Braves Fans Will Love ESPN's 2022 MLB Playoff Predictions

Friday, Oct. 7 marks the start of the 2022 MLB postseason. The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves will watch the Wild Card Series from the sidelines as they use their first-round bye to regroup, hoping to become the first back-to-back champions in over 20 years.

Whether or not the Braves accomplish that goal remains to be seen. For now, though, Atlanta fans will love where their team falls when it comes to ESPN's annual MLB playoff predictions.

Braves Playoff Predictions

ESPN surveyed 31 MLB experts to predict how the postseason will unfold. A total of 10 of them (32.3%) predict that the Braves will win the 2022 World Series, which is the second-highest number of votes behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers at 12 (38.7%).

It truly is hard to doubt Atlanta. On top of last year's championship experience, Brian Snitker's club has been one of the hottest acts of the second half of the 2022 campaign. The Braves posted MLB's second-highest winning percentage (.667) in the final 81 games largely thanks to their stellar offense, which was tied for most home runs and ranked second in runs scored during the second half.

Even on the other side of the ball, Atlanta's pitching staff combined for a 3.18 ERA in the second half (fourth-best). It certainly helps that starting pitcher Max Fried (14-7, 2.48 ERA) has been lights-out all year while closer Kenley Jansen led the NL with 41 saves this season.

The Braves' first step to back-to-back titles comes when they face the winner of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Phillies series. The good news is that Atlanta has had success against both clubs, going 4-3 against St. Louis and 11-8 versus Philadelphia.

Braves World Series Odds

FanDuel Sportsbook also likes the reigning champions' chances of repeating. The Braves' +500 odds to win the 2022 World Series are tied with the New York Yankees for third-best, trailing only the Dodgers (+290) and Houston Astros (+380).

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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