11 of 11
Bob Levey/Getty Images
SS Xander Bogaerts
At 30 years old, Bogaerts already has 1,410 hits and 34.9 WAR, which puts him on a similar trajectory to Alan Trammell in terms of their Hall of Fame case at the same age, according to Baseball Reference. He will need several more peak-level seasons before he legitimately enters the conversation, but debuting at 20 years old and becoming an everyday player the following season has given him plenty of time to compile.
SS Carlos Correa
With 39.5 WAR entering his age-28 season, Correa has the best Hall of Fame trajectory of any of the four players listed here. He has been at least a 3.0-WAR player every season of his career aside from the shortened 2020 campaign, and he has an epic postseason track record with an .849 OPS and 18 home runs in 79 games. The only question is how the voters will handle the sign-stealing scandal, and Jose Altuve will be the litmus test long before Correa hits the ballot.
OF Aaron Judge
It’s easy to forget that Roger Maris is not in the Hall of Fame given his legendary status, so the 2022 season that Judge put together is far from a guarantee that he’ll get the call to Cooperstown. He’ll turn 31 years old in April and he’s not even halfway to 500 home runs, with 220 long balls in seven seasons. His outfield defense and on-base ability provide auxiliary value, but his candidacy will rest heavily on his counting numbers, and he still has a long way to go before he has a shot.
SS Trea Turner
With 124 home runs and 230 steals through his age-29 season, and an uptick in power production in recent years, Turner has a chance to join some elite company when it comes to power/speed production. Only seven players in MLB history finished their career with 250 home runs and 350 steals, and if he can join that group while building on his 29.7 WAR total, he’ll enter the Hall of Fame conversation.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.