Average prospects who become above average major leaguers?

[badnews]

Can anyone think of examples of B-/C+ type prospects or worse who became above average major leaguers in the past 6 years or so? Not crap prospects but guys who you maybe see as outside the top 4 prospects of an average strength farm system. I'm thinking of guys like

 

John Maine

Shaun Marcum

Kevin Youkilis

Andre Ethier

Jhonny Peralta

Fausto Carmona

[sneakypower]

Ethier was the Texas league player of the year and Youkilis had an entire chapter written about him in a NY Times bestseller.

 

The best examples I can think of are Holliday, Atkins, Uggla, Santana, Chris Duncan, Mark Reynolds, Jason Bay, McLouth, Willingham, Melky Cabrera, Pujols and of course our very own Ryan Theriot! Soto too.

 

Pitching wise there's really a lot of guys, since it's impossible to predict very well. Both Zambrano and Hill come to mind. Similarly there's Bannister, Wang, and Shields.

Edited April 11, 2008 by sneakypower

[UMFan83]

Carlos Marmol, but I think its harder to evaluate Dominican prospects as they don't have a background of high school and/or college ball and most of the time aren't drafted.

[FergieJ31]

It's far too premature so I'll use a rhyme:

 

GIOVANNI PHOTO (hopefully)

[Post Count Padder]

IIRC, Brandon Webb just barely made BA's Top 30 for the D-backs in 2001.

[Derwood]

how highly thought of was Ryne Sandberg when he was in the Phillies farm system?

[Jehrico]

Pujols?

[Banedon]

Pujols?

 

That was the one that jumped to mind for me too.

[jersey cubs fan]

Pujols?

 

That was the one that jumped to mind for me too.

 

Was he really an average prospect? He wasn't highly touted at draft time, but didn't he make a quick impression?

 

I guess you'd have to include Mike Piazza in such a list.

 

Kyle Farnsworth wasn't much of a prospect, but he's had an above average major league career, I think.

 

I'm guessing there are quite a few pitchers who weren't all that highly thought of as prospects who turned out above average careers.

[Soul]

Didn't Pujols come directly from A? That doesn't sound like an average prospect to me. Sounds more like a shooting star.

[Abe Frohman]

Mark Grace was a pretty low draft pick. I don't know how he was ranked after signing, but he had great ML numbers.

[Clem Fandango]

Not sure how their prospect status was, but...

 

- Rickey Henderson was a 4th round draft pick (and Rickey Henderson ended up being all the Rickey Henderson that Rickey Henderson could be )

- Andre Dawson was an 11th round Draft Pick

- Ryne Sandberg was a 20th round draft pick

- Nolan Ryan was a 12th round drasft pick

- Jim Thome was a 13th round draft pick

- David Ortiz signed as an amateur but didn't really get good until he went to Boston

- Mike Piazza is the mecca, a 62nd round draft pick

- AJ Burnett was an 8th round draft pick

- Sammy Sosa was an amateur free agent, but I'm pretty sure he sucked big time in the minors

[Outshined_One]

Are we talking more about guys who were drafted pretty low coming out of HS/college, or are we talking about guys who had substandard minor league careers before coming up to the majors and breaking out?

[TruffleShuffle]

Are we talking more about guys who were drafted pretty low coming out of HS/college, or are we talking about guys who had substandard minor league careers before coming up to the majors and breaking out?

 

i think it should be the latter. there are plenty of examples of low draft picks who have turned into excellent players. it's probably a lot harder to find mediocre minor leaguers who blossomed into good major leaguers.

[Guest]

Didn't Pujols come directly from A? That doesn't sound like an average prospect to me. Sounds more like a shooting star.

 

Yeah, he spent his only season in the minors at low-A and high-A. I believe he was a top 50 prospect that offseason.

[SouthSideRyan]

Not sure how their prospect status was, but...

 

- Rickey Henderson was a 4th round draft pick (and Rickey Henderson ended up being all the Rickey Henderson that Rickey Henderson could be )

- Andre Dawson was an 11th round Draft Pick

- Ryne Sandberg was a 20th round draft pick

- Nolan Ryan was a 12th round drasft pick

- Jim Thome was a 13th round draft pick

- David Ortiz signed as an amateur but didn't really get good until he went to Boston

- Mike Piazza is the mecca, a 62nd round draft pick

- AJ Burnett was an 8th round draft pick

- Sammy Sosa was an amateur free agent, but I'm pretty sure he sucked big time in the minors

 

All non-US and Canada players(am i missing anywhere?) sign as amateur FAs.

[inari]

What about Carlos Zambrano?

[TruffleShuffle]

What about Carlos Zambrano?

