Five players who could lock in their Hall of Fame resume in 2020

Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke, Verlander’s teammate in Houston, has quietly had a nice career. Perhaps one reason he hasn’t gotten the respect that similar pitchers have received is that he’s played for several different teams and hasn’t been a star of one team for a long period of time. As of right now, Greinke actually has a higher career WAR (71.7) than Verlander has (70.9).

Yet while Verlander appears to have a slam dunk case, Greinke’s isn’t quite as clear. The ERAs favor comparably (3.33 for Verlander, 3.35 for Greinke), but Verlander has more of a record of dominance. Verlander has finished in the top seven of Cy Young Award voting nine times, while Greinke has only even placed five times. At the same time, Greinke has led his league in ERA twice, compared with once for Verlander.

That being said, Grienke’s career totals are at least getting close: 205 wins, 2,622 strikeouts, and 2,872 innings. Looking at the career pitching WAR list, Greinke is currently 39th all-time at 66.7. (The higher overall WAR is largely due to the fact that Greinke has won six Silver Slugger Awards.) John Smoltz, Roy Halladay, and Bob Feller are among the Hall of Famers that Greinke has already passed. The fact that he’s stayed healthy most of his career has been a big plus.

With Greinke still pitching at a high level, 2020 is going to be critical. The guess here is that Greinke would not gain election if he were retired today, but I also think he’s very close. A repeat of 2019 (33 starts, 2.93 ERA) might be enough.