Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun headline 2026 Hall of Fame ballot newcomers

Leading up to Tuesday’s announcement of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2025 class, the question wasn’t whether or not Ichiro Suzuki would be elected on his first ballot, but rather if he could be the second unanimous selection. (He was not, coming just one vote shy, with 99.7 percent of the vote.) There will be no such intrigue a year from now.

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Ichiro, Sabathia and Wagner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Left-hander Cole Hamels and outfielder Ryan Braun headline the class eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time next year.

Hamels (59) and Ryan Braun (47.1) have the highest bWAR among the newcomers, while six players have a career bWAR between 30 and 40.

The lack of a marquee name is good news for this year’s holdovers, freeing up space on ballots limited to 10 selections.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot, players must be at least five seasons removed from their final MLB game and have played at least 10 years in the majors. It takes 75 percent of the votes to be selected and 5 percent of the vote to stay on the ballot. Candidates can stay on the ballot for up to 10 years.

The 2025 ballot had 14 new candidates and 14 holdovers. Of the 14 newcomers, two were elected and just two more — Félix Hernández and Dustin Pedroia — received the five percent required to appear on the 2026 ballot. Of the 14 holdovers from 2024, Wagner was elected and the other 13 received at least 5 percent to remain on the ballot.

The BBWAA’s screening committee will make their next selections from a group of now-eligible players and release the ballot in November. Here are the players the committee will have to consider over the next four voting cycles, along with their Baseball-Reference WAR, Jaffe WAR Score system (JAWS) rating and the average JAWS of Hall of Famers at their respective positions.

Others
Gio Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, Jason Kipnis, Daniel Murphy, Rick Porcello, Matt Wieters, Jeff Samardzija, Kelvin Herrera, Edinson Volquez

While Hamels and Braun are the top new names by bWAR, neither comes within 10 points of reaching their positional standard in JAWS, which helps compare players across generations, using the players’ best seasons as a measuring stick. Braun also has the black mark of violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. No player suspended for violating the policy has been elected to the Hall of Fame.

This means a pair of center fielders, Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, have a much better chance at hearing their names called a year from now. Beltrán received 277 votes, 70.3 percent of the 394 votes cast, 19 votes short of the 75 percent necessary for election. Jones received 261 votes (66.2 percent.)

“If you get 43 percent or so, odds are you’re eventually going to get elected, whether by the writers or a committee, and that’s where we find the possibility of Pettitte ending up,” Jaffe said.

With the exceptions of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling — all of whom fell off the ballot in 2022 — and players currently on the ballot, no player has gotten more than Roger Maris’ 43.1 percent in 1988 and not eventually been elected, either by the BBWAA or one of the Hall of Fame’s committees. Steve Garvey received his highest total, 42.6 percent, in 1995, but remains outside the Hall.

Others
Ervin Santana, Asdrúbal Cabrera, Josh Reddick, Jake Arrieta, Todd Frazier, Scott Kazmir, Jordan Zimmermann, J.A. Happ, Trevor Bauer, Jay Bruce, Jonathan Lucroy, Dexter Fowler, Joakim Soria, Starlin Castro, Alex Avila, Wilson Ramos, Jon Jay, Wade Davis, Tony Watson, Dellin Betances, Derek Holland, Andrew Miller, Neftalí Féliz, Will Harris, John Axford

Posey, with his three World Series titles, seven All-Star selections, Most Valuable Player award, five Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove and batting title, is the type of player whose resume outweighs any statistical measure. He is likely the only player with a chance at first-ballot selection in 2027.

Others
Aníbal Sánchez, Kirk Suzuki, Jed Lowrie, Tyler Clippard, Zack Britton, Dee Strange-Gordon, Chris Archer, Mark Melancon, Greg Holland, Óliver Pérez, Steve Cishek, Joe Smith, Alcides Escobar, Sean Doolittle, Sergio Romo

As with Suzuki, the question won’t be if Pujols gets in, it’s if he’ll be a unanimous selection. It’s hard to find an argument against the slugger, who finished his career with over 100 bWAR.

Pujols’ long-time teammate, catcher Yadier Molina, will likely eventually end up in Cooperstown — and possibly in the first year of eligibility.

Canó has the numbers, but his suspension for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drugs policy in 2018 makes his path more difficult.

Others
Jean Segura, AJ Pollock, Hyun Jin Ryu, Jonathan Schoop, Ian Kennedy, Eric Hosmer, Jackie Bradley Jr., Mike Moustakas, Collin McHugh, Corey Dickerson, Eduardo Escobar, Liam Hendricks, Brad Hand, Jeurys Familia, Alex Colomé, Brad Boxberger

While Pujols is the best first baseman of his generation, the top first basemen of the 2010s in each league — Cabrera and Votto — will be on the ballot for the first time in 2029. Both should eventually be elected — Cabrera’s round counting stats (more than 3,000 hits and 500 homers) make him a shoo-in for the first ballot, while Votto’s numbers are more nuanced but no less impressive.

Greinke is the first of the group that includes Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, who will be no-doubt first-ballot selections. After those four, starting pitchers enshrined will have completely different-looking resumes. While Adam Wainwright finished with just 200 wins, his career spanned a time when the starter role changed dramatically. His case will likely be lumped with others, like Hernández, for a more philosophical debate about what a Hall of Fame starting pitcher looks like.

(Top photo of Cole Hamels: Hunter Martin / Getty Images)