4. Miguel Cabrera — Current Hits: 2,268
Miguel Cabrera is on that Albert Pujols trajectory for the Detroit Tigers. He’s still in the prime of his game at 33 years old and is a hitting machine. He won’t be 34 until next year, and by that time, he will probably have over 2,400 hits.
Cabrera currently is closing in on 2,300 hits. This season he has 82 on the year, and a 200-hit season isn’t out of the realm of possibility for a hitter like him. He, like Pujols, should have a chance to close in on 3,000 hits by age 37 or so provided that he stays healthy.
If he can continue to be a 180-200 hits a season machine, there’s a chance that he could pull off the incredible feat by age 36, which would then put him in line to take down some even more impressive numbers before he calls it a career.
When it comes to locks for 3,000 hits, like Ichiro, Beltre and Pujols, Cabrera might be the very last of the locks for a while as there is no reason he shouldn’t get there before the end of his career barring injury.
He’s one of the best hitters in baseball, and if he keeps putting up these types of seasons, one day he will be able to call himself Mr. 3,000.
Next: 5. Jimmy Rollins