From Yadier Molina to Max Scherzer, MLB milestones to watch in 2022

Here are the MLB pitching milestones to watch for in 2022

200 Wins – Max Scherzer (190), Clayton Kershaw (185), and Adam Wainwright (184)

Pitcher wins just don’t mean as much anymore because pitchers don’t pitch as late into games. Active leader, Justin Verlander (226) might make it to 250 if he remains healthy over his new two-year contract. So, to hit 200 wins in modern baseball is a significant milestone. If you look at the three that have a chance this year, they are three of the best, most durable pitchers of the last dozen or so seasons. A more important number for Scherzer this season may be 173, the number he needs to reach 12th all-time in strikeouts for a pitcher.

3000 IP – Justin Verlander (2988)

Verlander has only pitched six innings over the last two seasons but it seems likely that he will pitch the 12 innings needed to reach this mark sometime in April. 3000 innings pitched is another one of those pitching milestones that we may not see reached too many more times. Scherzer (2536.2) and Kershaw (2454.2) are the most likely active players to get there after Verlander but they are still three to four seasons away.

400 Saves – Craig Kimbrel (372)

Dirty Craig has had his ups and downs the last couple of years and has only managed 39 saves over the last three seasons. That said, as a Cub in 2021, Kimbrel looked like the elite reliever of his 20s. It seems more than likely that the White Sox will entertain trade offers rather than pay $16 million for a setup man. If Kimbrel resumes closing games in 2022, he’s only 28 saves away from becoming the seventh pitcher in history to record 400 career saves.