TOP 10 MLB Draft BUSTS Of ALL TIME... Can't Miss 1st Round Prospects That NEVER MADE IT!

come baby enjoy this great game one of the most exciting elements of being a Major League Baseball fan is the MLB draft which allows fans and the media to Hype up some of the most talented young baseball players in the country as teams select them to enter into their organization oftentimes even at this early stage Elite Talent can be identified we use terms like can't miss Prospect and insanely high ceiling with certain names and sometimes those labels turn out completely right and a player like Chipper Jones or Ken Griffey Jr gets selected first overall in the draft and go on to have Hall of Fame careers however when it comes to drafting young high school or college players who still have to go through years of minor league development to prove themselves there's never a guarantee and many times even the most supposed can't miss Prospect for some reason or another never ends up becoming the player they were supposed to and sometimes they don't even make it to the Major League days in today's video we're going to count down the 10 biggest draft busts in MLB history and by the way one player who did not make my top 10 list is Matt Bush who has been considered a huge bust as a number one overall pick who then had massive off the field issues that derailed his career however because he seems to have gotten his life together and made it to the big leagues and as of 2022 he is still pitching in the big leagues at age 36. he didn't quite make my top 10 as I look at his career more like a success story than a bust so let's get started with my list and it starts at number 10. Todd Van pople pitcher back in the late 80s when I first became a huge fan of baseball there wasn't much access to information on draft picks and for the most part the average fan especially one who is nine years old like myself had no knowledge about the newest draft picks however one name was so hot that even I knew all about Todd and Popple an absolute Phenom who had a 0.97 era and 170 strikeouts in his final High School season out of Arlington Texas after the Oakland A's drafted him in the first round he even got a 7-11 Superstar 3D coin usually only made for the top superstars of the game my friends who were A's fans bragged about him and had the A's after their 89 Championship were destined to start a huge Dynasty with Van Papa leading the way however van Popple and his agent must have been overconfident as they had the A's structure the contract as an MLB deal from the onset allowing only a certain amount of minor league appearances for this reason the A's had to accelerate his path through the miners promoting him to double a after only eight appearances in single a and then after just 24 appearances in double A and despite a 6-13 record he was brought up to the big leagues where he gave up five runs and seven hits in his only start in 99 anyone he was then injured for much of 92 and ended up spending five years with the A's recording a 5.75 era eventually he went to Detroit where he had an atrocious 11.39 era over 9 starts in 1996. somehow he was still able to stick around the big leagues for a while anyway pitching out of the bullpen for the Cubs Rangers Reds and Pirates and retired after an 11-year career which is why he isn't higher on this list nevertheless the hype never got close to his actual performance and as such Todd vanpoppel is number 10 on my list of the top MLB busts of all time number nine Brian Bullington pitcher in the 2002 MLB draft the Pittsburgh Pirates had the first overall selection and took what looked like a safe pick a 21 year old College six foot five 225 pound pitcher of Ball State who said a university record for strikeouts and led his league in victories and era That season his name was Brian Bullington the only risk might be that ball state did not compete as one of the power five conferences so the competition was a bit lighter than other schools nevertheless it felt like perhaps a safer pick than high school kids like Zach Greinke or Prince Fielder of course either of them would have worked out much better still major league teams were aware of Bullington since its high school days when he went 15-0 in 1999 and pitched a one-hitter in the state finals the Royals took him in the 37th round but he did not sign by 2002 he was considered one of the best Collegiate pitchers in the country after the Pirates took him first overall he was immediately placed in the top 100 MLB prospects list before even appearing in a minor league game then he moved up that list quickly after going 5-1 with a 1.39 era for the class A Hickory Crawdads by 2004 he was a double A All-Star and even pitched a scoreless inning in the Futures game at Minute Maid Park then after pitching well in AAA Bullington was finally promoted but only pitched in one MLB game before damaging his shoulder he needed major surgery and missed the entire 2006 season in 2007 he had a decent comeback season in AAA with an 11-9 record and an era of exactly four but then he went 0-3 with a 5.29 era during his September call up he was never able to figure it out at the big league level and ended up pitching for the Indians Blue Jays and Royals finishing his career with exactly one major league win number eight Brooks kishnik Outfield and pitcher long before shohei Otani there was a young up-and-coming player named Brooks kishnik who Baseball fans all believed was the next Babe Ruth a player who could both hit and Pitch at an elite level he's the only player to have won the Dick Hauser trophy given to the best college baseball player of the year twice for the Texas Longhorns kishnik hit 360 crushing 43 home runs and driving into 215 runs as a pitcher he went 34-8 with a 3.05 era earning a reputation as a legitimate two-way player who could be drafted either as a position player or pitcher or both in a 93 draft he was taken 10th overall by the Cubs who decided that his offense especially his power was more important than his pitching and hence used him as a position player the decision seemed like the right one as he shuttled through the minor leagues hitting for power and average every step along the way in 1995 he hit 295 with 23 home runs and