MLB Prospects Who Were Hyped as the Next Big Thing and Flopped

by Jeremy Block - 9/29/2025

Every year, baseball fans fall in love with a new batch of prospects. From cannon-like arms to power hitters, the MLB draft is filled with hopes, dreams, and the undeniable belief that the next big star is just around the corner.

Unfortunately, for some of those players, those expectations crashed and burned faster than a rocket with a broken engine. That said, let’s take a look at five hyped MLB prospects who flopped, leaving scouts and fans scratching their heads in confusion.

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Rick Ankiel

In the late '90s, Rick Ankiel was the talk of the town. A left-handed pitcher with a fastball that consistently hit the mid-90s, Ankiel was being groomed to be the future ace for the St. Louis Cardinals. After a solid 1999 season in the minors, he finally got his shot in the big leagues in 2000, where he made an immediate impact.

Then, in the blink of an eye, everything came crashing down. His fastball still had the heat, but suddenly Ankiel couldn’t find the strike zone to save his life. By the end of the 2001 season, Ankiel had a 7.31 ERA after just three starts, and his once-promising career was in shambles. Unable to throw strikes, the Cards would eventually send him down to the minors. Desperate to salvage his career, Ankiel reinvented himself as an outfielder, but his bat never lived up to the potential of his arm.

Ultimately, Ankiel never came close to living up to the hype that once surrounded him as a top prospect, finding himself bouncing around the league before finally calling it quits in 2013.

Brien Taylor

In 1991, the New York Yankees selected Brien Taylor with the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, and expectations surrounding him were through the roof. Coming off a dominant performance in the minors in 1992, posting a 2.57 ERA in 14 starts, Taylor was viewed as the key to the Pinstripes’ future rotation, with many seeing him as the pitcher to lead them get back on top.

But fate had other plans. In 1993, Taylor was involved in a bar fight that resulted in a torn glenoid labrum, and just like that, his career went immediately downhill. Despite several attempts at recovery, Taylor was never able to regain the form that made him such a highly-scouted prospect. His minor league performance dropped drastically, with his ERA spiking all the way up to 27.00 at one point. Yeah, you read that right.

Worse yet, the Yankees' decision to pass on future Hall of Famers only made his story even harder to swallow. Instead of leading the Yankees to a new era, Taylor became one of baseball's biggest "what ifs."

Matt Bush

When Matt Bush was selected first overall by the San Diego Padres in 2004, they had big plans for him. With a strong arm that impressed scouts, Bush was expected to be a key piece of the Padres' future. But after a string of off-field issues, including a DUI and legal troubles, the young pitchers’ path to the majors became anything but smooth.

It wasn’t until 2016—12 years after being drafted—that Bush finally made his big league debut with the Texas Rangers. Yep, 12 years. By then, his career was already more defined by his legal troubles and time spent in the minors than by any on-field accomplishments.

As a reliever, Bush’s performance wasn’t what anyone had hoped for. With an ERA ballooning to 9.58, his time in the majors didn’t come close to matching the hype he’d generated as a top overall pick. Sure, he had a brief stint in the big leagues, but it was far from the future ace the Padres once envisioned.

Josh Hamilton

There was a time when Josh Hamilton wasn’t just the No. 1 overall pick in 1999—he was supposed to be baseball’s next big thing. With a swing that could send balls into the stratosphere and raw talent that had scouts drooling, Hamilton looked like he was destined to be a household name. Too bad life didn’t let him be the hero everyone expected.

Injuries, addiction, and a series of bad decisions derailed what should’ve been a Hall of Fame career. Let’s not get it twisted: Hamilton’s comeback story was impressive, but it’s also the story of what could’ve been.

Sure, he had a few good seasons with the Rangers—making an All-Star team and even winning MVP in 2010—but those peaks were always followed by hard crashes. By the time Hamilton finally started putting it all together, his best years were already behind him, and he became just another average Joe before hanging up the cleats in 2015.

Kevin Maas

At one point, the New York Yankees thought they’d found the next Don Mattingly in Kevin Maas—or at least, that’s what New York thought. In 1986, the Pinstripes drafted the first baseman in the 22nd round, and by his rookie year in 1990, Maas came out of nowhere, cranking 21 home runs, and had Yankees fans believing they’d found the guy who could replace Don Mattingly. The reality? Maas didn’t even come close.

After that hot start, he fell apart faster than a cheap IKEA bookshelf. The batting average tanked to .193 at one point, and the power? Gone. Just like that, the Yankees' “next big thing” was out of town by 1995. His rookie season had fans jumping out of their seats—but his career had them moving on to the next guy real quick.

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Start:	September 30, 2025 @ 11:00 PM
Expert:	Griffin Murphy
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MLB Prospects Who Were Hyped as the Next Big Thing and Flopped

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