MLB 2022 playoffs: Seven underappreciated players who could play postseason hero

Major League Baseball’s postseason has arrived, and that means it’s time to ask the big questions about the tournament. Who will win the World Series? Which unbeatable juggernaut will be slain before the League Championship Series? And, on an individual level, will anyone be able to follow Randy Arozarena’s flight path from 2020?

Arozarena, for those who may have forgotten, pinned his proverbial star that October by hitting .377/.442/.831 with 10 home runs and 14 runs batted in across 20 games for the Tampa Bay Rays. That he had appeared in only 23 regular-season games gave him the otherworldly impression that he had manifested out of thin air. The Rays may have ended up falling short in their championship pursuits, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, but Arozarena gained immortality in his own way. In addition to getting his name in the history books, Arozarena will forever be lionized in annual columns like this one, where we throw darts hoping to predict the “next” him.

Now, readers of a certain kind might object to this exercise on the grounds that Arozarena’s postseason emergence was an anomaly, the once-in-a-generation product of an unusual year. We agree. Last postseason didn’t feature an Arozarena-like ascent, and this one likely won’t, either. We find this exercise worthwhile all the same because it allows us to highlight players who might have been overshadowed by their older, more accomplished teammates throughout the daily grind of the regular season, and who may make their mark (and raise their Q score) under October’s lights. Besides, would you rather think about this trivial baseball matter, or would you rather contemplate all of this old world’s new horrors? Right.

We’re using the same ground rules as last year with one new adjustment: this year, we’re focusing exclusively on position players. Sorry, pitchers, but part of Arozarena’s charm was that he performed on a nightly basis. Here the other restrictions: 

• No top prospects. Nobody is going to be surprised if Julio Rodríguez or someone else who was considered a top-25 prospect has a big month. Ditto for no-doubt, top-notch performers like Andrés Giménez, who ought to receive consideration near the top of MVP Award ballots. We’re trying to highlight the underappreciated, not the obvious.
• No prior postseason experience. We’re aware that Arozarena technically appeared in the playoffs…