Sic Transit Gloria

For some reason, every year baseball analysts, reporters, and fantasy baseball "advisers," love to over-hype every single prospect that has had a few good major league appearances the year before. The following list is a number of players that don't seem to be able to live up to their lofty expetations--at least not yet. Many of these guys will be good or even All Star players, but many of them also will disappear into the minors or become career reserves/journeymen. To Lindy's Fantasy Baseball Analysts-- Remember, only about a quarter (a third if you're lucky) the the top 100 prospects will become good or All Star MLB players. Simply put, someone has gotta fail.

2. Kei Igawa, LHP, New York Yankees- The Yankees poor scouting in Japan really cost them some dough. Igawa is a downright BAD pitcher, even out of the bullpen. A guy that can't control a 85-88 mph fastball is not a guy that you want on your team. His slider isn't bad, but again, he can barely keep it in the strike zone, much less spot it. The Yankees took him off the 40-Man Roster for 2008, and still nobody has touched him on waivers. He wins the number one spot, because he has the worst pay-production ratio and promise of any of these guys. At least Bush and Patterson still have a shot at being decent. He's doing well in AAA, but don't let that--or his first name-- fool you, he's am absolutely abominable pitcher.

3. Matt Bush, RHP/INF, Toronto Blue Jays/Free Agent- Bush, the first pick of the 2004 draft, is the owner of the largest San Diego Padres signing bonus (for a draft pick) in team history. He has fantastic tools, and can throw 95, but his behavior issues and downright poor game-knowledge killed his career. His stats as a position player were horrid, and he never made it past A-Ball in his three active seasons. Now converted to a pitcher Bush has soon a glimpse of success (seven innings worth) but he then blew out his elbow, got suspended twice more (now three times in total in his career)) for drinking-related fighting/incidents, and now once again looks hopeless. I hope he does well, because he's not a bad guy, he just has problems with stress and booze. One day he could come up as a Jose Veras type pitcher, but certainly won't ever be a star Short Stop.

4. Bryan Bullington, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates- Bullington was one of the more puzzling no.1 picks of the recent decade. The Pirates passed up Prince Fielder, Matt Cain, Nick Swisher, B.J. Upton, Scott Kazmir, Joe Blanton, Jeremy Hermida and Jeff Francouer for a guy that has done absolutely nothing noticeable in the minors or majors.

5. Alex Escobar, OF, Free Agent- Escobar's failure was really just bad luck. The kid has always had the tools to be Ken Griffey Jr, but a slew of shoulder and knee injuries have ruined his promise. The Mets organization were convinced that they had a Carlos Beltran on their hands, but now turning 31, Escobar has finally lost the confidence of every team in the league. His tools are still there, but as it stands, he probably won't ever be anything more than a MiLB journeyman.

6. Sean Burroughs, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays/Free Agent- Drafted 9th, in the first round of the 1998 Amateur draft, Burroughs looked to be a star. His batting average has always been decent, but his power completely dissapeared once he started playing professionally. His .358 slugging percentage in professional ball just plain isn't going to get it done--especially for a third basemen. He's not exactly a AAAA player either. His slugging percentage in the minors was still only .437, and even though he had a strong arm and good range, his career fielding percentage was just 93.8%. He's finally done, but I personally think he could still serve as a solid, low-end bench INF in the MLB. Hell, if Wil Nieves is still getting job offers than why shouldn't Sean Burroughs.


7. Timo Perez, CF, Detroit Tigers/Free Agent- Every Met fan remember's "Timo Time" running across the Shea scoreboard. Unfortunately for Timo, however, his time never came. Like Gabe Kapler, Timo is a perfect example of a AAAA player. His career MiLB numbers--a .322 batting average and an .873 OPS-- are sexy, no doubt, but his ability to play in the MLB is obviously lacking. T.P. are perfect initials for Timo, as he's an asswhipe.

8. Sidney Ponson, SP, Kansas City Royals- Ugh, the fatman really sucks. He had sooo much promise but his body/weight problems have finally made him a journeyman/veteran spot starter.I'm not going to lie, I was on Ponson's bandwagon in 2002/2003 when he got it together and started pitching like an ace. But he then proceeded to gain about 20 pounds of fat and put up a league leading 265 hits and 127 earned runs in 2004. Since then he has been below average on every one of his stops around the US. The classic "I already have my money so why should I work hard?."


9. Corey Patterson, CF, Washington Nationals- Patterson used to be the Cubbies favorite baby bear. Drafted 3rd overall in 1998, Patterson has had SOME MLB success, but is finally looking like he's toast. He's awful at getting on base (.291 career OBP) and his career .407 SLG doesn't exactly justify this weakness. He is a victim of WTP. He does have some speed, and can get hot with the bat, but seriously guys, do you think this guy will ever be a 20-20 player again? He'll probably never even be a regular again.


10. Eric Duncan, 1B, New York Yankees- It was either Duncan or Andy Marte here, and I honestly think Duncan is more doomed than Marte--at least Marte could be a Wilson Betemit some day. Eric Duncan was the cream of the Yankees crop before their recent wave of high powered prospects. Every "real" fan of the Yankees knows this guy, and although he didn't have the hype that Drew Henson did, he was highly touted by the organization's management. Now, after 6 seasons in the minors, his career numbers look pretty lousy for a crappy-fielding first baseman. A .247 batting average and his .416 slugging percentage are pretty much the best stats out of his career MiLB stat- line...Ouch.


11. Carlos Gomez, CF, Minnesota Twins- Sure, the kid is very young--going on 24-- but as of right now, he looks like a future, decent backup rather than a star player. Gomez's numbers last year were aweful, and they downright hurt the Twins. 614 plate appearances of .296 OBP, and .360 SLG, baseball is unacceptable for an outfielder...Even a rookie. He's shown know improvement for 2009, and is currently sporting a stomach-churning, .529 OPS. He has zero plate discipline, has never hit 10 homers or hit .300 at any level and isn't exactly a whiz on defense either. Does this sound like a future star to you? It doesn't even sound anything close to a future leadoff man to me...Much less an All Star. Phil Humber, Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra and some other stiff for Johan Santana. Fair.

12. Daniel Cabrera, SP, Washington Nationals- Now entering his 6th season in the MLB, and turning 28 in May, it's finally obvious that Cabrera will never be Josh Beckett. The guy's control is horrible, and he isn't a winner. He gives up with men on base, and even though the Orioles weren't great, they still gave him some support. His 18 Losses in 2007 should have been enough for the Orioles to get rid of him, but to their credit they stomached it for one more season. In his career he has put up more walks (486) than strike outs (480)--and that should be enough to convince you that he's garbage. He may become a decent reliever, but nothing more than a Brian Bruney or Kyle Farnsworth if that ever happens.


Takes the Cake...

1. Drew Henson, 3B, New York Yankees- Because the Yankees tend to have the most hyped and often over-hyped prospects in the game, they also tend to have the biggest busts. Drew Henson is likely the loudest bust of the past decade. He ended his minor league career with a fielding percentage a hair above .900, and had an OPS of just .728. He did manage to set a record for strikeouts (at the time) in the International League with 151, with less than a full season's worth of at bats. He quickly switched to football, after costing the Yankees millions. He faired no better, and finally retired in 2008. Nice guy, great athlete, simply couldn't put it together professionally.