Guys I Was Wrong About, Part Two

Ron Wright: He Didn't Turn Into Harmon Killebrew

Prospects I Was Wrong About, Part Two

Reviewing the 1997 Top 50 list, and looking at the guys I was wrong about.

1. Andruw Jones, OF
   
2. Vlad Guerrero, OF
   
3. Nomar Garciaparra, SS
   
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
   
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
   
6. Ruben Rivera, OF: BZZT! Wrong! Second appearance on the Bust List.
   
7. Edgard Velazquez, OF: BZZT! Wrong! The Ruben Rivera of the National League, Velazquez was a tools player who didn't develop. Being the nephew of Roberto Clemente didn't help him, although he later changed his name to Edgard Clemente.
   
8. Todd Walker, 3B
   
9. Todd Helton, 1B
   
10. Mike Sweeney, C
    
11. Jaret Wright, RHP: Career hampered by injury but successful enough that he doesn't count as a prospect bust.
    
12. Kerry Wood, RHP
    
13. Miguel Tejada, SS
    
14. Adrian Beltre, 3B
    
15. Dmitri Young, 1B
    
16. Karim Garcia, OF
    
17. Jose Cruz JR, OF
    
18. Ben Grieve, OF: Faded too quickly, but doesn't count as a bust due to early success. A True Bust is a guy who does nothing.
    
19. Ron Wright, 1B: BZZT! Wrong! Old Player Skill guy, career ruined by back injuries.
    
20. Hiram Bocachica, SS: BZZT! Wrong! Hit just .217 in 231 career games. Effective Triple-A hitter, but couldn't adjust to major league competition. Tools guy.
    
21. Jeff Suppan, RHP
    
22. Chad Hermansen, SS: BZZT!!! WRONG!!! Tools guy, totally lost command of the strike zone in Triple-A.
    
23. Bob Abreu, OF
    
24. Mike Cameron, OF
    
25. Enrique Wilson, SS: I'm going to count this one as a bust. I thought he could be a star. Instead he was just a very very mediocre utilityman. This is an AGE-GATE case: he would never have ranked as a top prospect if his true birthday had been public.
    
26. Carl Pavano, RHP
    
27. Sidney Ponson, RHP
    
28. Tom Evans, 3B: BZZT! Wrong! Triple-A journeyman, career frequently hampered by injury.
    
29. Shannon Stewart, OF
    
30. Neifi Perez, SS
    
31. Roy Halladay, RHP
    
32. Wes Helms, 3B
    
33. Matt Morris, RHP
    
34. Jose Guillen, OF
    
35. Kelvim Escobar, RHP
    
36. Livan Hernandez, RHP
    
37. Javier Valentin, C
    
38. Donnie Sadler, 2B: BZZT! Wrong! Holdover from '96 list.
    
39. Pat Cline, C: BZZT! Wrong! Career ruined by injuries, offensive development stalled in Triple-A.
    
40. Todd Dunwoody, OF: Long career, but not a very good player. I will count this as a tools bust.
    
41. Bret Tomko, RHP
    
42. Wilton Guerrero, 2B
    
43. Ricky Ledee, OF: Marginally effective platoon player, but not a star. Borderline bust case.
    
44. Derrek Lee, 1B
    
45. Richard Hidalgo, OF
    
46. Jimmy Anderson, LHP: The Todd Dunwoody of Pitchers. Not very good, but kept getting chances.
    
47. Bartolo Colon, RHP
    
48. Eric Ludwick, RHP: Holdover from '96 list.
    
49. T.J. Staton, OF: BZZT! Wrong! Stopped hitting in Triple-A.
    
50. Billy McMillon, OF: Became stathead favorite due to strong Triple-A numbers. Had some bursts of success in the majors, but by the time he got a chance he was on the wrong side of 30.

A lot of these guys aren't as clear-cut for bustdom as the '96 list, and in this case some of the causes/categories overlap.

Career Ruined by Injuries:
Eric Ludwick, RHP (also on '96 list)
Old Player Skill Bust
Ron Wright, 1B (injuries a major factor)
Tom Evans, 3B (injuries a major factor)
Pat Cline, C (injuries a major factor)
Ricky Ledee, OF (borderline case)
Tool Player Bust:
Ruben Rivera, OF (also on '96 list)
Edgard Velazquez Clemente, OF
Hiram Bocachica, SS
Chad Hermansen, SS
Todd Dunwoody, OF (borderline case)
Just Didn't Play Well:
Donnie Sadler, 2B (also on '96 list)
Jimmy Anderson, LHP (borderline case)
Age-Gate
Enrique Wilson, SS
Didn't Get A Chance Until Too Late
Billy McMillon, OF
Miscellaneous
T.J. Staton, OF (just stopped hitting for no apparent reason)