a 370 on base percentage for the AAA Iowa Cubs he was called up to the big leagues in 1996 and had an amazing debut performance hitting his first big league home run and he went 10 for 29 during that call up good enough for a 345 batting average all signs pointed towards kishnik being a regular for the 1997 Cubs however he was reportedly stunned and dejected after being sent back to minor league camp during the last week of 97 spring training he was eventually called up but hit just 200. the next year the Devil Rays claimed him in their expansion draft but never promoted him to the big leagues he ended up signing with the Reds in 2000 but went over 12 with five strikeouts kishnik did have a bit of a Resurgence with the Brewers in 2003 and 2004 as he took up pitching again and was a decent arm coming out of the bullpen and he also seemed to hit better in this role with a 300 average in 2003 with seven bombs unfortunately however he never played an MLB game after 2004. number 7. Danny Goodwin catcher first base DH at number seven we have a player who was so good as a young amateur ball player that he was selected first overall Twice first out of high school the Chicago Cubs took Goodwin with the first overall selection in 1971. he decided not to sign and attended Southern University in a m in Baton Rouge there he was a three-time All-American and 1975 college player of the year he hit 408 with an incredible 543 on base percentage and 1271 OBS gurun was considered the best player again in the 75 draft and this time was the California Angels who had the first overall pick they took Goodwin and offered at the time a record 150 000 bonus sadly the Angels were not going to be patient with Goodwin's development and they assigned him directly to double a where he hit 275 with two home runs and then after just 46 games they promoted him to the big leagues after this rush to Major League Baseball he went one for 10 with five strikeouts perhaps realizing their mistake the angel sent him all the way back to a ball in 1976 a move that could not have helped his confidence nevertheless he hit 306 between double A and Triple A in 1977 and for the first time playing triple play ball he hit 305 with 10 home runs in 77 games then nearly two years after his first promotion to the big leagues he finally made it back but hit just 209 and 91 at bats with a single home run the Angels also despite drafting him as a catcher never allowed him to wear a glove he only pinch hit or played DH he never worked out with the angels and was finally shipped to Minnesota where he played in a part-time role as a first baseman pinch hitter and DH he played in the A's organization from 1982 to 1985 only getting 52 Big League at bats and hitting 212. for a two-time number one overall draft pick he was a Monumental bust but a lot of the blame goes to the angels who never gave him a proper minor league development number six David Clyde pitcher in an even more extreme example of a team rushing a young Prospect we have David Clyde Clyde was a high school Phenom who was billed as the next Sandy Co facts in 1973 he was the consensus best player available and the Texas Rangers who had the first overall pick after losing 100 games in 1972 snagged him and gave him a record 125 thousand dollar bonus Clyde signed with Texas and said his goal was to become the greatest pitcher ever unfortunately Texas Rangers owner Bob Short may have not had Clyde's best interest in mind it was already agreed that Clyde would skip the miners and go straight to the big leagues for his first two starts before then heading to the miners for some proper development however after a short notice that Clyde's first start resulted in the first sellout in Arlington Stadium history he forced the team to keep him on the big league roster Clyde ended his rookie year with a 4-8 record in 5.01 Era never having pitched an inning in the minor leagues the next year Billy Martin was hired as manager and fought with the GM over Clyde's future Martin knew he was not big league ready still he stayed and in 1974 Clyde went 3-9 with a 4.38 era considering he went straight from high school to the big leagues his numbers were not even that terrible and had he been given a normal minorly career who knows what would have become of David Clyde but unfortunately by the time he was finally sent to the minor leagues in 1975 he had already injured his shoulder and was never the same after surgery he bounced around the miners with a few MLB opportunities here and there but he never found any consistency and retired with an 18 and 33 record and 4.63 era number five Sean Abner outfielder it was the 1984 draft and the Mets were looking to build the best Outfield in baseball they already had Daryl strawberry and Billy Bean was getting ready to be promoted they identified Sean Abner as an all-around can't miss Prospect so the Mets took him as the number one overall pick ahead of USC star Mark McGuire he hit for a decent average in the miners but his power was lacking the Mets decided to include him in a blockbuster eight-man deal that sent Kevin Mitchell to the Padres for Kevin McReynolds in 1987 Abner made his big league debut for the Padres unfortunately he was just never that great hitting 181 in 1988 and 187 in 89. he didn't even offer any power to offset the Low batting average he played his last year in the big leagues in 1992 hitting 279 with a home run injuries prevented him from making it back to the big leagues after that in 2020 Abner was sentenced to four and a half to 23 months in prison for animal cruelty after leaving his dog at home for over a month resulting in the dog passing away apparently he didn't ask anyone to care for the dog while he was gone number four Steve chilcott catcher unfortunately for the New York Mets Sean Abner isn't even the worst number one overall pick as far as MLB production the 1966 MLB draft produced some amazing MLB players such as Ron say Steve Garvey and Charlie Huff in fact three of the top four picks ended up being MLB All-Stars and one of them the second overall pick went to the Hall of Fame his name was Reggie Jackson however with the number one overall pick the New York Mets took Steve chilcott out of Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster