2022 Wimbledon’s Men’s Singles Preview
Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer will not be at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London for this year’s major, but reigning champion Novak Djokovic will look to add another Grand Slam title to his resume in a couple weeks. Djokovic is the defending champion, and he has won Wimbledon six times over the last 11 years. It will be tough to knock off Djokovic, but age is starting to have an impact on the 20-time Grand Slam winner. The 2022 Wimbledon Championships will run from June 27 to July 10 at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London. There will be 128 competitors vying to win the singles’ titles, but only four men have been able to claim glory at Wimbledon since 2003. Eight-time winner Roger Federer will not be in the field, but six-time winner Novak Djokovic, two-time winner Andy Murray, and two-time winner Rafael Nadal are all in the mix. Wimbledon’s Men’s Singles Competitors The Favorite Novak Djokovic has been the best player in men’s tennis for the last four years. Djokovic has won eight Grand Slam titles in that stretch, and he has won the last three Wimbledon Championships. His last major win came on these grounds last year, as he has surpassed Federer as the best player on grass today. Djokovic has one of the greatest backhands of all-time, and he can still go baseline to baseline extremely well. The Contenders Matteo Berrettini has yet to win a Grand Slam, but he made the finals of Wimbledon last year before losing to Djokovic in four sets. Berrettini claimed the first set off the defending champion, yet he lost the next three sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to miss out on the title. He has been great on grass this year winning the Stuttgart Open and Queen’s Club Championships, and his serve is hard to catch up with on this surface. The greatest clay court player of all-time is still a threat to win Wimbledon despite being 36. Rafael Nadal has put together a run that will never be matched at the French Open, and he has won Wimbledon twice. However, Nadal has not won this Grand Slam since 2010. Nadal’s weakest surface is grass, but he is 6-4 against Djokovic on all surfaces since 2017. Hubert Hurkacz has a serve that will be hard to catch up with on the fast grass at Wimbledon. Hurkacz’s serve can reach 151 MPH, reminding many observers of big hitters like John Isner and Ivo Karlovic. Hurkacz made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon last year on the strength of that serve, and he knocked off Daniil Medvedev and Roger Federer before losing to Berrettini. The young and talented Carlos Alcaraz is another player you have to consider a threat at any major now. It’s only a matter of time before Alcaraz becomes one of the best players in men’s tennis, as he made the quarterfinals of last year’s US Open at 18 years old and made it to the quarterfinals of this year’s French Open. Alcaraz won the Rio Open, Miami Open, Barcelona Open, and Madrid Open earlier this year, stunning both Nadal and Djokovic in the last one.
2022 Wimbledon’s Women’s Singles Preview
There is a new dominant force in women’s tennis. The WTA has not had a juggernaut since the wear and tear of being an elite player for two decades started to catch up with Serena Williams. Since Williams claimed her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, we have seen 13 different women combine to win the last 20 majors. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek looks set to be the best player of the next decade though after claiming her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last month. Swiatek just turned 21 years old, and she could be ready to embark on a run towards being one of the all-time greats. Wimbledon’s Women’s Singles Competitors The Favorite Iga Swiatek became the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam title in 16 years when she claimed the 2020 French Open. Swiatek failed to defend her title in 2021, but she was unstoppable at Roland Garros this year. She lost just one set on her way to the title, and she dropped a total of 12 games in her last three matches. Although she has yet to advance past the fourth round of Wimbledon, Swiatek did make the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, and she has been the best woman on the WTA Tour by a wide margin. Swiatek is 44-3 this year and has won six straight titles. The Contenders Coco Gauff made it to the French Open Final last month, and the future is bright for the 18-year-old despite a blowout loss to Swiatek. Gauff has yet to win a major, but she already has a ton of seasoning as she first played on the WTA Tour at the age of 15. She was the youngest competitor in the history of the tournament three years ago, and she will eventually make a deep run at Wimbledon. It was only a few years ago that Simona Halep was the toast of women’s tennis. Halep was the top-ranked player in the world in 2017 and 2018, and she claimed the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon titles. She didn’t take part in Wimbledon last year though, and Halep has been underwhelming in her last three majors. The former No. 1 player in the world has not advanced further than the fourth round, and she is on the wrong side of 30. Ons Jabeur is starting to receive some serious buzz among tennis fans for her recent play. Jabeur beat Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic on her way to winning the German Open on grass last week, and she won the Madrid Open on clay earlier this year too. She fell to Swiatek in the finals of the Italian Open, but she lost in the first round of the French Open and has never made it past the quarterfinals of a major. Wimbledon gave Serena Williams a wild card spot in the tournament, and she will surely attract a lot of action and buzz. Williams hasn’t played a competitive match in almost a year though, and the greatest player of her generation will be turning 41 in September. She is hoping to tie Margaret Court with 24 Grand Slam singles titles, and Wimbledon is her best chance because the grass court lessens the wear and tear on her knees.
