MLB Power Rankings: The Top 20 Active Pitchers with the Best Shot at 300 Wins
Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine were baseball's last pitchers to reach 300 wins.
Johnson accomplished the feat in 2009 with the San Francisco Giants, while Glavine achieved the milestone in 2007 with the New York Mets. Glavine returned to the Atlanta Braves, his original team, the following year and retired following a brilliant 22-year career.
Who will join them next? There are plenty of worthy candidates.
Jamie Moyer currently leads active pitchers in career wins with 267, but he's also 47 years old. Andy Pettitte is right behind at 240, but he still hasn't decided whether to retire or return to the New York Yankees.
So who has the best shot? You can't measure it just on career wins alone. Otherwise 43-year-old Tim Wakefield, who has 193 wins, would have a better shot than Roy Halladay (169).
Age also has to be somewhat of a factor. Other things can't be measured or predicted, like whether a pitcher can remain injury-free, if the divisions they're in get even tougher or if their skills simply diminish.
These 20 have the best chance, though, to reach the 300-win mark.
20. Barry Zito, San Francisco
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Zito is 19-27 over the last two seasons, but he's also made $18.5 million each year. It seems like an eternity ago when he was part of Oakland's promising rotation with Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson.
In 2002, Zito was 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA, allowing 70 earned runs in just over 229 innings pitched that season.
Zito has 142 career victories and at 32 is still relatively young. If he could regain his old form, you would have to give him serious consideration. But you also have to question if he's content to just collect a fat salary.
19. Ervin Santana, Anaheim
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Since joining Anaheim in 2005, Santana has finished with one sub-.500 season and had three seasons with 16 wins or more. Last year also marked the most innings he's pitched with the team, and he continues to have a solid strikeout/walk ratio (856-522 for his career).
At 27, Santana currently has 76 wins. The AL West is getting tougher, however, with Texas' improvement and Oakland also maturing.
18. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis
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Carpenter has 133 wins, but he also is 35.
In his last two seasons, Carpenter is 33-13. Last year, he also allowed 84 earned runs in 235 innings pitched.
He's got the stuff to reach 300, and coming to St. Louis has definitely been a boost: In six seasons with Toronto, he had a 4.83 earned run average. So far, that number is at 2.98 in seven seasons with the Cardinals.
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17. Tim Hudson, Atlanta
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The 34-year-old Hudson has 165 career victories and has won 65 percent of his games in 12 seasons. Last year he went 17-9 with a 2.83 ERA, his lowest earned run average since 2003.
If he remains this consistent, Hudson could reach the mark.
16. Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox
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At 31, Buehrle is tied for 12th among active pitchers with 148 career victories. He's thrown a perfect game and had success in the competitive AL Central.
Last year, though, his 4.28 ERA was the second highest of his career, and the 246 hits allowed were the most since 2006.
15. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis
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A teammate of Carpenter's, Wainwright has 66 wins, including four straight seasons of 11 wins or more. His ERA has been below three the last two seasons, and he allowed 56 walks in 230.1 innings pitched last year.
14. Justin Verlander, Detroit
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The former American League Rookie of the Year is a three-time All-Star and has 83 career victories, including 37 in the last two seasons.
Verlander, 27, has had an ERA under four in four of his six seasons and finished 2009 with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
13. Jered Weaver, Anaheim
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The 27-year-old has 64 wins. When he's on, Weaver's stuff is electric, but teams have been able to be patient and shell him too.
I've noticed occasionally that Weaver will let his emotions get the best of him and get him out of a rhythm. I also wonder how much of a difference it's been without having John Lackey in the rotation.
Weaver has a career earned run average of 3.55 and finished last year with a career-high 233 strikeouts.
12. Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia
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The 47-year-old won't reach 300 if he finishes 9-9 again like last season, but if he could recapture his magic from the previous three seasons before that—when he won a combined 42 games—then there's a shot.
11. Johan Santana, New York Mets
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Santana is 31 and has 133 career victories.
Since winning the AL Cy Young in 2006 with a 19-6 record for Minnesota, Santana's win totals have declined. But he did finish with a 2.98 ERA last season and allowed 66 earned runs in 199 innings pitched.
Santana's stuff is some of the best in baseball, but he's going to need better run support. Last year, New York ranked near the bottom in the National League in batting average (.249, 13th), runs (656, 13th) and hits (1,361, 12th).
10. Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado
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Is this just the start of things to come for Jimenez?
The 26-year-old has 50 victories and a 3.52 career ERA. Putting up freakish numbers at Coors Field would seem impossible, but Jimenez did it last year: He had a career-high 214 strikeouts (third best in the National League), a 2.88 ERA and allowed 71 earned runs in just over 221 innings pitched.
9. Zack Greinke, Milwaukee
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The 26-year-old Greinke got a much-needed change this offseason when he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers from Kansas City.
The former Cy Young winner has a 60-67 career record, but the pitcher who gave up 102 earned runs last year on one of baseball's worst teams is the same person who had 242 strikeouts and finished with a 2.16 ERA the previous season.
8. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia
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The kid in the Phillies' ultra-talented rotation has 60 career victories. Despite his hovering right near .500 the last two seasons, this is the same 26-year-old who allowed only 43 walks in 2009 and finished 2010 with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
7. Josh Beckett, Boston
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The 30-year-old has 112 career victories in his time with the Marlins and Red Sox.
Look at his stats, and his hits per nine innings is pretty high, and his ERA has been at four or higher in three of the last five seasons. But since coming to Boston, Beckett has a 71-40 record and has allowed 248 walks in just over 919 innings pitched.
There's the pressure of playing in Boston, as well as in the AL East, to consider, but Beckett has held his own.
6. Felix Hernandez, Seattle
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King Felix has 71 victories and could really help himself if he were on a better team.
But the Mariners ace has been incredible. He was 19-5 in 2009, finished 2010 with a 2.27 ERA and has 200 or more strikeouts in each of the last two seasons.
5. Roy Oswalt, Philadelphia
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It's a shame Oswalt didn't have more help while he was still with Houston, but the 32-year-old is already halfway there with 150 victories.
One of baseball's best, Oswalt was traded to Philadelphia last year and finished 7-1 with the team, striking out 73 batters in 82.2 innings pitched. He also had a 1.74 ERA.
4. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia
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You could easily flip-flop he and Oswalt, but the 31-year-old Lee has 102 victories. After being traded to Texas last year, he gave the Rangers a boost and helped them to their first World Series appearance.
I'm putting Lee ahead of Oswalt (by a slim margin) simply based on his performance in the postseason. Sure, he struggled last year against the Giants, but look at the overall body of work, and the man is a master.
3. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
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At 29, CC is tied for eighth with 157 victories. He still has an extremely talented lineup to provide him with run support, but the biggest thing will be whether or not he can remain consistent.
Sabathia has 15 or more victories in five of his last eight seasons.
2. Tim Lincecum, Giants
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It's just a matter of when for the 26-year-old and two-time Cy Young winner.
He is one of the game's most talented players and showed just how special he is last year in the playoffs. Even when he doesn't have his A-game, he can be a nightmare, but Lincecum at his best is virtually unhittable.
1. Roy Halladay, Phillies
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From when he was in Toronto, and now in Philadelphia, you can see why he's considered arguably baseball's best pitcher.
At 33, he has 169 victories and is on the brink of 2,000 strikeouts (he currently has 1,714). He's also allowed only 485 career walks in nearly 2,300 innings. Last year, he walked just 30 batters in 250.2 innings pitched.
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