Draft Disappointments in Recent History

First off, I’d like to introduce myself to everyone. My name is Brendan Macgranachan and I will be writing articles on Seamheads every Friday. My articles will mainly be about baseball history with the odd article on current events. Feedback is welcomed and I hope everyone enjoys my articles.

On Tuesday, I was listening to a Pittsburgh-Boston spring training game on my XM Radio, which, by the way, is absolutely fabulous, especially when you live in Canada like myself where any baseball information not pertaining to the Jays is scarce. It was the 5^th inning when I turned the game on and the Red Sox were up to bat. On the mound for the Pirates was a pitcher named Bullington. The name sounded familiar in my head but I did not remember who it was until the radio guys said his full name.

Bryan Bullington, now I remember. The Pirates took him first overall in the ‘Moneyball’ draft of 2002. This might have been the third time I’ve read or heard his name mentioned since his drafting. You know who was taken six picks after him by Milwaukee? Prince Fielder. Two picks after him, Jeff Francis. Hermida, Kazmir, and Swisher, those are just three other names picked after Bullington. How many times have we heard their names mentioned? But for every one of those guys, we have a Chris Gruler, a Clint Everts and an Alex Parr. No, those aren’t your local weathermen; they were taken in the top 10 along with Bullington.

Bryan Bullington is my inspiration for my first article here on Seamheads as I take a look at some of the bigger draft disappointments in recent draft history as spring training is the time of year many of these players try to revive their careers. Some, like Bullington, have been stopped on their way to the show due to arm troubles, while some never showed they had any talent to compete at the major league level. Here they are, in chronological order:

SS Matt Bush – 1^st overall pick (San Diego), 2004 – The most recent draft pick on this list to be declared a bust in my mind. While Bush arguably wasn’t the best player in the draft that year, the Padres decided to pass on Jared Weaver, Justin Verlander and Stephen Drew, among others, because they felt they did not warrant the bonus money they were demanding, or, in other words, they didn’t feel like dealing with Scott Bora$. So Kevin Towers, with pressure from ownership, reached for the local boy and high school phenom Bush.

Things started terrible for Bush and just kept getting worse. Before he even laced up cleats in the Padres organization, he was suspended after getting into an altercation at a nightclub in Arizona, less then a month after being selected. After getting his suspension lifted that July, he hit only .192 that season. Trying to avoid becoming the 3^rd player in MLB draft history to be selected first and not make it to the big leagues, the Padres converted Bush to a pitcher after it became very apparent that things would not work with Bush at shortstop. “Matt Bush has big-league stuff right now,” said Mike Couchee, the Padres’ minor league pitching coordinator.

After a promising start though, Bush tore ligaments in his elbow and was forced to have Tommy John Surgery, and won’t be ready to pitch until 2009. If any organization can turn a bad-hitting shortstop into a pitcher though, it would be the Padres. In 1990, Trevor Hoffman hit .212 as a shortstop at single-A Charleston.

Bryan Bullington – 1^st overall pick (Pittsburgh), 2002 – Bullington, aforementioned at the beginning of the article, was the first overall pick in the 2002 draft by the Pirates out of Ball State. After a strong minor league start in 2003, he spent the entire 2004 season with the Double-A Altoona Curve and was selected to the MLB Futures Game. The future was looking very bright for Bullington.

However, in 2005, Bullington was sent down to extended spring training after suffering shoulder tendonitis during a spring training game. That was the beginning of his arm troubles. He made his season debut in Triple-A Indianapolis in June and was very inconsistent throughout the season, though showing some stretches of brilliance late in the season. After getting his contract picked up by Pittsburgh in September, Bullington pitched one game before shutting it down due to a sore right shoulder. He had surgery and missed the entire 2006 season.

He played the 2007 season in Indianapolis, finishing with an 11-9 record with a 4.00 ERA. He was called up in early September by the Bucs and finished 0-3 in five appearances. He looks to start the 2008 season with Indianapolis but figures to get more time with the big club this year.

Chris Gruler – 3^rd overall pick (Cincinnati), 2002 – In 2002, the pressure was on Cincinnati general manager Jim Bowden, and, in a last-ditch effort to save his job, he picked high school stud Chris Gruler. Cincinnati had brought both Gruler and Scott Kazmir into old Riverfront Stadium for a pre-draft workout a few weeks before the draft and decided that Kazmir was too short while being impressed with Gruler’s high-90’s heater. However, arm problems were a major factor in Gruler’s career, where he ended up pitching less then 100 minor league innings for the Reds’ organization before being released before the 2007 season. No word on if he is attempting a comeback somewhere.

Dewon Brazelton – 3^rd overall pick (Tampa Bay), 2001 – An interesting draft pick considering Brazelton had both Tommy John and knee surgery when he was fifteen, but nonetheless, was taken third by the team formerly known as the Devil Rays. Brazelton ascended quickly through the system, making his debut in September 2002.

Despite going a combined 7-14 with Tampa Bay in 2003 and 2004, the team announced Brazelton as the opening day starter for 2005. After disastrous results, the team optioned the 1-8 Brazelton to Triple-A Durham where he failed to report for two weeks and was subsequently suspended and then demoted to Double A.

New management in Tampa swiftly traded Brazelton during the 2005 off-season to San Diego for another first round reclamation project in Sean Burroughs. He started in the Padres rotation in 2005, only to be hammered for 17 earned runs in 6 ½ innings before being demoted to the bullpen. He had mild success in the ‘pen for a while until getting shelled for four runs without getting an out in late April, before getting demoted to Triple-A Portland. That was the last the major leagues saw of Dewon Brazelton.

He has been in the Kansas City and Pittsburgh organization for the 2006 and 2007 seasons respectively. He is currently in spring training after signing a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.

P Adam Johnson – 2^nd overall pick (Minnesota), 2000 – The Twinkies chose the hard throwing Johnson second overall out of Cal State-Fullerton. Johnson quickly climbed into the Twins staff in 2001, appearing in 25 innings with the big club. However, he spent the next two seasons in Triple-A Rochester before being promoted to Minnesota in late 2003. After two disappointing appearances, he was left off Minnesota’s playoff roster. He went to Venezuela for winter ball in 2004 but was sent home due to performance issues and was subsequently released by the Twins. He spent the next two years in the independent leagues before being signed by Oakland in 2005. According to Baseball America, Johnson is no longer pursuing a career in baseball.

SS/OF Luis Montanez – 3^rd overall pick (Chicago NL), 2000 –The Cubbies took Montanez, a high school senior from Miami, FL, whom was drawing comparisons to another high school shortstop from that area in Alex Rodriguez. His career started strong, earning Arizona League MVP honours in his first season. His career slumped in the minors though, not hitting anything over .270 in his next three seasons. In 2004, he was switched to outfield and was finally promoted to Triple-A Iowa in 2006 after two-and-a-half seasons with Chicago’s Double-A affiliate, West Tennessee. After 2006 he was released, ending a disappointing career in Chicago where he spent all six of his seasons in the minor leagues without a single appearance in a Cubs uniform.

In 2007, Baltimore signed Montanez and assigned him to Double-A Bowie where he split his games between Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .288 with 10 home runs. As of the end of 2007, it appears Montanez had retired, as there is no mention of him on any clubs for spring training, although he may pop up in an independent league later in the season.

If anyone has heard anything on the players I’ve mentioned who I can’t seem to find their whereabouts, feel free to contact me at brendan@westman.wave.ca. Also, any feedback is welcomed.