We have added a new section on the Notinhalloffame.com site with the 2027 Baseball Futures.  These are the players who will first be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2027, though there is no guarantee that they will make the ballot.  It is likely that many will not make it.  We encourage you to vote and give your opinions on their respective HOF credentials.

The names are:

Alex Avila:  Avila was an All-Star Catcher once while playing with the Detroit Tigers.

Andrew Miller: A two-time All-Star as a Relief Pitcher, Miller won the 2015 Rivera Relief Award and won the ALCS MVP as a member of the Cleveland Indians.  He twice finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting.

Asdrubal Cabrera: Cabrera went to back-to-back All-Stars as a Cleveland Indian in 2011 and 2012, and was a Silver Slugger later in the first of those two years.  He later won a World Series with Washington (2019).

Brett Gardner:  A New York Yankee for the entirety of his Major League career, Gardner was an All-Star once, a Gold Glove winner once and once led the American League in Defensive bWAR.  He was one of the better defensive outfielders of his era and offensively provided 1,470 Hits.

Buster Posey:  Arguably the best Catcher in the National League throughout the 2010s, Posey played his entire career with the San Francisco Giants where he won three World Series Rings, an MVP, the Rookie of the Year, five Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger.  The seven-time All-Star also won a Batting Title and had a lifetime Batting Average of .302 with 1,500 Hits.

Dellin Betances:  Betances was twice named the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year and was a four-time All-Star as a reliever. 

Derek Holland:  Holland played for eight teams and had an 82-83 lifetime record.  His best years were with Texas.

Dexter Fowler: Fowler helped the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series and the Outfielder was also an All-Star once.

Ervin Santana:  A two-time All-Star, Santana twice finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting.  He accumulated 1,978 Strikeouts with a record of 151 and 128.

J.A. Happ: Happ won a World Series Championship early in his career with Philadelphia (2009), and the Pitcher was an All-Star later in 2018.  He won 133 Games over his career.

Jake Arrieta: Arrieta is best known for his run with the Chicago Cubs, where he pitched them to a World Series Championship in 2016. He was also an All-Star that year and won the Cy Young the year before. The hurler had a career record of 115-93 with 1,443 Strikeouts.

Jay Bruce:  A power-hitting Outfielder, Bruce was a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger and 319 career Home Runs.

Joakim Soria:  A two-time All-Star as a Relief Pitcher with Kansas City, Soria had 229 career Saves.

John Axford:  In 2011, Axford (as a Milwaukee Brewer) won the Rolaids Reliever of the Year and led the NL in Saves. 

Jon Jay:  Jay played 12 years in the Majors, most notably with St. Louis, where he won a World Series in 2011.

Jon Lester:  A five-time All-Star, Lester won three World Series Rings (two with Boston and one with Chicago Cubs).  He finished in the top four In Cy Young voting four times and secured an even 200 Wins with 2,488 Strikeouts.

Jonathan Lucroy:  Lucroy was twice an All-Star at Catcher, both of which was as a Brewer.

Jordan Zimmerman:  A solid control Pitcher, Zimmerman was twice named to the All-Star Game.

Josh Reddick:  Reddick won a World Series with Houston in 2016 and was a two-time Wilson Defensive player and one-time Gold Glove in Oakland.

Kyle Seager: Seager played all 11 of his MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners, where he was an All-Star, Gold Glove winner, and American League leader in Total Zone Runs in 2014.  He had 1,395 Hits and 242 Home Runs.

Neftali Feliz  Feliz was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2010 where he was an All-Star, but injuries turned him into a journeyman.

Pablo Sandoval: Sandoval helped the San Francisco Giants win three World Series Championships (2010, 2012, and 2014) and won the World Series MVP and Babe Ruth Award in 2012. He is also a two-time All-Star.

Ryan Zimmerman:  Zimmerman is the all-time leader in Nationals history in Hits (1,846), Home Runs (284) and RBIs (1,061), and was a member of Washington’s 2019 World Series Championship team.  He is also a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger and also won one Gold Glove and one Wilson Defensive Award.

Scott Kazmir:  Kazmir went to three All-Star Games, two with Tampa and one with the Dodgers.  He had 108 Wins with 1,618 Strikeouts.

Starlin Castro:  Castro went to four All-Star Games and had over 1,700 Hits, but had it not been for domestic violence allegations that booted him from the league, he would have had much more.

Todd Frazier:  Frazier was a two-time All-Star when he played for Cincinnati.  He had 218 Home Runs.

Tony Watson:  Watson was an All-Star in 2014, and he led the NL in Games Pitched that year.

Wade Davis:  Davis was a three-time All-Star who won the Babe Ruth Award and a World Series Ring with Kansas City in 2015.

Will Harris:  Unlikely to make the ballot, Harris is a one-time All-Star and World Series winner with Houston, so his career is more than complete.

Wilson Ramos:  Ramos was a two-time All-Star and one-time Silver Slugger Catcher.

You can find the entire list of 2027 eligible baseball players here.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support!

Scott Kazmir was a power pitcher who was initially drafted by the New York Mets. However, he never played for the team as he was traded to Tampa Bay while he was still in the minors. This trade would later receive a lot of criticism from Mets fans, particularly when Kazmir started going to All-Star Games with the Rays.

Kazmir made his debut for Tampa Bay in August of 2004, and while there was much to like about the southpaw, there were also some concerns. He had a good strikeout rate, but he also walked a lot of batters. Nonetheless, Kazmir rose to become Tampa Bay's Opening Day starter in 2006 and earned his first All-Star that year with a record of 10-8, 3.24 ERA, and 163 SO. He had an even better season in 2007, leading the American League in strikeouts with 239. Kazmir was an All-Star again in 2008 (12-8, 3.49 ERA, 116 SO), but he struggled with injuries and his performance declined. He was traded to the Angels during the 2009 season, where he finished strong. However, he had a disappointing 2010 season with an ERA close to six over 150 innings.

In 2011, Kazmir only played one game in the majors and was demoted to the minors, where his career seemed to be over. The Angels released him, and he played in several leagues in 2012 before Cleveland gave him another shot in 2013. Kazmir made the team and was respectable with a 10-9 record and a 4.04 ERA. He then signed with Oakland, where he went to his third All-Star Game, which was a significant achievement considering where he was just a few years before. Kazmir finished with a career-high of 15 wins and had a good start to the 2015 season but was traded to Houston during the season. He then played for the Los Angeles Dodgers for a year, but muscle issues forced him to leave a game in late September, which turned out to be his last game in the majors for the next five years.

Despite his ups and downs, Kazmir had a respectable career with three All-Star selections. He also played in other leagues and won a silver medal for the United States in the 2021 Olympics. Kazmir eventually got another chance in the majors with the San Francisco Giants but retired after that.

Known for his four-seam fastball and slider, Scott Kazmir fanned many batters in a Tampa Bay Ray uniform.  

A three-time All Star (two with Tampa and one with Oakland) Scott Kazmir was a decent Strikeout Pitcher who would lead the American League in Ks in 2007.  While he was able to accomplish that feat in Tampa, his overall career would only see him win 108 Games.  That isn’t bad considering his overall workload, but it is not one that might see him garner Hall of Fame consideration, though it should for whatever the Tampa Bay Rays do for their former players.