5 MLB milestones that are still within reach in 2020

The 2020 MLB season promises to be different in many ways, but the players themselves will still be out there, adding to their career numbers. Here are five personal milestones that are within reach for some of the game’s greatest active players this year.

Albert Pujols: Fifth place in home runs

Albert Pujols’ Hall of Fame credentials are beyond reproach, but it’s been fascinating to watch him pad his numbers over the years.

He enters the 2020 campaign just four home runs behind the great Willie Mays for fifth all-time (660). Pujols has averaged nearly eight dingers per 60 games over the past three seasons, so this mark is definitely within his grasp.

Also on the radar for Pujols this year is third-place in all-time RBIs. He trails Alex Rodriguez by a mere 11.

Yadier Molina: 2,000 games caught

Yadier Molina has caught 1,947 career games, just three short of Tony Peña for sixth most all-time. Catching 53 games in a 66-day span might be a tall order for the 37-year-old, but it’s not impossible.

Molina is also 37 hits away from becoming the eighth catcher to reach the 2,000-hit plateau.

Mike Trout: 300 home runs

If Mike Trout hits 15 homers this year, he’ll become just the 11th player to hit 300 four-baggers before turning 29. He’s reached 15 dingers in fewer than 60 games in four of his last five seasons, so as long as Trout stays healthy this number is well within his grasp.

Aroldis Chapman: 300 saves

Aroldis Chapman needs 27 saves to become just the third active closer with 300 or more saves, joining Craig Kimbrel (346) and Kenley Jansen (301).

He tallied 37 saves in 2019, just one off his career-high set in 2012 (and tied in 2013), but the 60-game season will hamper his chances of reaching this milestone. Even if the Yankees win 50 times, he’d need to record the save in over half those instances.

Jon Lester: 200 wins

This is another pitching milestone that is improbable but not impossible to attain in 2020.

Jon Lester needs 10 wins to reach the 200-win plateau. Only Justin Verlander (225) and Zach Greinke (205) can boast more wins than the Cubs southpaw among active players. Assuming all goes according to plan, Lester will make 12 starts this season. The fastest Lester reached 10 wins in a Cubs uniform was 2018, when he tallied his 10th victory in his 16th outing of the year.

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