Pujols, Cabrera, Cano among the next in line to join Beltre in MLB's 3,000-hit club?

Adrian Beltre joined on Sunday. Who is next? Who could get there in the distant future?

By Matt Snyder

Jul 30, 2017 at 8:51 pm ET • 3 min read

Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre collected the 3,000th hit of his illustrious career on Sunday, making him the 31st player to reach that career milestone. It was the cherry on top of Beltre's already-good-enough Hall of Fame resume.

It's always fun to look at which players are on pace to join this prestigious group. We can even go deeper and start looking at those in their 20s with a good foundation upon which to build. So let's do that.

Next up

It's Albert Pujols.

Albert Pujols will likely join the 3,000-hit club during the first half of the 2018 season. USATSI

The big slugger was 3 for 5 with two homers on Sunday, giving him 2,914 hits in his career. At his current pace this season, he'll grab 47 more hits in 2017. That would get him to 2,961 before 2018. Pujols is under contract through 2021 and it's difficult to envision any scenario outside the far extreme where he doesn't reach 3,000 hits.

Closing in

Carlos Beltran: Johnny Damon comes to mind here. He tried to hang on long enough to get to 3,000 but just couldn't beat Father Time -- who is undefeated, as we all know. Beltran is 40 years old with some beaten-up knees and hitting .237/.290/.407 this season, serving mostly as a designated hitter. He's a free agent after this year. He's also at 2,695 career hits. It's pretty difficult to see Beltran collecting 305 more hits in his career. He only combined for 295 in 2015-16.

Miguel Cabrera: Here's your bet for the next one after Pujols.

Sadly, it appears Miggy is entering his decline phase after yet another great year in 2016. After going 2 for 4 on Sunday, Cabrera is hitting .259/.342/.425 on the season, a far cry from prime Miggy, who was one of the greatest hitters of his generation. Still, he's 34 years old, not 40. He's also signed through 2023 and playing in the American League, so he can serve as the DH once he gets up there in age. He also has 2,605 career hits. Lots of things can happen before 395 more hits, but he's very likely to make it.

Robinson Cano: It could go down the wire on this one. Cano, like Cabrera, is also 34 and signed through 2023. After picking up two hits on Sunday, however, Cano sits with 2,311 career hits.

So the question is: Does Cano have 689 hits left in him? So far in his time in Seattle (this is his fourth season), Cano has 662 hits. A career .305 hitter, Cano is hitting .268 this season. That is to say, it's likely his hit pace slows down from his first 3 1/2 seasons in Seattle.

Using Bill James' "favorite toy," Cano is said to have a 59 percent chance to reach 3,000 hits, and the projection shows him ending with 3,064.