Looking at the 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot opened the door for outfielders Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones to make their way to Cooperstown. This past year’s ballot didn’t include a slam-dunk player on it for the first time, unlike in 2025 when Ichiro and CC Sabathia were on it. But for the 2027 ballot, that sentiment won’t ring true.

The returning players

The 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot will include Chase Utley, Felix Hernandez, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Cole Hamels, Mark Buehrle, Omar Vizquel, Jimmy Rollins, David Wright, Dustin Pedroia, Francisco Rodriguez, and Torii Hunter. All of those players carried over from 2026.

Chase Utley received a big jump after the glut of “locks” cleared off the ballot. Utley received 59.1% of the vote, up significantly from his previous high of 39.8%. And given how good a peak he had and his accolades, which include four Silver Sluggers and a World Series title, it would be shocking to see him not in the Hall of Fame.

Felix Hernandez received an even more sizable jump, from 20.6% to 46.1%. Hernandez’s prime was filled with sheer dominance, one that saw him post six straight 200+ strikeout campaigns and win a Cy Young Award in 2010.

Cole Hamels (23.8%) did well in his first ballot. Others, like David Wright (14.8%), Francisco Rodriguez (11.8%), and Torii Hunter (8.7) have a lot of catch-up work to do.

The newcomers

Next year’s Baseball Hall of Fame ballot will include the following players:

Posey, out of all the players listed above, is the very clear front-runner to get 75%.

The former Giants star was a seven-time All-Star, a former NL Rookie of the Year, a former National League MVP, and a three-time World Series champion (2010, 2012, 2014), giving him one of the most decorated backgrounds among catchers currently in the Hall of Fame.

It was quite an accomplished career for someone who only played 10 seasons, in which he accrued more than 100 games. Posey received a seven-game cameo in 2009, opted out of the 2020 campaign, and missed most of 2011 after he was injured by former Marlin Scott Cousins via a collision at home plate.

Outside of Posey, the one to watch will be Jon Lester. Lester won 200 games and struck 2,488 batters in a career that saw him earn five All-Star nods and two World Series titles (2007, 2016).

Lester’s career resume is better compared to Mark Buehrle, the pitch-to-contact artist, who also won 200 games as a left-handed starter and finished with a higher WAR7 than Lester. However, 200 wins assure absolutely nothing when it comes to the Hall of Fame.

There are so many pitchers, ranging from recent contemporaries like Kevin Brown and Kenny Rogers, to older players like George Mullin, who reached the mark but are not in the Hall.

Check out more of our MLB coverage, including more on the 2026 Hall of Fame class.