 

no, he was highly-regarded in the minor leagues.

 

geovany soto is a good example, if he pans out. i'm guessing that you'd find the greatest number of candidates for this list in major league bullpens.

[CubinNY]

The Farns was a 47th round draft pick. However, I don't think it's quite fair to look at draft status in isolation.

 

First, I want to know the quantitative definition of average and above average because I don't think very many "average" minor leaguers make it out of high A.

[Guest]

Not sure how their prospect status was, but...

 

- Rickey Henderson was a 4th round draft pick (and Rickey Henderson ended up being all the Rickey Henderson that Rickey Henderson could be )

- Andre Dawson was an 11th round Draft Pick

- Ryne Sandberg was a 20th round draft pick

- Nolan Ryan was a 12th round drasft pick

- Jim Thome was a 13th round draft pick

- David Ortiz signed as an amateur but didn't really get good until he went to Boston

- Mike Piazza is the mecca, a 62nd round draft pick

- AJ Burnett was an 8th round draft pick

- Sammy Sosa was an amateur free agent, but I'm pretty sure he sucked big time in the minors

 

All non-US and Canada players(am i missing anywhere?) sign as amateur FAs.

 

Puerto Rico!

[jersey cubs fan]

What about Carlos Zambrano?

 

no, he was highly-regarded in the minor leagues.

 

geovany soto is a good example, if he pans out. i'm guessing that you'd find the greatest number of candidates for this list in major league bullpens.

 

It's tough to say with Geo, by the time he came up to the majors, he was considered much more than an average prospect.

 

I would think the question would be more about a guy who was never highly touted, but got a shot, stuck in the majors and was pretty good.

 

And while it's been glossed over, the nomination of Ryan Theriot does not fit, because he's clearly not above average.

[TruffleShuffle]

scot shields? i don't think he was ever supposed to be anything special, and he's become a very good pitcher with a 150 ERA+ and 1.18 WHIP over his major league career. his minor league stats were pretty uninspiring.

[SouthSideRyan]

Not sure how their prospect status was, but...

 

- Rickey Henderson was a 4th round draft pick (and Rickey Henderson ended up being all the Rickey Henderson that Rickey Henderson could be )

- Andre Dawson was an 11th round Draft Pick

- Ryne Sandberg was a 20th round draft pick

- Nolan Ryan was a 12th round drasft pick

- Jim Thome was a 13th round draft pick

- David Ortiz signed as an amateur but didn't really get good until he went to Boston

- Mike Piazza is the mecca, a 62nd round draft pick

- AJ Burnett was an 8th round draft pick

- Sammy Sosa was an amateur free agent, but I'm pretty sure he sucked big time in the minors

 

All non-US and Canada players(am i missing anywhere?) sign as amateur FAs.

 

Puerto Rico!

 

Yeah good thing that's not part of the US at all.

[Clem Fandango]

Not sure how their prospect status was, but...

 

- Rickey Henderson was a 4th round draft pick (and Rickey Henderson ended up being all the Rickey Henderson that Rickey Henderson could be )

- Andre Dawson was an 11th round Draft Pick

- Ryne Sandberg was a 20th round draft pick

- Nolan Ryan was a 12th round drasft pick

- Jim Thome was a 13th round draft pick

- David Ortiz signed as an amateur but didn't really get good until he went to Boston

- Mike Piazza is the mecca, a 62nd round draft pick

- AJ Burnett was an 8th round draft pick

- Sammy Sosa was an amateur free agent, but I'm pretty sure he sucked big time in the minors

 

All non-US and Canada players(am i missing anywhere?) sign as amateur FAs.

 

I figured, but Sosa and Ortiz were pretty bad/mediocre before breaking out and becoming elite hitters, were they not?

[Guest]

Not sure how their prospect status was, but...

 

- Rickey Henderson was a 4th round draft pick (and Rickey Henderson ended up being all the Rickey Henderson that Rickey Henderson could be )

- Andre Dawson was an 11th round Draft Pick

- Ryne Sandberg was a 20th round draft pick

- Nolan Ryan was a 12th round drasft pick

- Jim Thome was a 13th round draft pick

- David Ortiz signed as an amateur but didn't really get good until he went to Boston

- Mike Piazza is the mecca, a 62nd round draft pick

- AJ Burnett was an 8th round draft pick

- Sammy Sosa was an amateur free agent, but I'm pretty sure he sucked big time in the minors

 

All non-US and Canada players(am i missing anywhere?) sign as amateur FAs.

 

Puerto Rico!

 

Yeah good thing that's not part of the US at all.

 

Ehh, it's generally clarified.