On Tuesday, New York Yankees southpaw CC Sabathia recorded his 3,000th career strikeout, becoming the 17th pitcher (and just the third lefty) to cross that threshold. Sabathia's historic achievement, then, is a testament to his ability as well as his longevity. It also serves as a compelling reason to ask: Just who, if anyone, might be next to do what Sabathia did?

Predictably, the most compelling candidates are those who are nearest to the mark.

Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander entered Wednesday requiring 241 more strikeouts to join the club. He won't got those this season, in all likelihood, but he could come close. Verlander struck out 290 last season. If he matches that total again this year -- and he probably won't because c'mon, that's a superhuman task to repeat -- that would put him four away from No. 3,000. We'd guess that Verlander will crack the magic number sometime next April. Even if he doesn't for whatever reason, he should get there at some point before retiring -- he's under contract through the 2021 season.

Verlander doesn't have much competition for being the next to 3,000, but the closest potential rival is a former teammate: Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer. Scherzer needs 497 more punch outs to reach the summit. He's averaged more than 280 Ks per pop the last three years, and a conservative estimate of 250 for the entirety of this season would put him at least one more full campaign away. Obviously Scherzer could (and likely will) top 250 strikeouts this year -- but it's fair to assume we're at least a year away from him getting No. 3,000.

There are three others who will position themselves within 500 strikeouts of 3,000 before the year ends: Felix Hernandez (2,496); Zack Greinke (2,481); and Cole Hamels (2,452). Hernandez is the wild card of the bunch: he's just 33 years old, a good bit younger than the other two, but he hasn't fanned more than 130 in a season since 2015. After that trio, Clayton Kershaw probably stands the best chance: He'll top 2,300 his next time out. 

For those wondering about the younger pitchers, three in their 20s have more than 1,000 strikeouts: Madison Bumgarner, Gerrit Cole, and Julio Teheran. Trevor Bauer and Patrick Corbin will join them before the season is out. Given how the league's strikeout rate has increased over the past decade, don't be surprised if Sabathia is joined by a number of his contemporaries over the coming years.