25 current MLB players who will end up in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Here’s a guy who is going into the Hall, on the first ballot at that, if you care about such a thing. He could have retired in 2022, after his third Cy Young win, and been a Hall of Famer. Verlander even won an MVP as a pitcher with the Tigers, and that is quite rare.

Scherzer was Verlander’s teammate with the Tigers for a bit, and also oh-so briefly with the Mets. Like Verlander, “Mad Max” has three Cy Youngs, though he doesn’t have an MVP. Not that he needs one. Scherzer is one of the best strikeout pitchers in MLB history, and he’s a surefire Hall of Famer.

Owing to injuries, Trout has fallen off the pace of being one of the absolute best players in baseball history, but he’s already an all-time great and could retire today in his mid-thirties and enter the Hall. In fact, Trout has the most WAR of any active MLB player. Not just the hitters, mind you. Trout has more WAR than Verlander or Scherzer.

Yes, after eight MLB seasons, Ohtani could retire and be in the Hall of Fame. C’mon. He’s won four MVPs. Only Barry Bonds has more. When people call Ohtani a once-in-a-generation talent, they aren’t being hyperbolic.

Betts has the second most WAR of any active position player, and while WAR isn’t everything from a resume perspective, it does show that the Red Sox and Dodgers star has already punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame. He’s a player who has a batting title and multiple Gold Gloves. When all is said and done, presuming a typical career length, Betts is going to go down as one of the top guys of this generation.

Judge won AL Rookie of the Year in his age-25 season, which is a little late to debut in MLB. Of course, Judge proceeded to make up for lost time. The slugger has won three MVPs for the Yankees, including 62 home runs in a single season. Even if Judge’s career isn’t lengthy, and even if his power leaves him, he’s likely already a Hall of Famer, and a couple more seasons would lock him in.

If Carlos Beltran can be a Hall of Famer after the Astros scandal, Altuve definitely can. He’s the face of the Astros’ successful run that included two World Series wins. The diminutive second baseman has won three batting titles, but he’s also shown enough power to stand out given his position. Altuve is highly likely to be a Hall of Famer, but is perhaps not quite a lock just yet.

In the 2025 offseason, Ramirez signed a lengthy extension with Cleveland that seems to indicate he is going to add plenty more counting stats to his already sterling resume. Should he play out his entire deal, Ramirez is almost definitely headed to the Hall. He doesn’t have an MVP, but he’s finished in the top five six times to date. Ramirez has also been to several All-Star Games, which doesn’t mean everything, but it does build a resume.

Harper has, and hasn’t, lived up to the hype. Is he the best player of his generation? No, but he is a two-time MVP and one of the faces of baseball in the new millennium. Winning a ring would be a nice capper to his career, but Harper is on a Hall of Fame trajectory. He just hasn’t locked it in yet, which would have been living up to the hype.

A switch-hitting shortstop who has spent much of his career playing in New York? That’ll help set a nice baseline for making it into the Hall of Fame. Lindor doesn’t have any major hardware, but he’s won two Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. He doesn’t need an MVP or anything, but Lindor does need to play well, probably at an all-star level, for at least a couple more seasons to feel comfortable he’s going to make the Hall of Fame.

That surprising Cy Young with Atlanta in his age-35 season was much needed for Sale. Without it, his Hall of Fame resume might have been a bit sparse. That being said, he’s finished in the top five in Cy Young voting on several occasions and even has one Gold Glove. If Sale can gut it out and make the 3,000-strikeout club, he’s golden, but otherwise, he’ll be probable if not a lock.

First basemen have a higher threshold to achieve as hitters to make the Hall, but Freeman has a strong case to be called the best first baseman of his generation, even if you consider Miguel Cabrera part of the same generation. While the lefty’s MVP came in the 2020 season, that’s still on the resume. So are a Gold Glove and a World Series MVP. If voters care about the rings, Freeman has three. We think Freeman is probably close to a lock.

Yes, Arenado has had a few tough years with the Cardinals after leaving Colorado, and Rockies players have to deal with questions about Coors Field boosting offense. What you have to remember, though, is that Arenado has 10 Gold Gloves. Only nine players have more. Andruw Jones just got elected into the Hall on the strength of his 10 Gold Gloves. Maybe Arenado has to wait as Jones did, but we think he’ll make it.

