Pitchers Approaching Career Milestones In 202

This post is sponsored by . Baseball Reference is celebrating the return of MLB with ! Until April 1, you can try Stathead Baseball and all the other Stathead sports for free. No credit card required! Celebrate the return of baseball by searching every season, game, hit, strikeout, and dinger in the Baseball Reference database. ! The 2024 season is just days away. Its a time of renewed hope for at least the vast majority of teams. It also opens the opportunity for a few veteran players to continue building on what have already been very accomplished careers, some of which should happen early in the year. Sam Haggerty Jersey Wins Theres no pitcher whos particularly close to a magic round number unle s we drop all the way down to 100, which is notable but not especially illustrious. However, s win total will still be worth tracking. The Houston ace will begin the season on the injured list but is hopeful of a quick return. The three-time Cy Young winner is at 257 wins in his career and will pa s for 41st all-time if he records even four victories this year. Eight wins will push Verlander into the top 40, surpa sing . With nine wins, hell leapfrog . Ten victories will be enough to overtake both and . With a dozen wins, Verlander will move past . Recording 13 wins will eclipse , while 14 will pa s and . Perhaps 17 is a long shot, but if Verlander can get to that point, hell pa s and move into 32nd place all-time. Each of Lyons, Rixey, Feller, Palmer, Mu sina, Grimes and Ruffing is a Hall of Famer a distinction that surely awaits Verlander in the future. As an aside, Verlander would also become just the fifth pitcher to ever record 200-plus strikeouts in 10 seasons of his career. Again, starting out on the injured list doesnt help his chances. He hasnt topped 200 in a season since fanning 300 back in 2019, but theres always a slim chance. Only Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Tom Seaver have recorded 10 or more seasons of 200 punchouts. Saves Heading into the 2024 season, the current No. 7 and 8 names on the all-time saves list will have active closers jobs: (Red Sox) and (Orioles). Jansen currently boasts 420 saves. Kimbrel is at 417. Jansen and Kimbrel not only have a chance to finish the season in MLBs top five all-time saves leaders it seems quite likely both will get there with good health. Jansen needs three saves to pa s , five to pa s John Franco and 18 to pa s , whos currently fourth all-time. Kimbrel is only three saves behind him, so he needs just six, eight and 21 to wind up in the top five right behind Jansen. Its also po sible the two will flip spots, given the proximity on the current leaderboards. Way down the list, Braves closer enters the season with 190 career saves. That puts him 58th all-time. He has a strong chance to become the 54th pitcher to ever reach 200 saves in a career. Iglesias saved 33 games for the Braves in 2023, and if he repeats that hell jump to 45th all-time. Hell pitch this season at 34, and if he can remain a serviceable closer into his mid- and late-30s, he has a decent chance at pa sing and Bruce Sutter both at exactly 300 saves and becoming just the 32nd pitcher to ever reach that milestone, though clearly thatll take another few years. Other po sibilities to reach 200 saves this season include , who currently sits at 175 saves in his career, and , whos sitting on 165. might get first crack at the ninth inning over Robertson, but hes been inconsistent and had his share of injuries. Hader is the clear favorite for saves in Houston, but hes only reached 35 saves in a single season twice before. Both pitchers could get to that nice round number given their presence as late-inning options on contending clubs. Taking a slightly different approach to career save totals, Kimbrel is already one of just four players in MLB history to have five or more seasons of 40-plus saves, joining Mariano Rivera (9), Trevor Hoffman (9) and the previously mentioned K-Rod (6). He hasnt had a 40-save season since 2018, but if he can turn back the clock hed tie Rodriguez with his sixth 40-save season. Similarly, Jansen is one of just ten pitchers to ever have four seasons of 40 or more saves. He reached that mark as recently as 2022. A 40-save season would tie him with Kimbrel at five and make him just the fifth pitcher to ever enjoy five such seasons. Strikeouts likely wont pitch in the seasons first half, but if he takes the ball at all this year hell be a virtual lock to move into tenth place on the all-time strikeout list, surpa sing Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. Mad Maxs 3367 punchouts are just four behind the Profe sor. With a full season, Scherzer mightve had a shot at s ninth-place mark (3509), but thatll likely have to wait for future seasons a suming Scherzer keeps going after the 24 campaign. The aforementioned Verlander is only 25 strikeouts behind Scherzer and thus all but certain to pa s his former teammate. Verlander is currently tied with Phil Niekro at 3442, meaning his next strikeout will give him sole po se sion of 11th place all-time. And if he can return early enough in the 2024 season, Verlander will have a shot at the 168 strikeouts he needs to inch past Johnson on the all-time list. Hed need 193 to pa s Gaylord Perry for eighth all-time, which probably wont happen this year, but Verlander has said he wants to pitch into his mid-40s and has an option on his contract for the 2025 season. We dont know when will pitch this year or whether the still-unsigned will pitch at all, but both are within arms reach of 3000 punchouts in their respective careers. Only 19 pitchers have ever done so. Kershaw needs 56 whiffs to get to that point and is hopeful of rejoining the Dodgers rotation in the second half after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. His deal comes with a 2025 option, so even if 3000 doesnt happen this year, theres a good chance well see it in 25. Greinke is just 21 strikeouts away from 3000. A return to the Royals seems unlikely, but if he decides he wants to pitch and chase down that 3000 milestone, hed surely garner some interest from teams seeking depth. There are a handful of names chasing down the 2000-strikeout mark as well. As of this writing, 87 pitchers have reached that threshold in MLB history. , who currently has 1932 strikeouts, needs just 68 more to get there. Darvish, (1906 strikeouts) and (1880) are all practically locks to get to 2000 with full, healthy seasons. Total Appearances Jansen already ranks 50th all-time with 817 games pitched, but he can jump into the top-40 if he makes it into 32 games this season. Hes already one of only 54 pitchers to ever reach 800 appearances in his career. Three more names will likely join that 800 club two of whom Ive already mentioned: Robertson (793 games) and Kimbrel (780). The third is veteran righty , whos reportedly likely to make the White Sox roster. At 791 appearances, he already ranks 59th all-time. With just nine games this season, the rubber-armed Shaw can further his workhorse reputation and perhaps move into the top-50 all time. Ken Giles Jersey