UFC 275 Preview
There’s a lot of buzz surrounding UFC 275 next week. Two UFC championship belts will be on the line as Glover Teixeira makes the first title defense of his newly won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against former Rizin Light Heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka, and Valentina Shevchenko will defend her UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship for the seventh time when she faces Taila Santos. Former UFC Women’s Strawweight champions Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be in action too. Dana White will take UFC 275 to the other side of the world. This PPV event will be held at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on Saturday, June 11, 2022. Interestingly, the start time will be the same as if it was held in the Western Hemisphere, as the preliminary card is slated to start at 8 p.m. ET, and the main event will get underway at 10 p.m. ET. Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka We saw 42-year-old Glover Teixeira win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship over Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267. It was an incredible victory for Teixeira, as the 20-year veteran of MMA had never won a UFC belt before, but he isn’t expected to keep the strap for long because of his age. Although Teixeira has now won six straight fights, many observers believe that challenger Jiri Prochazka will emerge victorious in the main event. Prochazka has not lost a fight in over six years, and that defeat came in an old school grand prix event where fighters took on multiple opponents on the same night. He was dominant in Rizin, claiming the light heavyweight title by avenging that previous loss against Muhammed Luwal before joining the UFC in the summer of 2020. The challenger has recorded two extremely impressive knockouts that resulted in bonuses since signing on, and he has knocked out 10 straight opponents within three rounds ahead of his first UFC title shot. Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos Since joining the UFC in 2015, Valentina Shevchenko has only lost to Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko is 11-0 in her other UFC fights, and she has held the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship since winning a unanimous decision against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231. She has been dominant in all six of her title defenses, finishing four of her opponents. This is a big challenge for Taila Santos. She has won four straight fights coming into her first title opportunity in the UFC. However, she has yet to fight an elite opponent in the UFC, much less an S-Tier foe like Shevchenko. Five of her six UFC bouts have gone the distance, but this is the first time that Santos has been asked to go five rounds. Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk The winner of this fight will likely receive the opportunity to take on Carla Esparza for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship in the winter. Joanna Jedrzejczyk held this belt for longer than any other fighter in history after defeating Carla Esparza by knockout at UFC 185. Jedrzejczyk successfully defended the belt five times in a title reign that lasted nearly 1,000 days before losing to Rose Namajunas at UFC 217. Zhang Weili stunned Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen three years ago to win this title. Weili successfully defended the belt against Jedrzejczyk in one of the best fights in the history of MMA before losing the strap and the subsequent rematch with Namajunas. This is the first time that Jedrzejczyk has been in the Octagon since she faced Weili, and many fans are expecting this rematch to deliver in a big way. If Jedrzejczyk doesn’t show any rust, this could be a Fight of the Year candidate.
