MLB Pitchers on the Verge of Major Milestones in 2023

There’s something about 500. It’s just such a nice, round number. Verlander’s 18th start this season will be the 500th of his career, and while that won’t be his biggest accomplishment, there’s something pretty damn cool about getting to say you started 500 big league ball games.

Barring an injury, Verlander will make his 500th start sometime this summer. It should make for a must-watch game.

If Zack Greinke keeps pitching the way he did last season, 3,000 strikeouts is a long shot. He struck out just 73 batters all year, posting a teeny-tiny 4.80 K/9. Greinke needs 118 strikeouts to reach 3,000, and he won’t get there if he’s punching out fewer than five batters per nine.

However, if Greinke can amp up the K’s just a bit, 3,000 isn’t out of reach. He struck out 120 in 2021, and that would be enough to get him past this milestone. I’m not holding my breath for this one, but it’s possible.

I’m hesitant to use WAR as a milestone for a couple of reasons. For one thing, there are different versions of WAR, and Wainwright is much more likely to reach 50 FanGraphs WAR than 50 Baseball Reference WAR. In addition, WAR can go up or down, so a player can reach a certain milestone in one season and then drop below that threshold the next.

This is a special case, however. 50 WAR is a meaningful accomplishment because it’s the point at which players start earning legitimate consideration for the Hall of Fame. I don’t think Waino will be a Hall of Famer either way, but if he reaches this threshold, his chances go up.