Thursday 10 – Biggest draft busts

With the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft kicking off today, I figured I needed to post some material relating to the draft. So today on the ‘Thursday 10′ – I give to you, the ‘Biggest Major League Baseball Draft Busts.’ You’ll notice that most of these guys were a number one overall pick in the MLB draft, however there are a couple that were number two overall selections as well.

Top 10 Biggest Major League Baseball Draft Busts

10. Adam Johnson – Johnson was the second overall pick in the 2000 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins. The Cal State Fullerton alum did make it to the big leagues, but not for long. Sure, he had a little more than a cup of coffee with the twins, but they didn’t exactly keep him around for dinner. Johnson spent seven seasons in the minor leagues, posting winning seasons off the mound only twice, including his first year of professional baseball. However, Johnson was twice called up by the Twins, where he posted a 10.25 career earned run average. He did, however, manage to pick up a major league win in 2001. Johnson was released by the Twins in 2005. He was signed as a free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in January 2005, and then released less than two months later. He then caught on with the Oakland Athletics farm club before being release in 2006, ending his career.

9. Al Chambers – Chambers was the top overall selection of the 1979 draft by the Seattle Mariners. Before I talk about Chambers, you should know that Seattle picked him over Andy Van Slyke that year. In fact, Van Slyke was the third outfielder taken in the first round. But Chambers was the number one pick out of John Harris High School in Pennsylvania. Chambers did play in three separate seasons with the Mariners, collecting 25 hits. Yet, he batted just .208 and hit two home runs. In case you are wondering – that Van Slyke guy was a three-time All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

8. Bryan Bullington – Bullington was the number one overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2002. True, many of you know that Bullington is still an active player and was actually called up recently. But, the Ball State alum has been a bust so far. Bullington is winless in six appearances with the Pirates, including three as the starter. He has also accumulated a 5.89 lifetime ERA in the big leagues. The right-hander, who has taken a while to develop, was picked in front of a slew of today’s current starts, like Prince Fielder, B.J. Upton, Jeff Francis, and Cole Hamels. Bullington is just the latest of the Pirates’ top draft picks that didn’t exactly bloom.

The majors wasn’t the only thing that was a bust for Kris Benson, so was his marriage, which ended after his ex-wife, Anna, divorced him for cheating on her. Photo: Newscom

7. Kris Benson – It was another solid pick by the Pirates, as they selected Benson with the number one overall pick in the 1996 amateur draft. Benson is more known as being the ex-husband of Anna Benson than winning 68 games in the ‘Show.’ However, this Clemson University product never really became the pitcher he was hyped up to be. Benson pitched for Pittsburgh, the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles before injuries caught up to him in 2006. His page on Baseball-Reference.com says it all, as a fan posted the following, “WE STILL MISS PICTURES OF YOU IN THE NY POST, ANNA!” I guess he’s a Hall of Famer in some guys’ books for having Anna by his side at one time (she divorced him because he cheated on her), but he was a total draft bust.

6. Paul Wilson – For a school that is so rich in baseball tradition like Florida State, it’s probably not good to know that the only Seminole player to ever be drafted number one overall in the amateur draft is Paul Wilson. However, FSU is hoping Buster Posey goes number one to the Rays to break that streak. Anyway, Wilson was taken number one overall by the Mets in 1994. He made it through only one big league season with the Mets and posted a 5-12 record on the hill before being traded to Tampa Bay for Bubba Trammell and Rick White. Wilson did last seven seasons in the big leagues and collected 40 wins, but again, not enough from a number one overall pick.

5. Shawn Abner – Another player that did not help the Mets organization. Abner was the number one overall pick in the 1984 amateur draft. It wasn’t the most talented draft pool, but Abner was picked out of Mechanicsburg Area (PA) High School over Mark McGwire, Norm Charlton and Jay Bell. Abner spent six seasons in the majors and posted a lifetime .227 batting average.

4. Mark Merchant – Merchant was the number two overall selection in the 1987 amateur draft by the Pirates. Another draft bust by Pittsburgh as Merchant never made it to the big league level. He did, however, played six seasons in the minors, reaching the Class AAA level four times with three different organizations. Merchant was picked after Ken Griffey, Jr., and ahead of Kevin Appier, Craig Biggio and Travis Fryman.

3. Matt Anderson – Anderson was the number one overall pick of the 1997 amateur draft out of Rice University. The Detroit Tigers selected the 6-4 righ-handed flamethrower ahead of J.D. Drew, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells, Lance Berkman (also a Rice product), and Adam Kennedy. I never understood this selection. Anderson was never a top-notch pitcher in baseball, though he did throw hard. His career lasted seven seasons, all but one of which was with Detroit. The worst part about this – to this day, I still have a Matt Anderson bobblehead doll that was handed out at Comerica Park. It’s still wrapped and it’s package and in mint condition. I had two, but someone bought one of them on Ebay for 10 bucks a few years ago. Any takers?

2. Brien Taylor – One of the most memorable draft busts in history took place in 1991, when the New York Yankees made Taylor the number one overall pick. Taylor was one of the first memorable baseball players that was under the influence of Scott Boras. Taylor was advised by Boras to hold out for more money (shocker!), similar to what Todd Van Poppel had received from the Oakland A’s in 1990. George Steinbrenner gave in just before Taylor was about to enroll at Stanford, but that was just the beginning of the end for Taylor. He played seven seasons of minor league ball, never advancing above Class AA before suffering a torn labrum, which happened in a bar fight. Though Taylor may be known as one of the most memorable draft busts, he still signs as many autographs as possible. He also holds the distinction as the only number one overall pitcher selected in the amateur draft to not make it to the major league level.

1. Steve Chilcott – Chilcott was the number one overall pick in the 1966 amateur draft by the New York Mets. Chilcott was a catcher out of Antelope Valley High School in California. However, he never played in the major leagues. But the biggest problem with Chilcott was the fact that the Mets took him over Reggie Jackson, who was selected with the number two pick by the Kansas City A’s. We all know how Jackson turned out. A Hall of Famer that hit over 500 home runs in his career and earned the nickname of Mr. October for his clutch play in the postseason. Chilcott, on the other hand, is known as the only position player to be drafted first overall and never make it to the major leagues.

But wait, there’s more this week. BONUS! The draft can’t be all that bad. Take a look at these players that are considered draft diamonds or finds.

1965- Johnny Bench was the 8th catcher taken and was the 36th overall pick.
1970- Goose Gossage drafted in the 9th round by Chicago White Sox.
1976- Wade Boggs drafted in the 7th by the Red Sox.
1979- Don Mattingly picked in the 19th round by the Yankees.
1990- Jorge Posada drafted in the 24th round by the Yankees.
1996- Roy Oswalt picked in the 23rd round by the Astros.
1999- Jake Peavy selected in the 15th round by the Padres.

You want more draft history notes? Read this article by ESPN writer Jerry Crasnick. Enjoy the draft!