The thrilling World Baseball Classic is in the rearview mirror, and spring training is winding down. That means MLB Opening Day 2026 is just around the corner.
The 151st Major League season begins March 25. The previous 150 years have provided lots of records and milestones, and several of those are in play this year.
Aaron Judge–400 Home Runs
Judge enters the year with 368 long balls, leaving him just 32 away from becoming the 60th member of the 400-homer club. Just two active players have 400 dingers—Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout—but Judge has some competition in the race to 400.
Four other active players are 37 or fewer home runs away from 400, though they’re all a bit of long shots to get there in the 2026 MLB season. Manny Machado (31 away) has the best chance, but he’s reached that mark just once over the last five seasons. Paul Goldschmidt (28 away) is the closest to 400 but is no longer a starter and had just 10 home runs last season. Then there’s Freddie Freeman (33 away), who hasn’t hit that many homers since 2019, and there’s Bryce Harper (37 away), who cracked that many only back in the 2015 season.
Jose Ramirez–300/300 Club
MLB has several notable clubs such as the 3,000-hit plateau or the 500-home run club, but few detail a player’s all-around offensive abilities like the 300/300 club. It’s having 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases over a career, and just eight players in MLB history are a part of this club. Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians will soon be the ninth member, with this season the projected timeframe. Ramirez is just 15 homers and 13 stolen bases away, which are numbers he’s reached in each of his last eight non-pandemic-shortened seasons.
Shohei Ohtani–Four Straight MVPs
Already the second player ever to win four MLB Most Valuable Player awards, and the second ever to win three straight MVP awards, Ohtani can also become the second in MLB history to notch four straight MVPs. Barry Bonds is the only player with more MVPs (seven) and more consecutive MVPs (four) than Ohtani, and Bonds had some help to get there*.
Don’t forget that the two-way star won the 2024 NL Most Valuable Player award without throwing a single pitch all season, and he repeated last year with just 47 innings on the mound. He’s slated to be a full-time starter this season, and even if he throws 100 to 120 innings, that extra value he provides as a pitcher is why he’s the most valuable player in the sport.
Justin Verlander–Top Five in Strikeouts
The 43-year-old Verlander is the oldest player on an MLB roster and has rejoined the Detroit Tigers, his original team. With 266 career wins, reaching 300 seems like an extreme longshot, but Verlander could climb the all-time strikeouts list with ease. He’s fanned 3,553 batters—eighth-most in MLB history—and is fewer than 100 strikeouts from passing both Don Sutton (3,574) and Tom Seaver (3,640).
With 149 strikeouts, Verlander would also pass Bert Blyleven (3,701), which would put the former No. 5 all-time in Ks. Verlander had 137 strikeouts a year ago and has reached 149 Ks just once over the last six seasons, but if he can stay healthy and somewhat effective, top five is certainly within reach.
Juan Soto–1,000 Walks
Soto enters the year with 896 walks, making him 104 shy of reaching four figures. He’s averaged 134 walks over his last five seasons, so as long as he stays healthy, he should reach 1K. But more than just reaching this big, round number, Soto will have shattered the record for the youngest player to reach 1,000 walks.
Mickey Mantle currently holds the record, having hit the mark a month shy of his 29th birthday in 1960. Soto, 27, won’t turn 28 until after the 2026 MLB season, so he could reach the milestone number a year younger than The Mick did.
Cleveland Guardians–10,000 Wins
The Cleveland franchise has been known by many names since being founded in 1901 as simply Cleveland. Its 126th season will likely see it reach 10,000 franchise wins, as the Guardians are just 60 away from the milestone. That would make them the 11th team to reach the mark, and if you’re wondering, Cleveland is still a few years away from reaching the 10,000-loss mark, as it is 557 defeats shy of that club.
Kenley Jansen–500 Saves
Now 38, Jansen keeps chugging along and enters the year with 476 saves. That puts him just three away from surpassing Lee Smith (478) for the third-most saves in MLB history, and it puts 500 saves in reach. Jansen is 24 short of joining Mariano Rivera (652) and Trevor Hoffman (601) in the hallowed club. Jansen has had at least 27 saves in each of his last three seasons and has never had fewer than 25 saves in each of his 13 seasons as a full-time closer.
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