California he was a left-handed hitting catcher with a quick bat and extraordinary potential he showed some of that potential in the miners he was hitting 290 in single a with a 365 on base percentage and 45 runs driven in after 79 games when he Dove back into first base on a pick-off attempt it was a normal play we see hundreds of times per season but on this particular play chilcott jammed his hand into the base and dislocated his shoulder ending his season the next year he came back but hit just 189 for Visalia shieldcat had injury issues for the rest of his career and never made it to the big leagues after retirement he became a firefighter and later a full-time contractor constructing and remodeling homes if not for that injury diving back into first base who knows what could have become of Steve chilcott number three Al Chambers DH Outfield the mayor Learners have had the number one overall pick four times in their franchise history twice they hit the jackpot once with Ken Griffey Jr and once with A-Rod another time they picked pitcher Mike Moore who had a solid 14-year career but in 1979 the M's were not so lucky after losing 104 games and finishing dead last in 78 the Mariners were awarded the first overall pick in 1979 and with it they selected an outfielder out of John Harris High School in Pennsylvania named Al Chambers Chambers seemed to have all the tools at 6-4 217 pounds he had the potential to become an absolute monster at the big league level in 1989 with the San Jose missions he hit 301 with a 388 on base the following year he started to show his power with 20 home runs for the double-a Lynn Sailors then in AAA he had a huge year hitting 331 with 75 RBIs in just 99 games for the Salt Lake City goals and when he finally got his opportunity in the big leagues he drove in four runs in his major league debut however something didn't feel right the veterans on that team didn't take me under their wing he said it was a tough situation for me I talked to other rookies in the league who told me how the veterans showed them the ropes but that never happened in Seattle he ended up hitting just 209 for the Mariners and 67 at bats in 1983 and was devastated when they sent him back to the miners in 84 he hit 225 in 85 he was only given four big league bats despite hitting 308 with a 402 on base percentage in AAA he didn't have any major injuries or off-field issues it just wasn't meant to be for Chambers you only get so many breaks he said Chambers went on to work the swing shift at the Hershey Foods Factory in Harrisburg Pennsylvania number two Adam Johnson pitcher the Minnesota Twins first selected Adam Johnson out of high school in 1997 but he chose to attend college instead he said at Cal State Fullerton record with 365 strikeouts and was named Big West Conference pitcher of the year in 2000 he struck out 166 batters in 119 innings in that Year's MLB draft the twins took him again but this time with the second overall pick only Adrian Gonzalez was taken higher Johnson's strikeout stuff translated to the pros immediately as he struck out 92 batters and 69 single a innings for the Fort Myers Miracle maintaining a 2.47 era the next season in 2001 he was pushed through the miners quickly and made his big league debut unfortunately that's where his success Ended as he gave up 23 runs in 25 Innings while only striking out 17. in 2002 he failed to make the team out of spring training and when given his assignment papers according to former Twins player Michael cadayer he crumbled them up and stormed out of the manager's office he only pitched and two more MLB games although he hung around the miners and independent leagues through 2009 number one Brian Taylor pitcher and number one is by far the consensus best player available in the 1991 MLB draft Brian Taylor at that time Taylor was considered possibly the best High School pitcher of all time the Yankees took him first overall and eventually signed him for an insane 1.55 million dollars Taylor hired Scott Boris as an advisor Boris said in 2006 that Brian Taylor to this day is still the best High School pitcher I've ever seen in my life he had a fastball that touched triple digits and struck out 213 out of 264 batters while walking only 28. no one could touch him in his first year in the miners 1992 he pitched well striking out 187 and 161 Innings with a 2.57 era at high a Fort Lauderdale the next season in double A he went 13-7 with a 3.4 Great era nothing insanely impressive but certainly good enough to expect that he would make his big league debut in 1994 but then on December 13th during the off season there was the fist fight heard around the baseball world Brian Taylor defending his brother got into a fight and during this fight he severely injured his shoulder he needed major surgery and missed the entire 1994 season one doctor said it was the worst shoulder injury he'd ever seen by the time he returned Taylor had lost eight miles per hour off his fastball and completely lost his command the Yankees were forced to keep him in single a while he tried to work it out but his numbers were absolutely atrocious he went 0-5 with an 18.73 era and walked a ridiculous 43 batters in 16 Innings the Yankees eventually had no choice but to release him after baseball he worked for up yes then as a beer distributor later he was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking and spent over three years in prison it's insane to think what would have been if he had never gotten into that fist fight as Taylor was on the fast track to the big leagues with some of the best stuff any pitching Prospect had ever had thank you so much for checking out today's video on the top 10 draft busts of all time and if you'd like to give more examples in the comment section of anyone I missed I'd be happy to do a follow-up more draft busts For an upcoming video thank you all so much please hit that thumbs up and I would appreciate it if you could also subscribe to the channel have a wonderful day and we will talk to you next time

Channel: Humm Baby Baseball

Views: 300,035

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Id: zUE0P3z3pmI

Length: 20min 12sec (1212 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 31 2022