Four Possible Jake Paul Opponents
Jake Paul has already announced that he will return to the ring on August 13, 2022. Paul has proven to be one of the biggest draws in boxing, silencing the critics that denounced him as little more than a sideshow. Whoever he faces in mid-August will team up with Paul to create one of the biggest PPV events of the year in boxing, so there is no shortage of possible opponents now that we know he can bring in the numbers. Mike Tyson, Conor McGregor, and Anderson Silva are among his most likely opponents, but the most likely opponent is probably Tommy Fury. Tommy Fury We were originally supposed to see Jake Paul face Tommy Fury on December 18 of last year. Unfortunately, Fury had to back out of that fight 12 days before it was set to take place due to a broken rib and a bacterial infection in his chest. Fury is 8-0 as a professional boxer, and he beat Daniel Bocianski by points on the undercard of older brother Tyson Fury’s championship fight against Dillian Whyte in late April. This would be a tough test for Jake Paul as the younger Fury has a four-inch reach advantage and gets to spar with the greatest heavyweight in the world. Mike Tyson Iron Mike was the greatest boxer in the world for a decade from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Mike Tyson is one of the most revered fighters of the modern era, and he has shown that he is willing to get back in the ring if the price is right. Tyson took on five-division champion Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020, and he still has a little something left in the tank despite being 55. He can’t move like he could in his prime, but he still has formidable knockout power. Conor McGregor The Notorious is an expert showman, but his name has lost some of its luster as he has not been as dominant in the Octagon as he was a few years ago. Conor McGregor was manhandled by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, and he was knockout twice in 2021 by Dustin Poirier. Still, McGregor is an intriguing opponent because he knows how to sell a fight with his antics. He has already engaged in a war of the words with Jake Paul, and McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. teamed up for the most lucrative PPV event in boxing history. Anderson Silva One of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time was very impressive against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last summer in Mexico. Silva was supposed to be a name used to simply draw in more of a crowd in the Tribute to the Kings PPV event, but he was able to knock off Chavez and prove that he was still a fighter to be reckoned with at the age of 46. He had no trouble against Tito Ortiz last September, knocking him out in the first round, and Silva is the type of opponent that Paul may prefer as he has a ton of name recognition and recent success but isn’t a threat to really hurt him.
2022 PGA Championship Preview
The second major of the year will take place next week as the top golfers in the world head to Southern Hills in Tulsa. This will be the eighth time that Southern Hills has hosted a major as it has previously hosted the PGA Championship four times and the US Open three times. There is no clear-cut favorite entering this tournament, but the handful of older golfers that are on the Senior Tour might have an edge as this was the site of the 2021 Senior PGA Championship. The 2022 PGA Championship will be held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma from May 19-22. This major was originally supposed to be hosted at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, but it was stripped of host duties last January. The Course It will be tough to post low numbers at Southern Hills as this is a par 70 course that checks in at 7,556 yards. There are only two par 5s, and they are both well over 600 yards in length. Golfers will find it much harder to hit the green than it was when Southern Hills last hosted a major back in 2007, as the course has been significantly redesigned to keep balls from funneling towards the center. Top Contenders Jon Rahm will be seen as one of the favorites at Southern Hills. Rahm is currently ranked No. 2 in the world, and he ended a recent skid with a dominant performance at the Mexico Open. He led the event from start to finish, holding off three competitors on the final day of action. Rahm won the 2021 US Open and finished T8 in all four majors last year, so he must be considered one of the main contenders heading into this tournament. We will see Scottie Scheffler take part in the AT&T Byron Nelson prior to the PGA Championship. Scheffler has been the hottest golfer on the PGA Tour over the last few months, winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC Match Play Championship, and the Masters to become the top-ranked golfer in the world. He wasn’t great in his last event at the Zurich Classic, but he certainly can’t be discounted even if he struggles in Dallas this week. Rory McIlroy has turned back the clock with his recent performances. McIlroy was the top-ranked golfer on the PGA Tour for much of the 2010s, and he claimed four majors (including two PGA Championships) during the early part of that decade. He won the CJ Cup back in October, and he finished runner-up at the Masters prior to a T5 finish at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship. McIlroy will skip the Byron Nelson in order to rest prior to the major. Although Justin Thomas has yet to win a PGA Tour event this year, he has several T8 finishes to his name. Thomas finished T3 at the World Wide Technology Championship and the Valspar Championship, T5 at the Hero World Challenge and Sentry Tournament of Champions, T6 at The Genesis Invitational, and T8 in Phoenix and Augusta. The 2017 PGA Championship winner might be primed to win his second major in Tulsa.
