Predicting the 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame class a year ahead of time

The 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame class is officially enshrined, as Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent were inducted into Cooperstown in a ceremony on Sunday afternoon. But we've had plenty of time to celebrate those iconic players and their myriad accomplishments. It's time to look forward — to who might compromise the class of 2027.

The official BBWAA ballot won't be released until later this year, but we can already predict which names will be on it. A full 13 players have yet to exhaust their 10 years of eligibility and received at least five percent of the vote this year, so they'll remain. In addition, the BBWAA typically grants inclusion to any player who accrued at least a decade of MLB service time, meaning there will be a fresh batch of first-timers as well.

Here's how the ballot is likely to shake out, as well as our predictions for who will — and won't — make the cut.

Projected 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

Chase Utley, Andy Pettitte, Felix Hernandez, Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, Dustin Pedroia, Mark Buehrle, Omar Vizquel, David Wright, Francisco Rodriguez and Torii Hunter will all be back, as all of them received more than five percent of the vote this time around. (Manny Ramirez did as well, but he'll fall off the ballot after his 10th and final year of eligibility.)

They'll join a group of first-timers including big names like Buster Posey, Jon Lester and Ryan Zimmerman.

Which of those players might earn the 75 percent of the vote necessary for induction next winter? And what about the eras committee vote? Here's who we think will be honored in Cooperstown during next year's ceremony.

Predicting the 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame class

C Buster Posey (BBWAA ballot)

Don't let the mess he's made as an executive overshadow just how great he was as a player. Posey was one of, if not the, best catchers of his generation, an NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP and three-time World Series champion who was elite with both the bat and the glove. He retired after his age-34 season, as the rigors of the position eventually took their toll, but he was worth at least 4 WAR in every full season he played, and his career and peak WAR totals compare favorably with other catching inductees like Joe Mauer. Combine that with his postseason heroics, and this feels like a slam dunk.

Beyond Posey, though, it doesn't feel like we'll be seeing any of the other first-timers earn induction next summer. Lester has the best case, but his lack of traditional counting stats mean he'll need a slow and steady climb toward 75 percent (though eventually he's got a pretty good argument to get in). Guys like Zimmerman could hang around for more than one year, but they don't have seroius cases for inclusion in Cooperstown.

2B Chase Utley (BBWAA ballot)

Of the holdovers, only Utley feels like he has a real shot at induction. And while it'll require another big year-over-year leap to go from 59 percent to over 75, I think he'll get there as BBWAA voters get younger and more analytically inclined.

And by those analytics, WAR especially, Utley was clearly the best second baseman in the sport for nearly a decade, a tremendous hitter who was also a Gold Glove-caliber defender. He was a shoo-in for 30 homers, double-digit steals and an elite glove in his prime, and he did it for long enough that he deserves his place among Hall of Fame second basemen — especially considering his role in bringing the Phillies their first world title since 1980.

Bruce Bochy (Contemporary Baseball Era committee)

In addition to the BBWAA ballot, the Contemporary Baseball Era committee will also convene to consider managers, umpires and executives whose contributions to the came came after 1980. Former Reds and Mariners skipper Lou Piniella has finished one vote shy of induction twice in a row now, and could well get over the hump as the committee weighs his age and declining health. But Bochy will be newly eligible this winter, and his more compelling case will likely crowd out everyone else. He's sixth on the all-time wins list, has four World Series rings and is one of only three managers to win a title in both the AL and NL.

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