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Who will be the next Hall of Famer for every MLB team?
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Who will be the next Hall of Famer for every MLB team?

With the National Baseball Hall of Fame set to honor its newest class of inductees soon, fan bases around the game will have reason to celebrate their stars of yesterday once again. For some teams, this is a more frequent occurrence than others.

What follows is an exercise in predicting the future of the Baseball Hall of Fame and the odds of when each team will be represented next (or for the first time) in the ranks of Cooperstown. It is a blend of surefire outcomes, reasonable assumptions and a dash of pure speculation. It makes for a cocktail of intriguing scenarios for both the Hall and all teams alike. 

Here is a look at who could be next to reach the Hall from each MLB club.

 
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Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt

Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt
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Goldy is on the brink of greatness and has already affirmed himself as one of the great talents in the game. He could go down as the greatest D-back of them all if the club can extend his deal and he can run into the necessary numbers, All-Star Games and elusive MVPs to seal a ride to Cooperstown.

 
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Atlanta Braves: Craig Kimbrel

Atlanta Braves: Craig Kimbrel
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With Chipper Jones wrapping up the matriculation of the Braves of the '90s dynasty to the Hall, the next long-term rep from Atlanta up for enshrinement could be Kimbrel. An All-Star in four of five seasons in Atlanta, Kimbrel turned in 186 saves for the franchise, tops in franchise history. While he is on track for a career that will easily slide past 400 — and potentially 500 — saves in his career, Kimbrel’s legacy could still be known just as much for the reputation he established in Atlanta as the one he affirms in Boston.

 
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Baltimore Orioles: Mike Mussina

Baltimore Orioles: Mike Mussina
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Sentiment has continued to grow for Mussina, whose stunning consistency has him on the brink of a breakthrough in the upcoming years. He was one of the most resilient pitchers throughout the steroid era in a hard-hitting AL East. Although he spent nearly just as much time in New York as Baltimore, Mussina will enter with an Oriole on his cap as a tip to 147 wins over 2,000 innings for the club.

 
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Boston Red Sox: Roger Clemens AND David Ortiz

Boston Red Sox: Roger Clemens AND David Ortiz
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This could be a tight race between Clemens and Ortiz to make it to the Hall, and both potentially may make it in the same year. Ortiz will first appear on the ballot in 2022, which would be Clemens's final season. Maybe it's poetic license or maybe it's just sheer random occurrence of the stars aligning, but the two former BoSox stars could be on a collision course in Cooperstown.

 
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Chicago Cubs: Lee Smith

Chicago Cubs: Lee Smith
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This is optimism that Smith does better the second time around on the ballot after Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman pave the way for the modern closer. Smith was indisputedly the top closer of his era and helped usher in the role that has grown to be dominant in the game today in the wake of his career.

 
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Chicago White Sox: Minnie Minoso

Chicago White Sox: Minnie Minoso
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The "Cuban Comet" spent 12 years as a member of the White Sox, hitting .304 and becoming an All-Star five times with the club. His chances have been elevated with the separation of the veteran’s committee into era-specific sections, which bodes well for the former Negro League/MLB star to be analyzed in a better light via the Golden Years Committee.

 
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Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto

Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto
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Votto has distinguished himself as one of the great bats of his generation and one of the most potent on-base threats in history. His .428 career OBP is the 11th best of all time, and he has finished in the top three of NL MVP voting three times, winning the award in 2010. While he has spent much of his recent career playing for underwhelming teams in Cincinnati, he has distinguished himself as great in his time.

 
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Cleveland Indians: Francisco Lindor

Cleveland Indians: Francisco Lindor
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With Manny Ramirez and Albert Belle both standing in bad light, and Kenny Lofton not doing well on the ballots in his only appearance in 2013, the buck could slide all the way to Lindor. The spark-plug shortstop is young (24) and has his best days are well ahead of him, but if the Tribe can remain at the forefront of the AL standings and the Indians ink him to the big-money extension they hope to, they will be led for a long time by what could be the best shortstop his generation.

 
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Colorado Rockies: Larry Walker

Colorado Rockies: Larry Walker
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This is a complicated one, as Walker has not fared very well in his stay on the writer’s ballot. However, the 1997 MVP, three-time batting champion and seven-time Gold Glove winner could be a textbook candidate to improve in time on the Today’s Game ballot. Analysis of Todd Helton once he reaches the ballot could help some revisionist history for Walker, who eventually carries his 72.6 career WAR into the Hall.

