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Which active MLB players have a chance to hit 600 career home runs?

ByBobMueller|
May 16, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols (5) celebrates hitting the game winning RBI single against the Chicago White Sox in the eleventh inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols (5) celebrates hitting the game winning RBI single against the Chicago White Sox in the eleventh inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
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Now that Albert Pujols has joined the 600-homer club, which MLB players have a chance to join him before their careers are done?

On Saturday, Albert Pujols joined an exclusive club when he launched a grand slam against the Minnesota Twins for his 600th career home run. With that blast, he joined eight other players in the long history of baseball to have achieved that mark. This collection of players all got to the same destination but they took different routes to get there.

Pujols got started down the road to 600 home runs by being very consistent over the first dozen years of his career. From 2001 to 2011, he hit between 32 and 49 home runs every year. His seasonal average was right in the middle, at 40 long balls per season. Not only did he hit home runs with regularity, he also averaged .328/.420/.617, with 117 runs scored and 121 RBI per year.

After the 2011 season, Pujols signed a big free agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels and his consistency didn’t make the trip out west. He hit 30 home runs in his first year with the Angels, then just 17 homers in an injury-shortened 2013 season. Over the last three years, he’s hit 28, 40, and 31 round-trippers, but he’s no longer a .300/.400/.600 guy.

Pujols is projected by the FanGraphs Depth Charts to hit another 18 home runs this year, which will leave him 82 short of the even more exclusive 700 club. He also has four more years (and $114 million) on the 10-year deal he signed with the Angels before the 2012 season. Pujols has a shot at getting to 700 career home runs, but it’s not a sure thing.

The previous eight members of the 600-homer club averaged 83 home runs over their last four years. Four players—Sammy Sosa (110), Barry Bonds (104), Babe Ruth (103), and Hank Aaron (82)—hit 82 or more home runs, which is the mark Pujols will be shooting for to get to 700. Jim Thome (71), Alex Rodriguez (67), Ken Griffey, Jr. (67), and Willie Mays (60) were not as productive in their final four seasons.

It will be interesting to see if Pujols can get to the next tier and join Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth as the only players with 700 or more home runs. In the meantime, is there anyone currently playing who has a shot at making the 600-homer club a 10-person group? Let’s look at the players who may have a shot.

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