3 concerning projections for the Guardians offense in 2022

The Guardians baseball team has some concerning projections for 2022.

If you know baseball, you may know of ZiPS. Created by Szymborski, ZiPS is his mathematical calculation that is supposed to predict players’ upcoming seasons. He’s fairly accurate too, which makes some of these predictions all the more concerning for the Guardians.

For 2021, he predicted Jose Ramirez would have a .286 batting average (.266 in reality), with 103 RBI’s (exact), 91 strikeouts (87), 26 stolen bases (27), and 32 home runs (36). Now, it’s not an exact science but it does give you a general idea of what’s expected.

Granted his system doesn’t really take into account the variables of a player taking a massive step forward, like how working with a new coach may improve their abilities. Yet, it is a good barometer of what to expect if things remain the same.

So with that, we’re going to look at some of the more concerning projections he has for 2022.

Three projected concerns for the Guardians

Bobby Bradley will have double the strikeouts as he does hits

The Guardians really need to have more consistency at the plate, and that means more guys being patient and not chasing after things for a single home run. Bobby Bradley may be the worst offender of this, constantly chasing after balls that he should be patient with. It’s not surprising, he had 99 strikeouts last year and hit only .208. If the Guardians are going to compete, it’s either because the team found a way to cut down on his strikeouts or improved his position with someone new. The team can’t afford for him to have 161 strikeouts like he’s projected to have. Especially if he finishes with just 85 hits.

Bradley Zimmer isn’t expected to improve

This is the least surprising thing on these projections; Bradley Zimmer is expected to be below average yet again. He’s expected to have a batting average of just .221 with nine home runs and 37 RBI across 330 at-bats. Essentially he’s putting up those numbers in just half of the possible games the team will play (82). A part-time, below-average player is not how many saw his career going when he was in the minors.

Nolan Jones’ weak rookie campaign

Nolan Jones is projected to play just 118 games next year, which isn’t great since he’s the franchises’ mos touted prospect and he’s approaching his 24th birthday. He’s projected to have a .231 batting average, with just 14 home runs and 46 RBI. Not exactly encouraging figures for a team desperate for offense from anywhere they can get it. This is also dependent on him coming up in the first place because if we’re going off of his season last year, he’s nowhere close to ready. His splits last year in Triple-A were just .238/.356/.431, with an OPS of .787. Not exactly numbers that provide comfort.