A lot goes into the cases for Hall of Fame-eligible players, and the Silver Slugger award is undoubtedly part of the criteria for position players. The Silver Slugger is awarded to the best hitter in each league at every position each year. Odds are, the more of those awards you have, the better your Hall of Fame case is.
With that being said, we see one-offs all the time when it comes to Silver Slugger winners. It's always cool to see random players play their best for a year out of nowhere, but those who can repeat dominance have the best shot at a plaque in Cooperstown. We see that from the list of this season's winners; some of them have great cases, while others do not.
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Players with little to no shot at Hall of Fame
SS Geraldo Perdomo, Arizona Diamondbacks
Geraldo Perdomo had a huge year with the Arizona Diamondbacks, winning the Silver Slugger award at short over guys like Francisco Lindor and Trea Turner in the process. Unfortunately, Perdomo waited until his age 26 season to play like an MVP candidate. Perhaps he'll move up these ranks in future years if he proves 2025 isn't a fluke, but for now, it's hard to see a realistic path to Cooperstown for him.
C Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies
Hunter Goodman was one of the few Colorado Rockies bright spots in 2025, hitting 31 home runs (more of which came away from Coors Field rather than at altitude) and posting a .843 OPS on the year. While he proved he can be a building block for the future in his first full MLB season, the 26-year-old has a lot of work to do to become Cooperstown-bound.
1B/OF Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals
Alec Burleson won the utility Silver Slugger award for the National League, representing the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting .290 with 18 home runs and a .801 OPS. Having the Silver Slugger plaque is very cool, but the numbers Burleson put up weren't really Silver Slugger-esque, and this was his best offensive season to date.
INF Zach McKinstry, Detroit Tigers
Zach McKinstry was the other utility Silver Slugger winner, as he hit .259 with 12 home runs with a .771 OPS for the Detroit Tigers. He was an above-average hitter, but again, he only really won this award because he's a utility player. It was cool to watch him break out at 30 years of age, but the Hall of Fame is a major long shot.
Veterans facing uphill battles
OF George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays
George Springer has an interesting Hall of Fame case. He just won his third Silver Slugger award and continued to be a postseason legend in 2025, sending the Toronto Blue Jays to the World Series with one of the most memorable home runs in recent memory. Springer is now a four-time All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger winner, a World Series winner and a World Series MVP. He's also just seven home runs shy of 300 for his career. Another couple of MVP-caliber seasons like the one Springer just had in 2025 could make things really interesting, but even then, his legacy is at least a little tainted because of the Houston Astros' 2017 cheating scandal.
2B Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
Ketel Marte continues to establish himself as the best second baseman in the game after winning his second straight Silver Slugger award, but it feels like it's too little too late regarding his Hall of Fame candidacy. Marte just wrapped up his age-31 campaign with only three All-Star appearances and two Silver Slugger nods on his resume. A couple more outstanding years could make a Hall of Fame discussion more interesting, but it's hard to predict that as he gets up there in age.
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees
Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a career year with the New York Yankees in 2025, but he just cleared the 100-home run and 100-stolen base plateau in his age-27 season, and he's just a .248 hitter with a .770 OPS in his career. He's a really good and fun player, but barring another several years of 30 home runs and 30 bases, it's hard to see him getting in, even at a position without quite as much depth.
The biggest what-if's
OF Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
In his 11th MLB season, we finally saw a (mostly) healthy season from Byron Buxton, and it was nothing short of sensational. He hit 35 home runs in just 126 games, stole 24 bases without getting caught, played outstanding defense and had an .878 OPS, good for fourth in the American League. He did all of this while playing on a lackluster Minnesota Twins team mostly devoid of talent.
Unfortunately, this was only Buxton's second season playing more than 120 games and his third season playing more than 100 games. Injuries are the reason why we never got to witness a full Buxton prime, and I feel confident in saying injuries are what will keep him out of Cooperstown.
1B Pete Alonso, New York Mets
Only Aaron Judge (285) and Kyle Schwarber (268) have hit more home runs than Pete Alonso (264) since he debuted in 2019. He's certainly on track for Cooperstown power-wise, but as he continues to get up there in age (he's turning 31 years old in December), it's hard to believe he'll hit enough home runs to make the Hall of Fame.
