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Active MLB players who are bound to be Hall of Famers
Angles teammates Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are track for the Hall of Fame. Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports

Active MLB players who are bound to be Hall of Famers

No Hall of Fame in the four major sports holds as much notoriety and luster as MLB. Perhaps that's due to the sanctity of statistics — not to mention quantity — in the sport and long history of the nation's pastime Whatever the reason, there is nothing quite like Cooperstown, and with the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2018 set to be announced this month, it got us thinking about the active players most likely to get a nod to the Hall.

The following players have all but secured their spots in the MLB Hall of Fame.

 
1 of 19

Adrian Beltre, 3B

Adrian Beltre, 3B
Kevin Jairaj / USA Today Sports Images

Beltre surpassed the 3,000 hits mark in 2017, adding to his impressive career accomplishments. The third baseman has won five Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers, along with four All-Star appearances. He also has 462 career home runs, putting that illustrious 500 mark on his radar.

 
2 of 19

Miguel Cabrera, 1B

Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Peter Aiken / USA Today Sports Images

Arguably the best hitter of his generation, Cabrera is almost certainly a first-ballot Hall of Famer. His accomplishments include two MVP Awards, four batting titles, seven Silver Sluggers and the 2012 AL Triple Crown. He's also well on his way to 3,000 hits, reaching 2,600 hits at age 34, and 500 home runs, needing less than 40 to reach that mark.

 
3 of 19

Robinson Cano, 2B

Robinson Cano, 2B
Joe Nicholson / USA Today Sports Images

A truly elite offensive second baseman, Cano has made eight All-Star appearances and finished top six in the MVP voting five times. He also has five Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.

 
4 of 19

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Rick Scuteri / USA Today Sports Images

Goldschmidt is still filling out his résumé after wrapping up his sixth full season, but he's on quite a streak. He's made five straight All-Star appearances with two second-place MVP finishes, three Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves. The first baseman has an amazing .399 career on-base percentage and .931 OPS.

 
5 of 19

Zack Greinke, SP

Zack Greinke, SP
Jennifer Stewart / USA Today Sports Images

Greinke's WAR ranks third among active pitchers and first among all right-handers. He won the AL Cy Young in 2009 and has led the league in ERA twice. Greinke still needs to accumulate more numbers, but he's on a Hall of Fame track already with four All-Star appearances and four Gold Gloves among his list of accolades..

 
6 of 19

Bryce Harper, OF

Bryce Harper, OF
Geoff Burke / USA Today Sports Images

The beginning of Harper's career has been historic. Through six seasons, he's won the NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP and made five All-Star appearances. An injury in 2017 that limited him to 111 games may have been the only thing preventing him from his second MVP, and at age 25, Harper already has 150 home runs and 421 RBIs.

 
7 of 19

Felix Hernandez, SP

Felix Hernandez, SP
David Banks / USA Today Sports Images

King Felix's career has been sidetracked recently due to injuries, but he was arguably the AL's best pitcher from 2009-15, winning one Cy Young, finishing second in the voting twice and making six All-Star appearances. He's also won two ERA titles.

 
8 of 19

Clayton Kershaw, SP

Clayton Kershaw, SP
Jayne-Kamin Oncea / USA Today Sports Images

Clearly the best pitcher of his era, Kershaw has already won three Cy Youngs and finished top three in the voting three more times. He's made seven straight All-Star appearances, winning the ERA title five times over that time frame. The lefty also won the NL MVP in 2014 and has an amazing 2.36 ERA for his career.

 
9 of 19

Yadier Molina, C

Yadier Molina, C
Charles LeClaire / USA Today Sports Images

One of the best defensive catchers ever, Molina has claimed eight Gold Gloves and four Platinum Gloves. He's also a two-time World Series winner with the Cardinals and even won a Silver Slugger Award in 2013. His bat has been more than adequate over his career as a .284 hitter as well.

