Kershaw did it. Who could be next to 3,000 K’s?

On Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, Clayton Kershaw became the 20th AL/NL pitcher to record 3,000 strikeouts when he punched out the White Sox’s Vinny Capra in the sixth inning on his 100th and final pitch. Pitching in front of the only home crowd he’s ever known in the Majors, Kershaw’s 3,000th strikeout represented another milestone mark for a pitcher who is all but certain to be elected into the Hall of Fame when he’s finished.

Kershaw followed in the footsteps of Justin Verlander, who reached 3,000 strikeouts in 2019, and Max Scherzer, who did so in '21 with the Dodgers. That makes for three all-time greats to get there over a seven-season span, but now the question is whether anyone else will join that trio in the near future -- or if we could be in for a long wait.

Even with strikeouts prevalent in today’s game, it figures to be a huge challenge for any other active pitcher to log enough innings, and remain healthy enough for long enough, to get to 3,000. Nonetheless, here is a look at some of the top candidates to follow Kershaw, with some predictions about their chances.

Veterans with a shot

Chris Sale, Braves (age 36 in 2025)

Career K’s: 2,528 | Career K/9 rate: 11.1

After dealing with a multitude of injuries during his final years with Boston, Sale bounced back in the biggest way in his first year with the Braves in 2024, winning his first Cy Young Award, thanks to a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings. Sale is in the midst of another great season (2.52 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings), but is currently on the 60-day injured list with a fractured left rib and won’t return until Aug. 19 at the earliest.

Prediction: Sale will get there. Even with this current injury, he has shown since the beginning of the ‘24 season that he has plenty left in the tank. Father Time comes for every pitcher, and Sale will be no different moving into his late 30s, but the stuff is still top-shelf. Even with a gradual decline in the coming years, Sale has fewer than 500 strikeouts to go.

Gerrit Cole, Yankees (age 34 in 2025)

Career K’s: 2,251 | Career K/9 rate: 10.4

One of the best pitchers of his generation, Cole will miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. Through the 2023 season -- one in which Cole unanimously won his first Cy Young Award -- he was well on his way to 3,000 strikeouts. After missing the first half of the 2024 season with right elbow inflammation and missing all of this season, Cole’s chances of reaching 3K have significantly dwindled.

Prediction: Cole will fall short, barely. While he has the best shot of any active pitcher below the 2,500 mark, the injuries have taken vital innings away while the righty is still in his prime. Cole could very well return next season looking like his usual self and piece together a handful of strong seasons to get there. There’s just more risk for a pitcher in his mid-30s coming off a major arm surgery.

Great careers … but not enough time

Yu Darvish, Padres (age 38 in 2025)

Career K’s: 2,007 | Career K/9 rate: 10.6

Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays (age 34 in 2025)

Career K’s: 1,858 | Career K/9 rate: 9.2

Sonny Gray, Cardinals (age 35 in 2025)

Career K’s: 1,831 | Career K/9 rate: 9.0

Jacob deGrom, Rangers (age 37 in 2025)

Career K’s: 1,766 | Career K/9: 10.8

Zack Wheeler, Phillies (age 35 in 2025)

Career K’s: 1,761 | Career K/9 rate: 9.4

These pitchers all reached peaks that could have led to 3,000 strikeouts, but they haven’t enjoyed the combination of health and longevity necessary to make a serious run at that milestone. (The pandemic-shortened 2020 season didn’t help, either.)

Darvish is one of two active pitchers not mentioned above who has more than 2,000 K’s, along with the 41-year-old Charlie Morton. But Darvish was limited to 16 starts and 78 K’s in his age-37 season and he has yet to pitch this year due to right elbow inflammation. Gausman and Wheeler were hurt by late-blooming careers that didn’t see them reach their potential until their 30s. deGrom is back and looking like his old self, but years of missed time due to injury makes his case unlikely despite his spectacular peak.

Keep an eye on

Aaron Nola, Phillies (age 32 in 2025)

Career K’s: 1,831 | Career K/9 rate: 9.9

It’s been an odd season for Nola, who went 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA in his first nine starts and hasn’t pitched since May 14 due to various ailments. It’s especially odd considering Nola has been the epitome of durability in his career, as he threw the most innings (1,432 2/3 innings) of any pitcher from 2017-24. Nola’s 1,831 strikeouts rank tied for ninth among active pitchers, and he’s cleared 200 K’s in a season five times.

Prediction: It’s possible, but highly unlikely. Nola is already 32 and there’s still no real timetable on when he might return this season. With a ton of mileage on his arm, Nola’s decline phase could be coming soon, if it’s not already here based on how his ‘25 season has gone.

Dylan Cease, Padres (age 29 in 2025)

Career K’s: 1,137 | Career K/9 rate: 10.8

Cease has some key attributes for getting to 3,000 strikeouts. Obviously, he’s one of baseball’s premier strikeout artists, as he leads all pitchers with 1,012 strikeouts since the 2021 season and is on pace for his fifth straight season of 200 or more. Just as important to get to 3,000 is the fact that Cease is also durable, throwing the eighth-most innings (813 1/3) during that same timeframe.

Prediction: It’s too early to say, but probably not. Cease might have the best shot of any pitcher younger than 30, but he’s only about 38% of the way there. There’s also been some year-to-year inconsistencies in terms of Cease’s ERAs (he’s never posted a sub-4 ERA in consecutive years) and walks (his 326 walks since 2021 lead the Majors) that make his profile more volatile. However, Cease’s stuff is outlandish and if he strings together a handful of similar seasons in the next half-decade, he’ll be on the cusp of 2,000 strikeouts.

Others of note

Among those who are at least one-third of the way to 3,000 … The Blue Jays’ José Berríos (age 31, 1,435 K’s) has been quite durable, but he hasn’t struck out at least a batter per inning since 2021. ... The Mariners’ Luis Castillo (age 32, 1,410 K’s) also has seen a big drop in K-rate this year. The Dodgers’ Blake Snell (age 32, 1,372 K’s) is the all-time leader in K/9 rate among those with 1,000-plus innings (11.2), but injuries have been a constant issue, including in 2025. ... The D-backs’ Corbin Burnes (age 30, 1,114 K’s) might have been listed in the previous section had he not undergone season-ending Tommy John surgery in June. ... The Brewers’ Freddy Peralta (age 29, 1,047 K’s) is one of the game’s premier strikeout artists, but the fact that he’s only cleared 150 innings in a season twice (in 2023 and ‘24) complicates his case.

Further down the road, it becomes even more difficult to project. The Tigers’ Tarik Skubal (age 28, 786 K’s) and the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (age 28, 778 K’s) might be the most likely candidates of the pitchers who have fewer than 1,000 strikeouts. That’s especially true for Skubal, but working against the lefty is the fact that he had just 420 K’s through his age-26 season before becoming a Cy Young Award winner. The Giants’ Logan Webb (age 28, 897 K’s) is an intriguing case considering he’s been one of baseball’s most durable starters and this year is on pace for his first 200-strikeout season.

Below the 750-K's mark, you have younger pitchers who have shown elite strikeout ability, from the Braves’ Spencer Strider to the Pirates’ Paul Skenes to top prospects and recent callups such as the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski and the Reds’ Chase Burns. But we are years away from knowing whether any of those talented arms has any legitimate chance to someday join one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs.