3 players who could be next in the $300M club

The newly-formed $300-million club is incredibly exclusive, and promises to be for the foreseeable future.

With so many of the sport's top players already under contract, there doesn't appear to be an obvious candidate to join Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in baseball's richest pay bracket. 

Position players tend to have the best shot at landing a monster long-term deal and the odds are even better if you're a power hitter. 

Eight of the nine $200-million contracts have been signed by position players:

(Courtesy: Cot's Baseball Contracts)

Stanton secured his record-breaking 13-year, $325-million contract due to a unique set of circumstances, including age, performance-to-date, career trajectory, skill set and, of course, timing. The Marlins inked their star outfielder prior to his age-25 season and with two years left of arbitration.

Wins above replacement (WAR) has shown to be a useful tool in projecting a player's value, and it was referenced in coming up with this list.

The current market shows that one win was worth around $6 million last season, so if you lean on FanGraphs' rule-of-thumb chart, an elite player is worth about $30 million per year. Dave Cameron's market calculations served him fairly well in this piece back in September correctly predicting Stanton's worth.

Players aren't paid based on WAR, though. Factors such as market behavior, inflation, broadcast revenue and historical trends must be considered when trying to project long-term value. 

Here are three players who could be the next to join Stanton in the $300-million club:

Bryce Harper

Age: 22
Career fWAR: 9.5 (2012-14)
2015 Steamer Projected WAR: 4.0
Contract Status: 5 years/$9.9M + arbitration
Free Agent: 2019

Harper's first three seasons were marred by injuries and inconsistency, but he has age, talent and potential on his side. Five of the top six contracts were given to league-leading home run hitters, and Harper possesses the raw power to put up several 40-50 home run seasons. 

Harper will obviously need a pair of All-Star level seasons to really consider him a $300-million candidate, but there's no player in baseball with a better chance at becoming the next to do it. Consider this: A 35-home run year in 2015 would give him the 10th most all-time through his age-22 season, ahead of players such as Ken Griffey Jr. and Mickey Mantle.

Steamer projections typically play conservative, which is certainly fair in Harper's case, but it's not a stretch by any means to suggest the young phenom might have more than a decade's worth of 5.0 WAR seasons in him.

Odds of joining $300M club: 75 percent

Mike Trout

Age: 23
Career fWAR: 29.1 (2011-14)
2015 Steamer Projected WAR: 8.7
Contract Status: 6 years/$114.5M
Free Agent: 2021

Trout might be on pace for one of the greatest careers of all-time, but there's a good chance he never receives the sport's biggest contract. The Los Angeles Angels signed the AL MVP to a team-friendly extension last winter, buying out his first three years of free agency. Granted, Trout could be the highest-paid player at $34 million per year during the last three seasons of his deal, but he won't get a chance to hit the open market until he's 29-years-old.

There's no question the Angels or any team would pay a hefty price to buy three-to-five more years of his prime, but whether they ante up top dollar for his decline is the $300-million question.

Odds of joining $300M club: 50-75 percent

Yasiel Puig

Age: 23
Career fWAR: 9.1 (2013-14)
2015 Steamer Projected WAR: 5.2
Contract Status: 7 years/$42M
Free Agent: 2020

On paper, Puig offers a more compelling case for $300 million than Harper. His performance-to-date has been better, if not historic, and he possesses the skill to affect the game in a number of ways. Puig will get paid - but his chances of doing so at baseball's richest denomination could come down to Harper. The Washington Nationals outfielder hits free agency a season before Puig and will be two years younger, offering Harper the chance to establish a new market order.

Like his L.A. counterpart, the first few years of Puig's prime are already bought out (he'll have one year left of arbitration when his deal expires). Puig's entering his age-24 season, giving the Dodgers superstar plenty of time to force his way into extension talks before he reaches arbitration.

Odds of joining $300M club: 40-60 percent