 
10 of 19

Buster Posey, C

Buster Posey, C
Jake Roth / USA Today Sports Images

Posey has already won three World Series as he enters his 30s. The catcher is elite offensively, winning four Silver Sluggers and one batting title. He was the 2012 NL MVP and also won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2010. Posey has a great .850 OPS and .308 batting average for his career.

 
11 of 19

Albert Pujols, 1B

Albert Pujols, 1B
Troy Taormina / USA Today Sports Images

Pujols was a lock for the Hall of Fame after his accomplishments in 11 seasons with the Cardinals. During that time, he won three MVP Awards and made nine All-Star appearances. He also finished top five in the MVP voting seven additional times. In 2017, Pujols reached the 600 career home run mark, and he's still under contract for four more years with the Angels.

 
12 of 19

Francisco Rodriguez, RP

Francisco Rodriguez, RP
Rick Osentoski / USA Today Sports Images

K-Rod's career looks like it's coming to a close at age 35 with an ERA near 8.00 with Detroit in 2017. However, he's led his league in saves three times and made six All-Star appearances. His 437 career saves are fourth all time, trailing only Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith.

 
13 of 19

CC Sabathia, SP

CC Sabathia, SP
David Butler II / USA Today Sports Images

Sabathia leads all active pitchers in WAR and has made six career All-Star appearances. The lefty's best days are well behind him, but he's created a Hall of Fame résumé with one Cy Young Award and four more finishes in the top five. He has 237 wins and a 3.70 ERA for his career.

 
14 of 19

Chris Sale, SP

Chris Sale, SP
Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today Sports Images

Sale had a tremendous first season in Boston, finishing second in Cy Young Award voting behind Cleveland's Corey Kluber. He's finished top six in the voting in each of the last six seasons and has now made six consecutive All-Star appearances. The lefty also finished first in strikeouts for the second time in three years and has a 2.98 ERA for his career.

 
15 of 19

Max Scherzer, SP

Max Scherzer, SP
David Kohl / USA Today Sports Images

Scherzer won his third Cy Young Award and second in a row after winning the award for the second time in 2016. A late bloomer, Scherzer has led his league in wins three times since 2013 and has a 2.87 ERA over that time. He also led the NL in strikeouts for the second straight season.

 
16 of 19

Ichiro Suzuki, OF

Ichiro Suzuki, OF
Aaron Doster / USA Today Sports Images

Ichiro has more than 3,000 career hits after signing in MLB when he was 27. He made 10 consecutive All-Star appearances with the Mariners and won both the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP in his first year. Ichiro has led the league in hits seven times, won two batting titles and has 10 Gold Gloves. He should easily be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

 
17 of 19

Mike Trout, OF

Mike Trout, OF
Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today Sports Images

Trout's first six full seasons are incomparable. During that time, he's won the Rookie of the Year, two MVPs and finished second in the voting three times. Even a thumb injury couldn't slow him down too much in 2017. Trout still made his sixth consecutive All-Star appearance, batting .306 with 33 home runs, 72 RBIs, 22 steals and 92 runs in just 114 games. Oh yeah, he also led the league in on-base, slugging, OPS, OPS+ and intentional walks.

 
18 of 19

Justin Verlander, SP

Justin Verlander, SP
Rick Osentoski / USA Today Sports Images

The 2011 NL Cy Young and MVP winner, Verlander finished top three in the Cy Young voting three more times in his Tigers career. He's well on his way to 200 wins, currently sitting at 188, and has a 3.46 career ERA in 13 seasons. He also finally won his first World Series after getting traded to the Astros in 2017.

 
19 of 19

Joey Votto, 1B

Joey Votto, 1B
David Kohl / USA Today Sports Images

Votto has the advantage of playing during the sabermetrics era, which better appreciates his on-base skills. The first baseman has led the NL in on-base percentage six times, and he won the NL MVP in 2010. The five-time All-Star has an amazing .313/.428/.541 triple slash for his career and still has plenty of baseball left at age 34.

Seth Trachtman is a fantasy sports expert and diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. He doesn't often Tweet, but when he does, you can find him on Twitter @sethroto.

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