Early Preview, Predictions for the 2025 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2024 Hall of Fame class has officially been announced, with Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer becoming the latest former stars to enter the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.

Now it's time to start looking ahead to the 2025 ballot.

Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Félix Hernández and Dustin Pedroia headline an exciting class of newcomers, while Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltrán are the top holdovers who will look to get over the 75 percent threshold after another year on the ballot.

Ahead is a full preview of the names to know for the 2025 ballot, as well as predictions for what sort of voting support some of the top newcomers might receive in their first year of eligibility.

Let's start with a look at the holdovers who will be back for another year.

The 2024 Ballot Holdovers

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Andruw Jones

These players will be back on the ballot in 2025 after receiving between 5 percent and 74.9 percent of the vote in 2024:

• Billy Wagner (73.8%, 10th year on ballot in 2025)
• Andruw Jones (61.6%, 8th year on ballot in 2025)
• Carlos Beltrán (57.1%, 3rd year on ballot in 2025)
• Alex Rodriguez (34.8%, 4th year on ballot in 2025)
  
• Manny Ramirez (32.5%, 9th year on ballot in 2025)
  
• Chase Utley (28.8%, 2nd year on ballot in 2025)
  
• Omar Vizquel (17.7%, 8th year on ballot in 2025)
  
• Jimmy Rollins (14.8%, 4th year on ballot in 2025)
  
• Bobby Abreu (14.8%, 6th year on ballot in 2025)
• Andy Pettitte (13.5%, 7th year on ballot in 2025)
• Mark Buehrle (8.3%, 5th year on ballot in 2025)
• Francisco Rodríguez (7.8%, 3rd year on ballot in 2025)
• Torii Hunter (7.3%, 5th year on ballot in 2025)
• David Wright (6.2%, 2nd year on ballot in 2025)

Will 2025 be the year Andruw Jones gets the long-overdue call to Cooperstown? With 434 home runs, 10 Gold Gloves and 62.7 WAR over 17 seasons, he is one of the best all-around center fielders in MLB history.

Likely One-and-Done Newcomers

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Adam Jones

These players are candidates to appear on the ballot for the first time in 2025, but will likely be one-and-done, receiving less than the five percent of support necessary to stick around for another year.

• SP Clay Buchholz
• OF Melky Cabrera
• SS/OF Ian Desmond
• OF Carlos González
  
• OF Adam Jones
  
• SP Francisco Liriano
• C Russell Martin
• C Brian McCann
  
• DH Kendrys Morales
• IF Martín Prado
• RP Fernando Rodney
  
• 1B/OF Mark Trumbo
• SP Jason Vargas

Outfielder Adam Jones and catchers Russell Martin and Brian McCann probably have the best odds of reaching the five percent needed to hang around for another year, but chances are all of these guys will only stick around for one year.

Players Who Could Stick Around With 5-10 Percent Support

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Ben Zobrist

These four players have an outside shot of hanging around on the ballot for a second year, but it's unlikely they will wind up receiving more than 10 percent of the vote:

• OF Curtis Granderson—With a 113 OPS+ and 344 home runs in 16 seasons, Granderson was a productive power hitter and solid defensive center fielder during his time with the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees. He had a pair of 40-homer seasons at his peak with the Yankees, filling up the stat sheet in 2011 when he posted a 142 OPS+ with 26 doubles, 10 triples, 41 home runs, 119 RBI, 136 runs scored and 25 steals in a 6.1-WAR season.
• SS Hanley Ramírez—Ramírez won NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 and hit .313/.385/.521 over his first five seasons while averaging 40 doubles, 25 home runs, 39 steals and 5.2 WAR with the Marlins. He hit .342 in 2009 to win the NL batting title and finish runner-up in NL MVP voting. Injuries derailed the back half of his career, but at his peak he was one of baseball's most dynamic players.
  
• SS Troy Tulowitzki—Tulowitzki had six seasons with at least 5 WAR during his time with the Colorado Rockies, racking up 39.5 WAR over 10 seasons. He only topped 140 games three times over 13 seasons in the big leagues, and injuries ultimately kept him from reaching his full potential. There is still a case to be made that he was the best shortstop of his era, and that could help him stick around on the ballot.
• 2B/OF Ben Zobrist—During his time in Tampa Bay, Zobrist helped revolutionize the super-utility player, providing tremendous value as an everyday player without an everyday position. He tallied 44.5 WAR over 14 seasons and posted a 113 OPS+ at the plate, earning three All-Star selections in the process. He also won World Series rings with the Royals in 2015 and Cubs in 2016, taking home World Series MVP honors for the Cubs.

These players are all longshots to ever reach the 75 percent mark in voting, but they had productive enough careers to stick around on the ballot for multiple years.

2B Ian Kinsler

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ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Infielder Ian Kinsler #5 of the Texas Rangers rounds 3rd base after a home run on the first pitch of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays September 17, 2013 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Stats: 1,888 G, 107 OPS+, 1,999 H, 257 HR, 909 RBI, 1,243 R, 243 SB, 54.1 WAR

Accolades: 4x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove

There have only been six 30/30 seasons by a second baseman in MLB history, and two of them belong to Kinsler, who did it in 2009 (31 HR, 31 SB) and 2011 (32 HR, 30 SB) with the Texas Rangers.

His combination of power, speed and defense helped him record nine 4-WAR seasons over 14 years in the majors, and his 54.1 career WAR ranks in the top 20 all-time among second basemen.

Prediction: 12 percent voting support

2B Dustin Pedroia

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BOSTON, MA - JUNE 13: Dustin Pedroia #15 of the Boston Red Sox bats against the Philadelphia Phillies during a Major League Baseball game on June 13, 2010 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Pedroia played for the Red Sox from 2006-2019. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Stats: 1,512 G, 113 OPS+, 1,805 H, 140 HR, 725 RBI, 922 R, 138 SB, 51.9 WAR

Accolades: 4x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 1x Silver Slugger, 2008 AL MVP

During his first seven seasons as an everyday player in the big leagues, Dustin Pedroia tallied 38.8 WAR while adding 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and 2008 AL MVP to his trophy case and helping the team to a World Series title in 2007.

Injuries limited him to just 496 games in his 30s and left him with a career that closely resembles 2023 first-time candidate David Wright, though his MVP award and two World Series rings help give him a slight leg up in Hall of Fame candidacy.

Prediction: 15 percent voting support

SP Félix Hernández

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TORONTO, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 23: Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch in the first inning during MLB game action to Jose Bautista #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays on September 23, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Stats: 418 GS, 169-136, 3.42 ERA (117 ERA+), 1.21 WHIP, 2,524 K, 2,729.2 IP, 49.9 WAR

Accolades: 6x All-Star, 2010 AL Cy Young

Félix Hernández made 12 starts as a 19-year-old rookie during the 2005 season, and he quickly developed into a staple in the Seattle rotation from there with 10 straight seasons of at least 30 starts and 190 innings pitched.

He finished in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting six times in a span of seven years from 2009 through 2015, winning the award in 2010 when he logged a 2.27 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 232 strikeouts in 249.2 innings. He didn't have Hall of Fame longevity, but at his peak he was squarely in the best pitcher in baseball conversation.

Prediction: 20 percent voting support

SP CC Sabathia

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OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 11: C.C. Sabathia #52 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Oakland Athletics during an Major League Baseball game September 11, 2004 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. Sabathia played for the Indians from 2001-2008. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Stats: 560 GS, 251-161, 3.74 ERA (116 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 3,093 K, 3,577.1 IP, 61.8 WAR

Accolades: 6x All-Star, 2007 AL Cy Young

CC Sabathia made his MLB debut as a 20-year-old and immediately settled into the role of top-of-the-rotation workhorse, ending his rookie season 17-5 with a 4.39 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 180.1 innings to finish runner-up to Ichiro Suzuki in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

He tallied at least 180 innings in each of his first 13 seasons in the majors, serving as a true staff ace in Cleveland, Milwaukee and New York while finishing in the top five in Cy Young voting five different times.

The left-hander ranks in the top 50 all-time in starts (560, 28th), wins (251, 47th) and strikeouts (3,093, 18th), and with a career that closely resembles Hall of Famer Mike Mussina, he should eventually find his way into Cooperstown after a few years on the ballot.

Prediction: 45 percent voting support

OF Ichiro Suzuki

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OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners bats during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Network Associates Coliseum on September 30, 2004 in Oakland, California. The A's defeated the Mariners 3-2. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/MLB via Getty Images)

Stats: 2,653 G, 107 OPS+, 3,089 H, 117 HR, 780 RBI, 509 SB, 60.0 WAR

Accolades: 10x All-Star, 10x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger, 2001 AL MVP

Ichiro Suzuki already had 1,278 hits over nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave when he became the first position player to make the jump from the Japanese League to Major League Baseball by signing a three-year, $14 million deal with the Seattle Mariners.

He led the AL in batting average (.350), hits (242) and stolen bases (56) to become just the second rookie ever to win MVP honors in 2001, and that kicked off a run of 10 straight seasons in which he batted at least .300 and recorded at least 200 hits.

Despite not making his MLB debut until he was 27 years old, Suzuki went on to join the 3,000-hit club while establishing himself as an all-time great. He also set the single-season record with 262 hits in 2004.

It's not a question of whether he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but if he will join Mariano Rivera as the second player ever to receive unanimous support from the voters.

Prediction: 100 percent voting support