 
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Detroit Tigers: Lou Whitaker

Detroit Tigers: Lou Whitaker
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Over the course of 18 years together, Whitaker and Alan Trammell became the greatest double-play combo of all time. With Trammell finally getting the call to Cooperstown via the Today’s Game veterans ballot, it would be fitting for Whitaker to follow in his footsteps when the group reconvenes again in 2021 and 2023.

 
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Houston Astros: Jose Altuve

Houston Astros: Jose Altuve
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Billy Wagner’s impact likely goes overlooked by the writers and his contemporaries, which leaves the door open for the third Astros Hall of Famer to be Altuve, who will reach Cooperstown in 2024 or so with 3,000+ hits, 400 stolen bases and five batting titles to his résumé should he remain healthy.

 
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Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez

Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez
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The separation of the core of the Royals has the team looking very different in most places, but Salvy appears to be the part of the equation set to ride it out for the long haul. At 28, he is already a six-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner and World Series MVP, and he has quite some time to build on that résumé ahead.

 
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Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout

Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout
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The sum of his career work when Trout is done should be staggering and stand among the greatest bodies of work in the history of the game. Baseball’s premier WARrior is on pace to account for over 150 wins in his already incredible career. It should all come as an Angel, especially considering the team’s willingness to spend on big names, particularly the addition of Shohei Ohtani as a secondary superstar in Anaheim.

 
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Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw

Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw
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While Tommy John, Maury Wills and Steve Garvey are in the mix to potentially represent the club via the Veterans Committee, the clearest candidate in the mix now is Kershaw. He is already in the conversation as the best lefty of all time, and the clock is already ticking down toward the formality of his eventual induction, which should happen in about 15 years.

 
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Miami Marlins: Gary Sheffield

Miami Marlins: Gary Sheffield
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As things currently stand, there is a chance of this never happening — as in a Marlins cap may never adorn a HOF plaque. Giancarlo Stanton could have been the best chance, but his departure for the Bronx and the likelihood of the greatness that stands ahead there could overshadow his Marlins tenure in full. So that leaves the very unlikely outcome that Sheffield overcomes his bad showings early on in the ballot and makes it via the Veterans Committee eventually. In the meantime, Miami fans will likely get to watch plenty of former Fish, such as Miguel Cabrera and Stanton, easily make their way to Cooperstown.

 
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Milwaukee Brewers: Christian Yelich

Milwaukee Brewers: Christian Yelich
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Ryan Braun was supposed to be the surefire candidate to fill this spot, but the mixture of the PED controversy and downturn on the field has likely brought that to the end. But the winter before the 2018 season could be looked back upon as the date that path took shape, when the club acquired Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins. The 26-year-old is coming into his own, with a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger already in his possession, and could stand to be the centerpiece of the Brewers' resurgence.

 
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Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer

Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer
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Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva both have a shot at breaking in before Mauer via the Golden Era Committee, but neither has been able to get over the hump yet. That leaves the clearest shot in Mauer’s hands. The 2009 AL MVP’s contributions at the plate leave him as one of the great hitting catchers of all time, although he has moved on from the position. He is the only catcher to win three batting titles and is a three-time Gold Glove winner as well.

 
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New York Mets: Carlos Beltran

New York Mets: Carlos Beltran
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While Beltran is unlikely to have a team logo adorn his cap in Cooperstown, due to the sheer variety of excellence he showed at each stop in his career, he spent the longest tenure of his career in Flushing. His 41-homer, 118-RBI season in 2006 was the best season of his career, as he finished fourth in NL MVP voting and led the Mets to within a game of the World Series.

 
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New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera

New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera
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The most dominant reliever and postseason pitcher of his era will coast into the Hall in 2019, becoming the first reliever since Dennis Eckersley to make it in on his first year of eligibility. The Yankees will be busy in the upcoming years as well, as Derek Jeter’s induction is looming on the horizon also.

 
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Oakland Athletics: Billy Beane

Oakland Athletics: Billy Beane
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While there are no players or managers likely to represent the A’s in Cooperstown anytime soon, the man who ushered in the value concept of "Moneyball" should find his way into the Hall eventually. Beane changed the way that talent evaluation is conducted in the game and rightfully should stand in as a groundbreaking executive as a result.

 
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Philadelphia Phillies: Curt Schilling

Philadelphia Phillies: Curt Schilling
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While Schilling won it all in both Arizona and Boston, he spent the bulk of his career as a Phillie. He won 101 games for the club and twice reached 300 strikeouts in 1997 and '98 with the team. Once Mike Mussina’s induction happens, it likely will clear a lane for Schilling to make a late push.

