5 breakout candidates for the 2022 MLB season

One of baseball's best personalities, Chisholm has flashed his star potential in parts of two seasons with the Marlins. Chisholm homered 18 times, drove in 53 runs and stole 23 bases a season ago. He also posted five defensive runs saved at second base. If Chisholm can get on base more consistently -- he hit .248 with 34 walks in 2021 -- he's going to be an All-Star caliber player for the Fish.

This was the easiest name to put on this list. Franco only played in 70 games in his rookie season, but still managed to post an .810 OPS and finish third in American League Rookie of the Year voting. The Rays got out in front of things this offseason, signing Franco to an 11-year/$182 million deal that will probably look team-friendly in short order. Expect Franco to emerge as one of baseball's best shortstops in 2022. It would hardly be a shock if the 21-year-old forces his way into the top 10 players in the league conversation ahead of the 2023 season.

As recent as last November, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski cast doubt on whether Moniak would be on the team's Opening Day roster in 2022. But after an offseason where he continued to add strength, Moniak shined as he got to work with highly-touted hitting coach Kevin Long in the spring. The former No. 1 overall pick hit .378 with six home runs in Spring Training. Despite previously looking overmatched at the major league level, the 23-year-old may very well be the Opening Day center fielder for the Phillies.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft recently learned that he'll be the Opening Day first baseman for a Tigers team with quite a bit of excitement heading into the 2022 season. Across three levels of the minor leagues, Torkelson homered 30 times and drove in 91 runs a season ago. The 22-year-old is our pick to win American League Rookie of the Year.

Trea Turner is our pick to win the National League MVP Award in 2022, so you can guess that we're still trying to process why the Nationals traded the star infielder. With that said, they should get some immediate return on their trade from Ruiz this season, as he'll be the starting catcher at the major league level for the full season. While money will ultimately be the determining factor in Juan Soto's long-term future with the team, it's imperative that they hit on players like Ruiz and begin to put a competitive team around the star right fielder again.