Alonso is in this tier for a couple of reasons. First, he didn't make his MLB debut until he was 24 years of age, thus putting him behind the eight ball from the start. Second, he had to deal with the shortened 2020 season. Alonso hit 16 home runs in 57 games that year, putting him on pace to hit 45 in a full season, so those are roughly 30 home runs he'll never see. He's averaged over 41 home runs per year in full seasons, an absurd number. He might've gotten a chance to chase 500 home runs, which likely would've been impressive enough to get him into the Hall of Fame even with his late start. It's unlikely he gets there now, though, making us wonder "what if?"
Youngsters worth keeping an eye on
1B Nick Kurtz, Athletics
Is it premature to have Nick Kurtz in this tier? Absolutely. He's only 22 years old and just wrapped up his rookie year. With that being said, what a rookie year it was: Kurtz slashed .290/.383/.619 with 36 home runs and 86 RBI in 117 games for the Athletics. Had he been on the team's Opening Day roster, he probably would've had one of the greatest rookie years ever.
Kurtz did admittedly strike out a lot, run a high BABIP and play half his games at a Minor League park, but the talent pops off the screen, and the numbers he was able to put up were video game-like. It goes without saying that 10 or 15 more seasons like the one he just had would make him an easy Hall of Famer.
OF Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers
It took a little while for Riley Greene to find his footing in the big leagues, but he was an All-Star in 2024 and followed that up with another strong year in 2025. He slashed .258/.313/.493 with 36 home runs and 111 RBI. Yes, he struck out a ton and has work to do against left-handed pitchers, but 36 home runs and 111 RBI don't happen accidentally. Oh yeah, he's only 25 years old, too.
Greene has clear holes in his game that could hold him back, but there's reason to believe that as he continues to develop, he won't strike out quite as much and will only tap into his power even more. Greene ranked in the top 10 of the Majors in home runs and RBI, and only one player, Junior Caminero, is younger than Greene in those top 10s. Greene obviously has a long way to go, and might be a longer shot than Kurtz, but he has easy 40+ home run power. If he starts unlocking it for the next several years, watch out.
Superstars on the right path
SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
Vinnie Pasquantino said it best when discussing how special a player Bobby Witt Jr. is:
lol Bob just won a gold glove and a silver slugger in a down year for him. That works
— Vinnie Pasquantino (@VPasquantino) November 8, 2025
2025 was not quite as impressive as 2024, yet Witt won the Platinum Glove and a Silver Slugger award. He now has two All-Star Game appearances, two Silver Slugger wins and two Gold Gloves at 25 years of age, and it feels like he's only going to get better when the Kansas City Royals surround him with more talent. No young player feels like more of a future Hall of Famer than Witt.
OF Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs
Kyle Tucker was the hardest player to place in these rankings. He has an MVP-caliber ceiling and has put together some monster years, but he didn't play in a full 162-game season until his age-24 campaign and injuries have impacted him in the last two years. 2024 was looking like his breakout before injuries limited him to just 78 games, and while he was able to play through a finger issue for much of the second half of 2025, he didn't have the year Chicago Cubs fans dreamed of when the team acquired him.
Despite that, Tucker racked up 4.5 fWAR — his fifth straight year of at least 4.0 fWAR. He is now a four-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger winner and has a Gold Glove and a World Series title as well. He also doesn't turn 29 years old until January. I'm not sure he'll end up with the counting stats to get in, but Tucker is starting to really rack up the accolades.
OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
Corbin Carroll only turned 25 years of age in August, yet he already has two All-Star appearances, a Rookie of the Year and now a Silver Slugger in just three full seasons, one of which was impacted by a shoulder injury. The speedster led the league for a third straight year with 17 triples while also launching 31 home runs, stealing 32 bases and playing outstanding defense in right field.
Placing Carroll here is a bet on his talent. He's been nothing short of a superstar when healthy, and we now have three years of evidence to back up that claim. He has a long way to go, but Carroll's career is off to an auspicious beginning.
C Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
Raleigh is another player I might be higher than others, but he's getting harder to overlook. His 2025 season will be remembered forever. He had arguably the greatest season a catcher has ever put together, launching 60 home runs and driving in 125 runs while being a quality defender behind the plate and leading the Seattle Mariners to Game 7 of the ALCS. He's become nothing short of a folk hero in Seattle.
While he had never been close to this dominant before, Raleigh has quietly been one of the game's best catchers for a while. He averaged over 30 home runs annually in the three seasons before his 2025 breakout while being nothing short of elite defensively. If the 28-year-old continues to hit 30+ home runs while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense, can we really keep him out of Cooperstown? He might realistically be the best power-hitting catcher ever when he hangs up the spikes.
Closest possible thing to locks
DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
The only thing holding Shohei Ohtani back from getting into the Hall of Fame would be a sudden retirement after he just completed his eighth season; the Hall of Fame has a 10-season requirement for a player to get in. Even then, there's a good chance the Hall would find a way to get Ohtani in, like MLB found a way to keep his bat in the lineup in games he exits as a starting pitcher.
Ohtani is arguably the greatest player ever. Not only did he just win his fourth Silver Slugger award, but he's a Cy Young-caliber pitcher when healthy, too. He's about to win his fourth MVP award, has a Rookie of the Year under his belt and just won his second straight World Series title. Ohtani already has a resume some Hall of Famers can only dream of, and it's only a matter of time before Ohtani joins those very players in Cooperstown.
OF Juan Soto, New York Mets
Juan Soto doesn't have the resume Ohtani does, but it feels like his odds of getting into the Hall of Fame are near or even already at 100 percent. At just 27 years of age, Soto already has 244 home runs, a .417 lifetime OBP and a .948 OPS while also racking up 42.3 fWAR.
When all is said and done, there's a very realistic chance Soto ends up hitting more than 500 home runs and breaking the walks record currently held by Barry Bonds. Perhaps I'm getting too ahead of myself, but Soto just set a career-high with 43 home runs and has drawn at least 125 walks in each of his last five seasons. He also has not hit his prime yet. He's only going to get better. The only reason he isn't a lock right now is the years, just like Ohtani.
Hall of Fame locks
OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
I'm not sure if he retired right now that he'd be inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, but Aaron Judge would eventually get in. He's been that good. After hitting .331 with 53 home runs, 114 RBI and a 1.144 OPS during the regular season, I can now say Judge has put together three of the greatest seasons in MLB history. The accolades he has speak for themselves, too.
Judge is likely soon to be a three-time MVP winner, just won his fifth Silver Slugger, is a seven-time All-Star, has a Rookie of the Year award and even just won his first-ever batting title. He might honestly be the greatest right-handed hitter ever. It feels like the only thing missing from his legacy is a World Series ring. Considering his regular-season dominance, his lack of a title run (if his career ends that way) won't be what holds him back. He's a lock.
3B Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
Jose Ramirez is thought of by many as an underrated and overlooked superstar. While that might be true right now, it won't be true when he's Hall of Fame eligible. Ramirez is a sure thing to get in at some point, if he isn't a first-ballot inductee.
Ramirez is simply one of the most well-rounded infielders ever. He just finished his second straight season with at least 30 home runs, 30 doubles and 40 stolen bases. At age 33, he set a career high with 44 stolen bases. After another terrific season, Ramirez is now a seven-time All-Star and a six-time Silver Slugger winner for the Cleveland Guardians. There's a very good chance he'll finish his career with over 2,000 hits, 350 home runs and 350 stolen bases. The only other position player to finish a career with those numbers is Barry Bonds. Yeah, he's a lock.
3B Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
Manny Machado is mostly known for his defense, and for good reason. He (somehow) only has two Gold Glove awards under his belt, but Machado is unquestionably one of the best defensive third basemen ever. What he's done with the bat, though, has made him a clear Hall of Fame lock.
Machado has over 2,000 hits and 369 home runs already in his illustrious career, making it likely that the 33-year-old will hang up his spikes with at least 2,500 hits and over 400 home runs. He's racked up 57.3 fWAR, making it likely he'll get to at least 65.0. He might not end up with an MVP or World Series ring on his resume, but Machado's impressive longevity and counting stats make him a clear-cut future Hall of Famer.