2022 French Open Preview
There is a lot more excitement heading into the French Open than there has been in quite some time. A Rafael Nadal victory is not seen as a fait accompli on the men’s side, while Iga Swiatek will look to celebrate her 21st birthday by winning her second major title. Nadal and Swiatek are seen as the top players heading into the second major of the season, but Nadal is not the overwhelming favorite we have seen in the past and the women’s bracket has been wide open with 12 different winners in the last 14 years. The 2022 French Open will run from May 22 to June 5, 2022, at Roland Garros in Paris, France. The event organizers have allowed Russian and Belarussian athletes to enter the competition, but they will not be able to compete under their country’s flag. Men’s Bracket Rafael Nadal is the greatest clay court player of all-time. Nadal has won the French Open a record 13 times, holding a virtual hammerlock on this major since 2005. He has won 13 of the last 17 French Opens that have been contested, and he is an incredible 105-3 at Roland Garros. Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic (twice) are the only players to best Nadal at the French Open, but he is getting on in years and will turn 36 next month. It’s clear that the exciting Carlos Alcaraz Garfia is the future of men’s tennis. Alcaraz just turned 19 years old last week, and he has already won four ATP titles this year. Alcaraz won on clay in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona, and his performance at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid last week was sensational. The young phenom defeated Nadal and Novak Djokovic on clay court in consecutive days before he dominated Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Novak Djokovic will turn 35 the day the French Open starts, and the 20-time Grand Slam winner nearly won all four majors in 2021. Djokovic has only won the French Open twice though and failed to win the last two majors. The No. 1 ranked player in the world is better on hard court and grass then clay, and that hurts his chances at Roland Garros. Women’s Bracket We saw Iga Swiatek win her first major at Roland Garros two years ago. Swiatek was superb on her way to the title, as she didn’t drop a set and didn’t allow an opponent to win more than four games in any set either. She took some lumps in 2021, but Swiatek made the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, and she is fresh after withdrawing from the Madrid Open with a shoulder injury. Simona Halep won the 2018 French Open and made the finals of this tournament in 2014 and 2017. Halep hasn’t won an event since winning the Australian Open tune-up in Melbourne, but she is at her best on clay. Aryna Sabalenka has yet to win a Grand Slam title, but she did make the semifinals of both Wimbledon and the US Open last year. Sabalenka has never made it further than the third round at the French Open, yet there is a lot of reason to believe she will have her best performance yet this season. She hasn’t had to worry about grass court season since Wimbledon barred her from competing this summer, so she has had more time to hone her skills on clay.
