 ERA, more importantly, the talent he showed is not reflected in the PAK rate, the rookie's first year in the major league let many top batters see his excellent ball handling ability, and the combination of four-stitched speedball and sliding ball is very deceptive, which is an important weapon for his triple strikers. In the new season, there are Cy young teammates to pass on the experience, and there is a lot of potential to quickly grow into another core of the Mariners' rotation!
Recruit registration: Julio Rodriguez, outfielder
The famous Julio, last year in the small league a random kill, A +/AA general score of 0.347/0.441/0.560, can be said to be an invincible hand below AA. His strike ability of the speed double A is also unambiguous, and the official website has given a rating of up to 70, which shows how optimistic the experts are about him. Rodriguez, who even represented his country at the Olympics last year, almost locked up a seat in the Mariners' future field, and the only thing to consider now is when will he receive the phone call he dreamed of after only playing 46 games in the senior minor leagues?
2022 season outlook
The Mariners have undergone a qualitative change after strong reinforcements, and the dream outfield is composed of two All-Stars (Wink, Hanniger) with Jarred Kelenic and Kyle Lewis, and the infield is dominated by Fraser and Suarez, and the strength is definitely not to be underestimated after the biggest blow to the team problem has improved. Although the new labor agreement adds a playoff spot to the American League, it may be easier for the Mariners to enter the playoffs as the American League West Champion than to compete for wild cards because the Terror of the League's Eastern Division is still there. If you want to compete for the division championship, the powerful Astros and Angels are fierce rivals. Don't forget that the Mariners still have the top farm system in the league, and what will Rodriguez, who is third in the league's top 100 rookies this year, expect from fans? In the 2022 playoffs, the Mariners are coming!
Source: Seattle Mariners State Social Media
The Cardinals in the 2021 season can be described as both harvest and regret, the Cardinals signed Nolan Arenado before the start of the season, and the landing of the star third baseman and the already relatively neat lineup have ignited the Hope of winning the World Series again. But the enthusiasm of the entire crew lasted only two months, with widespread injuries hitting jack Flaherty, who made the most serious injury list after scoring eight consecutive wins in the season, and the team's regular five-man rotation was once only healthy for leader Adam Wainwright. The three-fire line of the opening season also gradually rose and fell, causing the Cardinals to fall from the top of the League of Nations to three or four for a long time.
In the middle of the season, the Cardinals added a number of veteran pitchers to fight the fire, and several veterans such as Jon Lester, Wade LeBlanc and TJ McFarland joined in to fill the huge holes in the rotation and bullpen. Coupled with the cardinal Wildlings' excellent defensive performance, the team's performance gradually improved, and September, which hit the playoffs, squeezed into the wild card with a wave of record-breaking seventeen consecutive wins!
The Cardinals in the 2021 season won five gold gloves: paul Goldschmidt on first base, Tommy Edman at second base, Arenado at third base, Tyler O'Neill on the left and Harrison Bader in major league history. It is also an affirmation of the current strongest defensive team in the league.
Source: St. Louis Cardinal Official Social Media
With the end of the 2021 season and the end of some non-main premium contracts within the Cardinals, the salary structure of the new season team is very healthy. In terms of lineup, the Cardinals don't need to make too many adjustments, the young outfield is gradually maturing to be able to stand alone, and the three gold gloves + former All-Star's luxurious interior is rock solid. Growing up, Edmundo Sosa also gave the team more options when Paul DeJong was in his ups and downs.
The team signed starting pitcher Steven Matz on a four-year contract to fill the gap in Kim's left shot after his contract expired, in addition to re-signing McFarland, who did well last season, to stabilize the cowshed and sign former All-Star Corey Dickerson to increase the depth of the outfield and newly designated strike positions. The direction of the Cardinals signing is mostly in small repairs.
Yadier Molina, receiver/Adam Wainwright, pitcher
Previously, Cardinals leaders Molina and Wainwright have "made it clear" that 2022 will be the last season of their respective careers, and the old pair will finally stage the curtain performance. Molina will still play the Cardinals' needle, from matching the ball to instigating the defense, with a wealth of experience to guard the home run. Wainwright was the Cardinals' best pitcher last season, without one, with a single season ERA of 3.05 to win 17 and three finishes. His value is immeasurable, and his contribution to the team is not only the performance of the pitcher hill, his ability to inspire and help young pitchers will also be an important factor in the success of the Cardinals' season. The record for a joint starter in major league history is 324 games. The two Cardinals leaders only need 20 starters this season to break the record and make history, and we'll see.
Dark Horse Candidate: Nolan Arenado, third baseman
Although "Natto" handed over the impressive results of 34 bombs and 105 dots in the first year after going down the mountain, the help in the blow is exactly what the Cardinals urgently need. In fact, such a result did not reach his ceiling, last year's home attack there is still some room for improvement (the away by the three strike rate, the strike rate, the base rate, etc. are obviously better), after a year of running in and adapting, I believe he will have a better hit at home. Sitting in the Cardinal Center's best time, he is definitely the key to the Cardinals' victory in the new season.
Recruit registration: Juan Yepez, first baseman
Ye Peiz was the brightest rising star at Cardinal Farms last year, racing all the way up from the 2A and even into the Cardinals playoff roster to catch the last train of the major leagues, but has not yet had a chance to appear. He exploded 34 home runs throughout the year and contributed 103 RBIs, becoming the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year and directly entering the latest major league official top 10 rookie first baseman list, ranking fifth. The arrival of the League's designated strike will surely provide him with a big enough stage to expect what kind of performances his rookie season will bring.
The Cardinals have been relatively stable in recent years, with top-notch defensive capabilities providing a high fault tolerance rate for the team, and the seventeen-game winning streak at the end of the season also proves that the team's firepower is gradually recovering, as long as it is not affected by injuries, this is a team with no obvious shortcomings.
And the biggest surprise to fans is that the Cardinals even signed the former cricket star Albert Pujos during the spring training stage! The return of the 42-year-old veteran is very touching for Cardinal fans, and the return of a generation of legends also shows that this year will be the last season of his career. So this year's Cardinals game has also added a lot of points of view, how many great records will this legend leave before retiring?
For the Cardinals, the only strong contenders for the Midfield title are the Brewers, and the important goal of the new season must be to win the Midfield Championship and find a way to go further in the playoffs.
A new generation of Sailors and Undead Bird Legends, are the two teams expected to qualify for the playoffs this season? Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments section!