Experts predict this year's Hall of Fame voting

The results for this year's Hall of Fame voting will be announced on Jan. 21, 2025 -- but we're here to give you a sneak peak of what to possibly expect.

We asked 55 MLB.com experts a variety of HOF-related questions and compiled all of the answers below. To be clear, each person was asked what they think BBWAA voters will do, not necessarily what they personally believe.

Which player(s) will be voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA for 2025?

• Ichiro Suzuki: 100% (55 votes)
• Billy Wagner: 98.2% (54)
• CC Sabathia: 65.5% (36)
• Andruw Jones: 9.1% (5)
• Felix Hernandez: 3.6% (2)

No surprise at the top of this list, as all 55 of our experts believe Suzuki will get in the Hall of Fame – and all but one believe Wagner will join him on stage in Cooperstown next summer. There was a big drop off after that pair, however, with just 65.5% of our panel thinking Sabathia will get in on his first try.

The only other players who anyone on our panel thought had a shot this year were Jones (five picks) and Hernandez (two picks), though neither received much support.

Most common player combinations

• 32 times: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner
• 17 times: Suzuki, Wagner
• Two times: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner, Jones
• One time each: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner, Hernandez | Suzuki, Wagner, Jones , Hernandez | Suzuki, Sabathia, Jones | Suzuki, Wagner, Jones

The most common combination selected by our panel -- accounting for more than half of the submissions -- was the trio of Suzuki, Wagner and Sabathia. Next up was those who believed it would be only Suzuki and Wagner. Those two combinations made up 49 of the 55 entries, with no other combo appearing more than twice.

How many players will get elected?

• Three players: 34 votes
• Two players: 17 votes
• Four players: 4 votes

Though Suzuki and Wagner were the only apparent certainties based on the first question, more than half of our panel thinks they will not be the only players elected. In fact, the majority of our experts (34 of 55) believe that one other player will be inducted alongside that duo, while four people are confident that four players will be enshrined next summer.

Which player returning to the ballot will see the largest increase in vote percentage from last year?

• Carlos Beltran: 21 votes
• Chase Utley: 19 votes
• Andruw Jones: 11 votes
• Bobby Abreu: 2 votes
• Andy Pettitte: 1 vote
• Manny Ramirez: 1 vote

We’ve seen some players make sizable jumps in vote percentage over the past few years, and this year figures to be no different. The player most expected to see the largest increase was Beltran, who is on the ballot for a third time after seeing his number jump from 46.5% in his first year to 57.1% last year.

Next up is Utley, who is hoping to improve his HOF outlook after receiving 28.8% of the vote in his first year on the ballot.

Our panel was also confident that Jones would see yet another increase after watching his vote percentage improve each year since he debuted on the ballot in 2018. Jones received just 7.3% of the vote in his first year -- barely enough to remain on the ballot -- but that has continued to trend upward, reaching 61.6% last year.

Besides Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia, which first-time candidates will receive the necessary 5% of the vote to remain on the ballot for 2026?

• Felix Hernandez: 52
• Dustin Pedroia: 50
• Ian Kinsler: 15
• Curtis Granderson: 10
• Brian McCann: 9
• Troy Tulowitzki: 8
• Adam Jones: 3
• Hanley Ramirez: 3
• Fernando Rodney: 3
• Russell Martin: 3
• Carlos Gonzalez: 2

While Suzuki and Sabathia were the only first-timers to inspire overwhelming confidence, most of our experts believe that at least some of those other guys will get enough consideration to return to the ballot next year.

“King Felix” was the most popular such pick, with 52 of our 55 experts believing he will reach that 5% threshold. Pedroia was another one who most of our panel is confident will be back for at least another year, with all but five people listing him as likely to meet that minimum requirement.