UFC 274 Preview
Two titles will be on the line at UFC 274. Originally, the plan was to have this promotion in Brazil so Charles Oliveira could defend his UFC Lightweight Championship in front of his countrymen. Unfortunately, continued concerns about COVID nixed that plan, so the event will take place in the United States. Oliveira will defend his title against Justin Gaethje, while UFC Women’s Strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will defend her title for the second time. UFC 274 will take place on Saturday, May 7, 2022, from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The prelims will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+, and the main event will get started at 10 p.m. ET through PPV on ESPN+. Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje It looked like Charles Oliveira might be on his way out of the UFC five years ago. Oliveira had lost four of his last six fights after his defeat at the hands of Paul Felder at UFC 218, and he failed to make weight twice. However, rather than fade into oblivion, Oliveira redoubled his efforts and set two UFC records. He now has the most finishes in UFC history (18) and the most submission wins in UFC history (15). Oliveira has won 10 straight fights and beat Michael Chandler for the title at UFC 262 and successfully defended the belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269. Justin Gaethje struggled in his first two UFC fights. Gaethje was 18-0 in other promotions, but he suffered knockout losses to Eddie Alvarez and Poirier in his first two bouts in the UFC. However, Gaethje overcame those setbacks and proved he really belonged with three straight quick finishes to set up a title fight with Tony Ferguson. He was an underdog against the more experienced Ferguson, but he came out strong and eventually secured the interim UFC Lightweight Championship by fifth-round TKO before losing to the great Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254. Gaethje scored a unanimous decision win over Michael Chandler at UFC 268 Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza Fan favorite Rose Namajunas is looking to hold onto her UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship for a while this time. Namajunas originally won the belt by knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217, and she won the rematch five months later to retain her title. However, she was knocked out by Jessica Andrade in her next fight and had to avenge that defeat in order to get another shot at the belt. Thug Rose wasn’t expected to beat Zhang Weili last year in Jacksonville at UFC 261, but she knocked out the champion in the first round to claim the title and successfully defended the belt with a split decision win in November. Carla Esparza has a lot of reason to be optimistic about her chances though. Esparza submitted Thug Rose for the inaugural UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship over seven years ago. She immediately lost the belt to Jedrzejczyk, but she has won five straight fights ahead of this showdown. Three of those victories came by split decision or majority decision though, so she hasn’t been too impressive. Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson These two title challengers are both looking for another chance at glory. Tony Ferguson was seen as the most likely champion in the lightweight division after Khabib retired. He won 12 straight fights and earned the interim UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 216, but he was forced to relinquish the belt due to injury. Ferguson was supposed to grind out a win over Gaethje when the interim title was again on the line two years ago, but he was knocked out for the first time in his career. He has since lost unanimous decisions to Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, casting doubts about his future. Three-time Bellator Lightweight World Championship winner Michael Chandler made the jump to UFC last January at UFC 257. Chandler scored an impressive first-round TKO of Dan Hooker that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus, but he was unable to beat either Oliveira or Gaethje in his next two bouts. This is a big fight for him as a third straight loss would put a serious blemish on his resume.
USFL Preview: 2022 Season Begins Saturday
The USFL will look to succeed where the AAF and XFL failed over the last few years. This league will get underway this weekend, and there are some familiar faces involved for football fans. Jeff Fisher, Mike Riley, Kevin Sumlin, and Larry Fedora are some of the coaches involved with the nascent league, and this season will be a success as long as it fully plays out after the AAF folded up shop early in 2019 and the 2020 XFL season was halted after five weeks due to COVID. USFL Team Previews North Division Michigan Panthers Shea Patterson was the No. 1 pick in the USFL Draft and will be the starting quarterback for the Michigan Panthers. This is considered the team to beat before the start of the season with Jeff Fisher on the sidelines, but there isn’t a lot of proven talent on this roster. If Patterson isn’t one of the best two or three quarterbacks in the league, it can be a long year for Michigan. New Jersey Generals It’s been a tough start to the year for the New Jersey Generals, and they have yet to play a game. First round pick Ben Holmes suffered a toe injury and was released two weeks before the start of the season. Unproven Luis Perez will be the starting quarterback now, and he only joined the team on April 1. That