Opening Day is just around the corner, which means fans will be flocking to ballparks all over the country. Fans will be in store for more than what they bargained for in a season sure to be full of fun and feats.

Records and milestones are reached around the league every year, and this year will be no different. Here’s what you should be on the look out for in the 2017 MLB season.

Albert Pujols Reaches 600 Homers

There is a reason Albert Pujols earned the nickname “The Machine” in St. Louis. The slugger smashed 445 homers while averaging 155 games played per season over 11 years. That massive amount of production earned him a huge free agent contract from the Los Angeles Angels. Many correctly predicted his decline while in an Angels uniform. However, the 36-year-old can still mash.

Pujols enters the 2017 season sitting at 591 home runs, just nine short of entering the illustrious 600 home run club. This isn’t just a milestone, but a historic moment for the game of baseball. Only eight players have reached 600 or more home runs in MLB history. It’s one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports.

Pujols will certainly have earned it when he makes it. He has averaged 29 homers per season in five years with the Angels. That is a far cry from his 40-homer average in St. Louis, but respectable nonetheless.

When Pujols launches homer number 600 over the outfield fence, he will enter the pantheon of baseball legends. All we have to do is sit back and watch.

Jose Reyes Reaches 500 Stolen Bases

The skill of stealing bases is becoming a lost art in an age of power. Stolen bases have been on the decline for years. Only two players in the past five seasons,(Dee Gordon and Jonathan Villar) have stolen 60 or more bases in a season. Jose Reyes has been on the decline in recent seasons, but has been a speedster throughout his career. Reyes is sitting at 488 career stolen bases and on the verge of a historic milestone.

Reyes burned his way through the league after coming in at 20 years old. The speedy Mets shortstop amassed 290 stolen bases by age 25. He had seasons of 56, 60, 64 and 78 stolen bases.

Reyes did experience some legal troubles last season after playing for Toronto and Colorado in 2015, but was able to return home to Flushing in 2016. What better place to reach 500 stolen bases than in a Mets uniform?

Clayton Kershaw Reaches 2000 Strikeouts

This one may not be as big of a career milestone as the previous two, but it’ll be historic in its own right. Clayton Kershaw has been almost immaculate since he entered the league in 2008. After putting up a 4.26 ERA in his rookie season at 20 years old, Kershaw hasn’t had a single season ERA higher than 2.91. He’s been able to limit runs and rack up huge strikeout numbers.

He put up his best statistical season in 2015 with 301 strikeouts in 232.2 innings pitched to support his sparkling 2.13 ERA. He was on his way to an even better year in 2016 before injuries knocked him out for the season. Even with an injury-shortened 2016 season, Kershaw enters 2017 at 29 years old with 1918 career punch outs.

When he records his 2000th strikeout this season, he will be among the fastest pitchers to reach the milestone. He will join some of the games greats like Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan as some of the fastest to reach 2000 strikeouts in MLB History.

Mike Trout Reaches 200 Home Runs

Mike Trout is widely considered the best player in baseball. He is set to solidify that reputation at the seasoned age of 25.

Trout entered the league at 19 years old in 2011 and struggled mightily. After posting a .220 batting average in 40 games, many doubted Trout entering the 2012 season. However, he quickly put those doubts to rest by smashing 30 homers in 139 games played that season. Trout has been on a Hall of Fame trajectory ever since.

Trout will need 32 homers to break the 200 mark for his career, but it isn’t far-fetched to expect that type of production from the slugging center fielder. He has one 40-homer season already under his belt (2015) and has the ability to go far beyond the 32 homer mark this season.

What’s most impressive is just how fast he could accomplish the feat. Trout will be among some of the youngest players in the history of the game to reach 200 career homers, joining the likes of Mel Ott, youngest to 200 career homers at 25 years, 266 days old. Just when it seems we are becoming used to Trout’s greatness, we can’t overlook how historic his career is becoming.

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