Baltimore Orioles: Are Any Players On Pace to Set Milestones?

Baseball is all about statistics, which is why players reaching major milestones is so exciting. Baltimore Orioles fans know all about this as their hometown son, Cal Ripken Jr. has his record-setting consecutive-game milestone.

But, with so few veterans on the team, it begs the question if any of the Baltimore Orioles could set any milestones in the 2020 season?

According to a recent post from Baseball America, it is possible to predict which players could set major milestones based on their pace at a young age.

For example, a player who could join the 3000-hit club needs to have 500 hits by age 23. Or a player with 500 strike-outs by age 23 could become a member of the 3000-strikeout club. A 27-year-old with 200 home runs could reach 500 before his career is completed.

Let’s look at whether or not any Orioles are on pace to reach any stats clubs:

300 Home Runs

The first player who comes to mind is Chris Davis. He’s already set a few bottom-feeder records, and he has a handful of batting titles. But, he is on pace to reach a milestone in 2020: the 300 home runs club. He is only five home runs away from becoming the 139th MLB player to hit 300 home runs.

2000 Strike Outs

Chris Davis is also getting close to moving into a club that he probably doesn’t want to join: strikeout leaders. The player with the most strikeouts in a career is Reggie Jackson. And, at this moment in time, Davis is the active player with the most strikeouts with 1,835. Justin Upton is close behind him with 1,798, and Miguel Cabrera has 1,761.

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If MLB teams play 82 games in 2020, Davis would have to strikeout two times per game to reach 2000 in 2020. But, he will continue to move up in the rankings. He’s currently in 18th, and Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu are tied for 17th with 1850. The odds are good that Davis will pass them this season.

Innings Pitched

Another possible milestone that could be reached is 1000 innings pitched. Alex Cobb has 864.2 innings under his belt. I will be challenging for Cobb to throw 136 innings in an 82-game season. He threw one inning in 2020 Spring Training. This milestone might have to wait until 2021.

Milestones Missed

Trey Mancini would also reach a few notable milestones. He is set to reach 100 home runs and 500 hits in 2020. Unfortunately, as he recovers from cancer, he will probably not reach those major milestones.

Hopefully, the young Orioles team will get a chance to start working toward future milestones. And, if all goes well, the veterans will achieve theirs, too.