 
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Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen

Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen
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Cutch’s tenure as a Pirate is over, but what he accomplished over the course of his career in Pittsburgh has him on a trajectory for Cooperstown. The 2013 NL MVP resurrected baseball in the city, breaking the longest run of losing campaigns in pro sports history and becoming a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger recipient.

 
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San Diego Padres: Steve Garvey

San Diego Padres: Steve Garvey
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While they have produced both an MVP (Ken Caminiti) and Cy Young winner (Jake Peavy) in the last 20 years, neither had a career that has any chance to peak in the Hall. This leaves either a breakout talent still in the minor league ranks (Fernando Tatis Jr. perhaps?) or a dark-horse Veterans Committee candidate to carry the Friars back to the Hall. Perhaps that could come in the form of Garvey, who was as much a Dodger as he was a Padre but was a two-time All-Star in Sand Diego and picked up NLCS MVP honors that seasons after hitting .400 against the Cubs.

 
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San Francisco Giants: Barry Bonds

San Francisco Giants: Barry Bonds
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It may take the full decade to get sorted out, but it appears as if Bonds will make it into the Hall eventually. After receiving just 36.2 percent of the vote in his first year, MLB's home run king crossed over 50 percent for the first time in 2017. With five more years remaining, Bonds's momentum over the next two years looks promising, and if he can get another big rise as he did between 2016 and 2017, it could come much quicker.

 
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Seattle Mariners: Edgar Martinez

Seattle Mariners: Edgar Martinez
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With two years remaining on the ballot, the urgency and evaluation of Martinez’s career have picked up some. His election will be a groundbreaking one, as it will be the first election of a player who spent most of his career purely as a designated hitter. Most importantly, it will be a recognition of a two-time batting champ who hit below .320 only once between 1995 and 2001.

 
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St. Louis Cardinals: Ted Simmons

St. Louis Cardinals: Ted Simmons
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After being hastily rushed off the ballot following his playing career, failing to get even the 5 percent minimum to remain in play, Simmons benefited from a substantial rise on the Modern Day ballot in 2017. Simmons fell just one vote shy of election this year, which could bode well when the committee reconvenes in 2019. Simmons’s election would usher him in ahead of Albert Pujols and potentially Yadier Molina, both of whom will make their way to the ballot within the next 10 to 12 years.

 
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Tampa Bay Rays: Evan Longoria

Tampa Bay Rays: Evan Longoria
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Finding a Hall of Fame candidate for the Rays is a task, as they are prone to ship off most of their most promising talents to other teams before they reach their full potential (and price tag). Longoria had bucked that trend, spending 10 years in Tampa before being shipped over to San Francisco this past winter. He is a long shot for election unless he has a massive late-career upswing, but perhaps a Veterans Committee stand shows some compassion for a player whose franchise may very well be in a new home by the time his candidacy comes up.

 
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Texas Rangers: Adrian Beltre

Texas Rangers: Adrian Beltre
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Although he has spent time with four franchises, the signature portion of Beltre’s career has come in Arlington. He reached his 3,000th hit with the franchise, 600th double and has finished in the top 10 of AL MVP voting five times. Beltre is the greatest hitter to ever emerge from the Dominican Republic and should join the short list of players to have a Rangers hat adorn a plaque.

 
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Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay

Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay
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The greatest pitcher in Jays history will unfortunately become a posthumous election when he reaches the ballot in 2019. He won the first of his two Cy Young Awards north of the border in 2003, and although he was at the top of his game once moving over to the Phillies, Halladay was six times an All-Star with the Jays and was a two-time 20-game winner.

 
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Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer

Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer
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With the inductions of Vladimir Guerrero and Tim Raines over the past two years, the Expos era of the history of the Nationals is likely closed in regard to Cooperstown candidates. With the Nationals era now fully in play, Scherzer could be the first to have the Washington "W" adorn his cap in the Hall. While this may upset the Detroit faithful, where he picked up his first Cy Young nod, Mad Max has gone to another level of dominance in D.C. and has arguably become the best arm in the game. His legacy as a National should stand at the forefront when his career concludes.

Matt Whitener is St. Louis-based writer, radio host and 12-6 curveball enthusiast. He has been covering Major League Baseball since 2010, and dabbles in WWE, NBA and other odd jobs as well. Follow Matt on Twitter at @CheapSeatFan.

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