This is the first name where, were you asked, “Is Manny Machado going to be a Hall of Famer?” you’d respond with “Hmm…” and have to think on it. He’s never won an MVP or a World Series ring, and he’s “only” been in seven All-Star Games to date. That’s impressive but not remarkable, and the same is true of his two Gold Gloves. It’s definitely possible, though not quite to “probable” just yet. Machado seems like the kind of guy, like a Beltran, where he’s on the ballot for a few years but builds momentum and gets over the hump.

There’s projection here, given that Soto is still in his late twenties, having debuted in his age-19 season. He hasn’t even played a decade in MLB just yet. Soto is definitely not going to win a Gold Glove, but he has the best batting eye of his generation. He’s an elite hitter, though he’s also already a bit of a journeyman. Soto should be a Hall of Famer, but that assumes at least a few more years of production at this level.

Cole has enough time until the likely end of his career that Hall of Fame voters will (hopefully) have largely stopped considering wins for starting pitchers when it comes to a resume. Cole won’t get anywhere near 300 wins, and frankly, won’t even get to 250. That shouldn’t matter, though. He has a Cy Young, two ERA titles, and two strikeout titles. Cole even led MLB in WHIP once. As long as voters remain sensible, Cole is probably going to be good to go, but we shall see where things stand in a decade.

There are guys with multiple Cy Youngs who are not in the Hall of Fame, and won’t make the Hall of Fame. Having lost so much time to injury, what about deGrom? The “peak value” argument will be key. He also has a Rookie of the Year award and, for now, the best K/BB rate in MLB history. If deGrom retired today, he likely would miss out. Give him two-or-three movie above-average seasons, though, and the story will be different.

Acuna just needs to stay healthy. He has an MVP, a Rookie of the Year, and has already been in five All-Star Games, all before turning 30. Acuna has also played over 120 games for Atlanta twice in his career. Injuries have derailed Hall of Fame trajectories before. We aren’t going to bet on that, though. That’d be a downer, right?

Will Vladito join his father in the Hall of Fame? Honestly, the fact that Papa Guerrero is in the Hall of Fame probably boosts Guerrero the Younger’s chances. Name recognition, career narratives, all that stuff. While Guerrero hasn’t been the slugger he appeared to be when he hit 48 home runs in 2021, he might win a batting title someday, and he does have good, if not elite, power. Also, perhaps surprisingly given his size, Vladito has a Gold Glove as well. He has a long way to go, but we’re betting on his upside (and his genetics).

The Hall of Fall has now started overdoing it on the closers, but we’re not going to bet against that continuing. Jensen is going to end up third on the career saves list, and he’s going to be the third member of the 500-save club. That’s going to be sufficient to get Jansen in.

There’s a lot of projection here, but Skubal has two Cy Youngs and is still in his twenties. He’s been considered the best pitcher in baseball for multiple years. Earning that designation does mean something. Skubal does need to be good for a while longer, probably at least five seasons. Should that happen, though, Skubal is headed to the Hall.

Raleigh debuted a little late, and he’s only played a few full seasons. He also hit 60 home runs in 2025. That was a record for a catcher, and also a record for a switch-hitter. On top of that, Raleigh has a Gold Glove. When you have the most homers in a season for a catcher, it is a strong thing to highlight on a resume.

One more catcher for you. Perez is closer to the end of his career than Raleigh, but that also means his Hall of Fame resume is stronger. He once led the American League in home runs and RBIs, and he has over 300 career home runs. Perez has five Silver Sluggers, but that’s not all. He also has five Gold Gloves. Perhaps bat and glove will join forces to get the Royal into the Hall.

We’re ending with a couple of far-flung projections. Henderson is a former “Best Prospect in Baseball” who has made good on it thus far. When he was AL Rookie of the Year, the Oriole also won a Silver Slugger. In his second season, he finished fourth in the MVP voting and made the All-Star Game. Henderson has yet to have a lackluster campaign, and it is easy to see him winning an MVP someday, given that he’s still only in his mid-twenties.

The senior Bobby Witt is not a Hall of Famer. His 16-season career was unremarkable. Witt Jr. is a shortstop, unlike his pitcher father, and he can absolutely rake. He won a batting title in his age-24 season, he has two 30/30 campaigns, he has two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers, and he has been in the top four of the MVP voting twice. This is projection – a lot of projection –, but at this rate, Witt is going to challenge George Brett as the best player in Royals history. That’s Hall of Fame George Brett, of course.