Future HOF Pitchers Playing Today

There are only two pitchers playing today that are locks for the Hall of Fame and both of them are closers. Trevor Hoffman with 591 saves should post his 600th save early next season and Mariano Rivera with 526 saves have the best shot of being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Randy Johnson is not included since he probably won’t be pitching in 2010 and everyone knows he is a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Hoffman lowered his ERA by almost two runs per game from his last season with the Padres. His 3.77 ERA in 2008 was lowered to 1.83 ERA last season with the Brewers. The 1.83 ERA was the second lowest of his 17 year career.

He played on seven All Star teams and was second in Cy Young voting twice. Baseball-reference.com compares his stats to those of one Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter and one future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.

Rivera has had an ERA under 2.00 an amazing nine times in his 15 year career. His 2.25 lifetime ERA is 14th best alltime with Hoffman next among active pitchers with a 2.72 ERA and 72nd on the list. The next active pitcher on the list is Johan Santana listed 210th with a 3.11 ERA.

He is a ten time All Star and has a 8-1 record with a 0.74 ERA in the postseason. He has allowed only 82 hits in 133 innings of pitching during the postseason. He has allowed only two homers in those 133 innings of postseason pitching which is an amazing statistic.

Like Hoffman his stats compare to those of Bruce Sutter and Hoffman is the only future Hall of Famer that has stats comparable to Rivera.

Rivera was 40 last Sunday, Hoffman will be 42 all next season and Smoltz will be 43 next May. All three should be pitching in 2010 and adding to their Hall of Fame resumes but all three should be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in another seven or eight years.

The only starter with a shot of being voted in is John Smoltz with 213 wins and a 3.33 ERA. His 154 saves increase his chances of being voted in but his 6-10 record over the last two seasons is not impressing voters. He has won more than 15 games only three times in his career with 24, 17 and 16 win seasons in 1996, 1998 and 2006.

He has had a sterling record during the postseason with a 15-4 record with a 2.67 ERA. He was on eight All Star teams and won the NL Cy Young Award in 1996.

Baseball-reference.com compares his stats to those of Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Catfish Hunter and Don Drysdale.