doesn’t bode well for the Generals’ chances. Philadelphia Stars The biggest question mark in the league is the Philadelphia Stars. Head coach Bart Andrus has not spent much time as an NFL or collegiate coach in recent years, spending one year as an offensive analyst for the St. Louis Rams in 2013. He is familiar with minor league football, and that led to him drafting Bryan Scott in the first round. Scott was in The Spring League and spent three years in the CFL, but he has failed to really stand out at any level. Pittsburgh Maulers Kyle Lauletta could be the best quarterback in the division. Lauletta was a standout at FCS Richmond, and that led to him being a fourth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He failed to make much of an impact with the New York Giants, but he has spent time with five different NFL franchises over the last four seasons. South Division Birmingham Stallions There isn’t much to like about the Birmingham Stallions. Alex McGough was not too impressive at the collegiate level, and he reportedly struggled to learn the playbooks at the next level. Gene Chizik was originally supposed to be the head coach of this team, but he was replaced by Skip Holtz two weeks later, and Holtz signed J’Mar Smith from Louisiana Tech. Smith could be the starting quarterback soon although McGough was the first round pick. Houston Gamblers Kevin Sumlin is hoping to regain the momentum he once had as a coach. Sumlin was seen as an up-and-comer a decade ago at Houston, but he couldn’t get Texas A&M over the top after a great first season and was a complete bust at Arizona. Unfortunately, he might have the worst quarterback in the division in Clayton Thorson. We didn’t see great numbers from Thorson at Northwestern, and one scout called him a worse training camp prospect than Tim Tebow. New Orleans Breakers Kyle Sloter only threw one pass through his first three seasons as a collegiate quarterback and was moved to running back and receiver because of his athleticism. Sloter showed that he could be a solid quarterback at Northern Colorado though, and he has bounced around the NFL since that point with stints on six teams in the last five years. This is his chance to break through, and he has a great coach that can show him the ropes in Larry Fedora. Tampa Bay Bandits The Bandits have the potential to be the best team in the USFL. Todd Haley is a sharp offensive mind, and Jordan Ta’amu is the most likely breakout star at quarterback. Ta’amu was solid in the XFL two years ago, and he was one of the best signal callers along with P.J. Walker and Josh Johnson. Both Walker and Johnson are in the NFL, and Ta’amu will want to prove that he belongs there.
Cy Young Award Preview
The Cy Young race is wide open in both the American League and the National League. There is no clear-cut favorite in either the AL or the NL, as Jacob deGrom is dealing with another injury and Gerrit Cole has always been the bridesmaid but never the bride when it comes to the Cy Young. That will make the competition for the best pitcher in each league intense throughout the duration of the summer. American League Gerrit Cole You can make a strong case that Gerrit Cole has been the best pitcher in the American League over the last four seasons. Cole has been an All-Star three times in that stretch, and the New York Yankees made him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history at the end of the 2019 season. He has finished runner-up in the AL Cy Young voting twice in that stretch, and he has been in the top five for all four seasons. Cole led the majors in strikeouts in 2018 and 2019, and he can make a lot of batters miss. He had a 2.92 ERA with a 1.059 WHIP last season, and all of his peripherals indicate that he is in for another solid year in 2022. Cole is the most consistent starter in baseball at the moment, and he could win 20 games with the Yankees. Shane Bieber The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner can’t be dismissed. Shane Bieber was one of the best pitchers in the majors in 2019, and he was absolutely brilliant in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. Bieber really struggled in an injury-plagued 2021 though with a 1.21 WHIP and a 3.17 ERA. There’s no denying his talent, but there isn’t a lot to work with on Cleveland as the Guardians have parted ways with most of their best players. Wins don’t matter that much anymore, yet award winners generally need to be on competitive teams. National League Max Scherzer Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer is probably the top contender to win the NL Cy Young given Jacob deGrom’s injury. Scherzer has been an elite pitcher with superb strikeout totals for over a decade now, and he has finished in the top five of the award voting for eight of the last nine seasons. His numbers with the Los Angeles Dodgers over the last half of the season were incredible, and he posted an incredible 0.864 WHIP over 179.1 innings. The only real concern with Scherzer is age and durability as he will turn 38 in late July. Sandy Alcantara This pick might be a bit of a head scratcher, but Sandy Alcantara has blossomed into one of the game’s best pitchers. Alcantara led all starters with 14 losses in 2019, but he was an All-Star on the sad Miami Marlins, and he had a nice 2021 campaign despite going 9-15. His 1.075 WHIP was one of the best totals in the majors, and his numbers have improved steadily over the course of his career. Alcantara doesn’t have high strikeout totals, but he doesn’t walk batters or give up a lot of contact.