Howard is certainly a controversial figure in the saberworld.  One one hand, he puts up great counting stats and very good rate stats.  On the other hand, his counting stats overshadow his rate stats in the minds of the general public.  We are all homers here (for the most part) so we love to see him get accolades (deserved or not).

Anyway, based on his baseball-reference stats and their Hall of Fame statistics, Howard looks like a sure lock.  Of course, he could break the system (which wouldn't surprise me, but check the numbers.

He also has a ROY, an MVP and a 2nd and 5th place finish.  He is a lock to get a top 5 this year if he continues to produce and is likely to add to his grey ink numbers.  If Fielder tails off, then he could take the lead in RBI.  Pujols leads him in HRs, but with the Cards running away with the division, there is little to no need for most teams to pitch around him (like teams in his division).

I am not saying his is going to make the HOF.  Probably not, but he sure is looking good on these HOF stats.