10 Milestones That Could Be Hit By MLB Stars in 2024

The 2024 season is less than a month away as Spring Training is fully in stride and it finally feels like baseball is back. As we head into the season, it feels like the right time to look at some players chasing a number in their career.

Many players enter the year approaching a big statistical milestone in their career. Whether it be a veteran who is looking to stamp another notch on their career or a young player who is off to a phenomenal start to their career, everyone has a milestone to reach.

Let’s look at some of the top milestones being chased this season around Major League Baseball and who is most likely to reach their mark.

Andrew McCutchen – 300 Home Runs

This one is the obvious one as Andrew McCutchen was so close to reaching this milestone last season but fell just one home run short. With 299 home runs under his belt, McCutchen re-signed with the Pirates on a one-year deal and needs just one home run to reach the mark.

This is one of the first milestones we could witness in 2024 as he’ll remain a fairly regular starter and veteran presence for a young Pirates club this season. Cutch is one of the best players the Pirates have had in recent memory and will look to stamp his legacy with his 300th blast.

Paul Goldschmidt – 2,000 Hits

After last season, it feels like Paul Goldschmidt has become marginally underrated around the league. In 13 seasons, he has been one of the steadiest hitters in the game and is now within less than 100 hits of the historic 2,000 hit mark. With 1909 right now, Goldy should reach the mark with another full season in St. Louis.

He’s currently seventh among all active players in hits, despite having way less plate appearances than some of the veterans ahead of him such as McCutchen, Elvis Andrus, and current active leader Joey Votto.

While Freddie Freeman and José Altuve are likely to remain ahead of him as they’re still in their primes, Goldschmidt could soon find himself third among active players in base hits. He should reach 2,000 this year and will have a chance to hit at least the 2,500 mark in his career with a few more solid seasons.

Mike Trout – 400 Home Runs and 1,000 RBIs

Injuries over the past few seasons have taken away from how unbelievable Mike Trout’s career has been to this point. He is still on track to be one of the greatest players ever and could hit two more major milestone this season.

Trout has amassed over 20 more wins above replacement (bWAR) than the second-closest active position player and he’s just 31 years old still. There should be no question about the best hitter of the generation. Heading into this season, he has 368 home runs and 940 RBIs in his career.

A healthy Trout is essentially a lock to hit 32 home runs and record 60 RBIs.

Him staying on the field for over 100 games will become the difference in reaching this goal this year or not, but he’s going to get it done. Looking beyond these marks, Trout will have a strong chance to reach 500 or maybe even 600 home runs if he can stay on the field and continue to produce over the next decade.

Jose Abreu/Anthony Rizzo/Manny Machado – 1,000 RBIs

This group of veteran stars will look to add another notch to their careers by joining the 1,000 RBIs club this summer.

Jose Abreu has only played 10 seasons in MLB, but at 36 years old is probably nearing the end of an excellent career. His run production was among the best in baseball for a while in Chicago and he needs just 47 RBIs to reach 1,000 this season. In a strong Astros lineup, he can get it done.

Anthony Rizzo was oft compared to Abreu as the other Chicago first baseman for a while and he’s at 930 RBIs through 13 big league campaigns. Last year was not his best season, but Rizzo has a great shot to bounce back and deliver 70 RBIs, while hitting near Aaron Judge and Juan Soto this year.

Manny Machado is still just 30 years old and was the NL MVP runner-up just a little over a year ago. He needs just 56 RBIs and will now need to drive in more runs than before in San Diego without Juan Soto around. If healthy, he should easily surpass the 1,000 RBI mark this season.

Aaron Judge – 300 Home Runs

The man that hit 62 home runs in 2022 is on pace to reach 300 in just his ninth professional season. Aaron Judge has 257 career home runs and could truly go down as one of the greatest home run hitters ever.

Hitting 43 this season should not be a challenge for Judge if he’s healthy. He has battled some injuries historically, but can easily reach the 300 home run club with another full season of destroying baseballs in the Bronx.

The protection of having Soto in the lineup is only going to help Judge get more pitches to hit as well.

Mookie Betts – 70 WAR

The player with the second-most accumulated bWAR behind Mike Trout is none other than Mookie Betts. Through just 10 MLB seasons, Betts has 64.5 bWAR and could definitely reach the 70 mark this season.

Coming off an 8.3 WAR season in which he finished runner-up to Ronald Acuña in NL MVP voting, Betts needs just 5.5 this coming season to reach the 70 mark. He has been at least a 6 WAR player in every mostly healthy full length season of his career, so reaching 70 this season is very realistic for one of the game’s brightest stars.

Betts will be playing second base this year, which could change his defensive numbers, but he’s still a stud at second like he was in right. Regardless of where he plays, 5.5 WAR is more than doable.

Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto – 200 Home Runs

Two of the brightest young stars in the game are on ridiculous career paces through just six professional seasons. Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto are going to be compared throughout their career and it makes sense given their production from such young ages.

They enter 2024 just one home run apart from one another as Acuña has 161 in his career and Soto has 160 at this point. Acuña is coming off an MVP season in which he cranked 41 home runs for the Braves, while Soto hit a career-best 35 homers for the Padres.

Hitting 39 is more than manageable for Acuña given the way he was hitting all last season.

Going for 40 home runs may seem like a stretch for Soto, but he’s about to hit in the most left-handed hitter friendly ballpark in the league this season after being traded to the Yankees this winter. Both of these stars will have a shot to reach 200 this season and both are still just entering the prime years of their careers.

There is a chance that either of these two will push for 600 home runs when it’s all said and done. Enjoy watching them every chance you get.

Yu Darvish/Lance Lynn/Charlie Morton – 2,000 Strikeouts

This group of veteran starters are in the latter years of their careers at this point, but have been quality pitchers for a long time and will hopefully have 2,000 strikeouts to show for it.

Yu Darvish, Lance Lynn, and Charlie Morton are all within striking range of the 2,000 strikeout club and should have a shot to secure their spot in 2024.

Darvish is the closest at 1,929 and probably has more in the tank than the other two at this point. Lynn has 1,906 and should get there after posting an impressive strikeout rate despite shaky results last year. Morton has 1,880 but has aged like fine wine and put up 183 strikeouts last season which would easily get him to the mark this year.

Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola – 100 Wins

The leaders of the Phillies rotation both enter what will be their 10th MLB season approaching the 100-win mark. Nola has 90 wins in his career while Wheeler currently has 87 wins. With a strong Phillies lineup behind them, they could both reach it in 2024.

Nola won 12 last season, while Wheeler won 13, which would get him to exactly 100 wins if he were to repeat it. I think both pitchers could be around the 15-win territory with a strong season. Nola is more likely to reach this mark, but both have a great shot to do so.

Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke – 3,000 Strikeouts

Two future Hall of Famers and legends are nearing the illustrious 3,000 strikeouts club. The only active pitchers with 3,000 are Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who both have over 3,300 career strikeouts. Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw are next in line with nobody even close to them.

Kershaw will miss at least the first half of the season, but needs just 56 strikeouts to reach 3000 for his career. It only makes sense for Kershaw to return later in the season and punch out 56 hitters to put himself among a historic tier of pitchers.

Greinke actually has more strikeouts than Kershaw at 2,979 but is still currently without a team in March. It would be a shame for Greinke to not get a chance to reach 3,000 but his career has been exceptional either way. If he finds a home for 2024, he’ll need just 21 strikeouts to become just the third active pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts.