These players are Cooperstown locks in the next five years
2023
Carlos Beltran, Kansas City Royals/Houston Astros/New York Mets/San Francisco Giants/St. Louis Cardinals/New York Yankees/Texas Rangers (20 seasons, 435 home runs, .279 average, first year on ballot)
Beltran fell short of 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, but he still has solid Hall of Fame credentials. The positives: he was a nine-time All-Star who finished his career with 475 home runs and 2,725 hits. In the 2004 postseason he slugged eight home runs and batted .435 in 12 games. Voters may be turned off by the fact Beltran only finished in the top-five in MVP voting once. With no other obvious candidates this year, however, he has the best case for making it to Cooperstown.
Falling short: Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard