Rangers' Adrian Beltre Gradually Approaching 2,500 Hits

Entering Thursday's action, Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers is just 21 hits shy of becoming the fourth active player to reach the 2,500-hit mark, per MLB.com. Once he reaches this mark, he'll become the 97th player in MLB history to do so. 

The current active leaders in hits all reside with the New York Yankees, starting with Derek Jeter at 3,368, followed by Alex Rodriguez (2,939) and Ichiro Suzuki (2,771). With Jeter in his final season, the 38-year-old Rodriguez suspended and Suzuki already 40, Beltre could easily find himself atop the active hits list before his career is over. 

In addition to total hits, the Rangers third baseman also has the 400-home run milestone in sight, currently just 16 away from that mark. Having averaged 27 home runs per 162 games over his career, according to Baseball-Reference, Beltre could conceivably join this heralded club by the end of the 2014 season.

His power numbers have truly blossomed in the later stages of his career, as Beltre has logged 30-plus homers in three straight seasons entering 2014, with an .898 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) over that span. 

Beltre is once again enjoying success in his age-35 season, due in part to his patience at the plate. He's sporting an 8.5 percent walk rate, per Fangraphs, which is his best since the 2000 season and has led him to a respectable .365 on-base percentage. His eight homers are currently tops on the Rangers and so is his .503 slugging percentage among players who have logged 50 or more at-bats. 

All stats courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise specified.