10 MLB Players Who Can Reach Significant Career Milestones in 2012

Milestones don't mean much to MLB players, but the numbers will ultimately validate their careers to fans and Hall of Fame voters.

The following veterans have opportunities to reach significant totals before 2012 is through.

Each pursuit is a storyline for members of the local media to monitor, regardless of whether or not the player's team is in contention.

Watch for these 10 achievements during the season's second half.

Jim Thome: 610 Home Runs

With his next home run, designated hitter Jim Thome will pass Sammy Sosa and take sole possession of seventh place on the all-time list.

Sosa will be the final name he leapfrogs if this 22nd MLB campaign turns out to be his last one.

After Thome, it will be several years before anybody new shakes up the top 10.

Any form of run production would provide a huge boost for the Baltimore Orioles. They have struggled offensively since the middle of June.

Adam Dunn: 2000 Strikeouts

Adam Dunn is known as baseball's ultimate all-or-nothing hitter. He has whiffed worse than once in every four plate appearances since reaching the big leagues in 2001.

The strikeouts have added up and barring major injury, he'll surpass 2,000 career K's in the coming months.

Alex Rodriguez is also on the cusp of reaching this embarrassing mark. He and Dunn will become the fifth and sixth players to ever get there.

Roy Halladay: 200 Wins, 2,000 Strikeouts

Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com has confirmed that Roy Halladay will return from the disabled list on Tuesday.

Doc can accumulate about 15 starts if he stays in the rotation through early October. With eight victories in that span, he'll join Jamie Moyer (269) and Andy Pettitte (243) as the only active members of the 200-win club.

This milestone is very doable for Halladay considering that he has won nearly 58 percent of his outings since joining the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010.

The team's bullpen has been its Achilles' heel, but the 35-year-old right-hander won't let his solid performances go for naught. He frequently goes the distance (66 career complete games).

Moreover, Halladay is sure to beat Adam Dunn to 2,000 career strikeouts (1,990 as of July 16). That will put him in the company of Moyer, Pettitte, CC Sabathia and Kevin Millwood.

Joe Nathan: 300 Saves

Though the save is a silly, invented statistic, it isn't completely meaningless. When a reliever—like Joe Nathan—has nearly 300 of them, we know that he has been trusted to close out games for many years, and that he has enjoyed a lot of success in the ninth-inning role.

Nathan will need to total more saves in the second half of 2012 than he did before the All-Star break in order to join this exclusive group.

If the Texas Rangers can continue to lead the league in scoring and mend several of their unhealthy starting pitchers, he'll have plenty of opportunities.

Nathan's return to dominance is somewhat surprising to those who watched him initially struggle after 2010 Tommy John surgery.

Alex Rodriguez: 10,000 Innings at Third Base

Superstar shortstop Alex Rodriguez changed defensive positions to fit in with the New York Yankees. By 2014, he'll have played the majority of his career at third base.

In the meantime, he can raise his total innings at the hot corner into quintuple digits if he continues to get semi-regular starts.

It's a random milestone, but one worth bringing to the attention of casual fans, who generally overlook the art of fielding.

Ryan Braun: 200 Home Runs

Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers is closing in on a home run accomplishment that even eluded A-Rod. He aspires to reach 200 career blasts in his sixth MLB season.

Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols and Mark Teixeira are the only active greats who share that distinction.

Braun was well past his 23rd birthday when he debuted for the Brew Crew, and that late start may limit his career total.

However, the "Hebrew Hammer" has incredible year-to-year consistency.

Juan Pierre: 600 Stolen Bases

An ineffective contract year likely cost Juan Pierre a couple million dollars when he was looking for work this past offseason. He landed with the Philadelphia Phillies, who guaranteed him $800,000, but not a spot on their 25-man roster.

Manager Charlie Manuel plays the speedster against right-handed pitching as part of a platoon.

Under current conditions, Pierre gets just enough plate appearances to make a run at 600 career stolen bases in 2012.

The left fielder is miles ahead of this generation's next-best basestealers, few of whom have topped 400 thefts. This will be just another round number that separates him from the rest.

Michael Young: 1,000 Runs Batted in

Michael Young is a compiler. Though his lifetime offensive totals are impressive, he should never be mistaken for a potential Hall of Famer.

Regardless, he is a great competitor and somebody I'd like to see reach 1,000 runs batted in.

The Texas Rangers infielder has often been identically productive before and after midseason. Such a career trend suggests that this milestone is not one he can easily achieve this summer.

Still, it would be unwise to doubt an everyday player who's surrounded by numerous stars.

Chipper Jones: 2,500 Games Played

This has been the year of Chipper Jones around Major League Baseball, so it would be heinous of me to exclude him from a milestones article.

He is close to 2,500 career games despite having made frequent trips to the disabled list over the past decade.

Plus, he has spent every day of his career with one franchise (the Atlanta Braves). He'll join Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken, Jr., Robin Yount and only a handful of others in the record books.

Derek Jeter: 3,284 Hits

The game's most famous ambassador continues to soar up the all-time hits list.

With another season of 200 base knocks (his eighth in 17 full seasons), he'll put Nap Lajoie, Eddie Murray and even Willie Mays in the rear-view mirror. That's right, Willie Mays!

Let's not forget that he's still several years away from calling it quits.

In 2013, Derek Jeter will launch his assault on the top 10.

Adam Dunn: First Playoff Appearance

Adam Dunn's aforementioned strikeout issues are misleading—he's actually a decent player. In the not-too-distance future, he'll have mashed his 400th home run.

However, there's a third milestone that Dunn is more eager to achieve.

Much of his major-league experience has been with losing teams. Finally, with the 2012 Chicago White Sox, he could earn his first postseason berth. The Pale Hose have a multi-game lead in the AL Central.

He'll finish the 2012 regular season with 1700-plus games under his belt.

To quote NBA champion LeBron James, "it's about damn time."

Follow @MrElyminator