Early Hall of Fame projections for former LA Angels not looking good

There has been a lot of Hall of Fame discourse in recent weeks, but the former LA Angels on the ballot have been absent from those discussions.

Several writers have released their ballots so far, and the former Angels haven't appeared on too many of them. Occasionally, we'll see some Angels on a ballot, but they tend to be the ballots that get ridiculed:

A quick skim through the comments shows that fans aren't crazy about this ballot, but in its defense, it feels like fans hate every ballot that gets shown. I of course don't have a ballot, but if I did, many of you would hate mine as well. I know that because I haven't seen any ballot that anyone has actually liked yet.

That being said, the reality is that the former Angels on the ballot have not been popular HOF selections up to this point. I know why it is, too, and therefore I expect it to continue.

None of the former LA Angels on the Hall of Fame ballot will make it this year.

Unfortunately, none of the former LA Angels on the Hall of Fame ballot will be getting in this year, but it's not necessarily their faults. The reason is because so many of the PED users on the ballot haven't been getting votes early in their candidacy, and the writers are likely to start being more lenient with them now that they've punished them by not voting them in earlier.

That means players like Barry Bonds (has never been proven to take PEDs but widely speculated), Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, who are all in their last years on the ballot, have one last chance to make it. Many voters who have punished these players by not voting for them these past nine years will likely be more interested in voting for them now that it's their last chance, and now that they have theoretically made them wait long enough. Lots of voters cast small ballots, so they passed on those three in the past due to them not being too fond of their PED situations, but now may make sure to cast them on their small ballots this year.

Gary Sheffield is also in a similar boat, as while he may not be in his last year of candidacy, he only has two ballots left after this one. Due to many voters being in favor of small ballots, all these players who the voters have waited on may finally have to cast their few votes on them. Perhaps Manny Ramirez, who is in his sixth year on the ballot could be in the same boat.

Also, a couple of Angels are on the ballot for their first times, and many voters naturally have higher standards for first ballot guys, again, because they like to have small ballots. So those players better do more than just hit the Hall of Fame standard. Therefore, Mark Teixeira and Tim Lincecum may have it a little tougher this year due to this being the first time the two of them have been on the ballot.

Due to all the circumstances stated up to this point, if one wants to make the Hall of Fame in a class like this, they have to be a cut above the rest. With all due respect to the four Halos on the ballot, none of them stand out at that level. Barry Bonds is the best hitter of all time, Roger Clemens has won seven Cy Youngs, and Alex Rodriguez is a top five right-handed hitter in history with elite defense and 329 steals.

Can the former Angels match these types of resumes? I'm not so sure they can.