It was on this day in 1966 that the Mets drafted catcher Steve Chilcott with the first overall pick of the amateur draft. A catcher out of Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, California, Chilcott’s seven-year pro career was plagued by injuries and he never reached the big leagues. Brien Taylor is the only other 1-1 selection to retire without ever making it to the Show; three more recent selections (Mark Appel, Brady Aiken and Mickey Moniak) are still in the minors and yet to receive their first taste of MLB action. The Chilcott pick doubly hurt the Mets since they took him ahead of a somewhat prominent player who was picked second overall by the A’s — Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson.
Here’s the latest from around the NL East…
- Marlins left-handed pitching prospect Braxton Garrett has a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow and may need Tommy John surgery, Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports. Garrett, who turns 20 in August, was selected seventh overall by the Fish in the 2016 amateur draft. He was ranked as a consensus top-100 prospect (42nd by ESPN’s Keith Law, 43rd by MLB.com, 71st by Baseball Prospectus, 76th by Baseball America) prior to the season and was considered easily the best minor leaguer within a thin Miami farm system. As Fernandez notes, Garrett would be the second top Marlins pitching prospect (after Tyler Kolek) to require Tommy John surgery within the last 14 months.
- Sean Rodriguez has resumed some baseball activities and is working hard towards a return before the season is over, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Rodriguez and his family were in a horrific car accident in January that injured his two sons, required his wife to undergo wrist surgery amidst several other serious injuries, and seemingly ended Rodriguez’s season before it started due to shoulder surgery. Now, Braves manager Brian Snitker thinks Rodriguez could potentially be back as soon as August. The utilityman signed a two-year, $11MM contract with Atlanta last November and has been a constant presence at in the team’s clubhouse, working out with team trainers and his fellow players.
- Phillies outfield prospect Roman Quinn has a UCL injury in his left elbow, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports (Twitter link). An MRI revealed the issue, and Quinn will visit Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. While Quinn throws with his right arm, this still could be a significant setback for the 24-year-old, who made his MLB debut last year in 15 games with Philadelphia. Quinn, ranked as the 99th-best prospect in the game by MLB.com prior to the season, was expected to receive a longer look this summer as the Phillies continues their rebuilding process.
mark appel was such a bust
You cant call anyone a bust on here until their carrer is over. You never know he may end up being an ace better then bryant. Seriously tho some people here get so triggered when you call someone a bust
He’s a bust. The Astros could have drafted a Kevin Durant. Instead they got a Greg Oden.
Imagine that a Bryant-Correa-Altuve infield was soooo close to happening.
They could have had bryant, altuve, correa, benintendi and bregman.
oh my goodness that’s crazy to think about
Astros fan shouldn’t be too upset, things are going pretty well with what they have.
I can almost 100% say that Appel is never going to be worth anywhere near Bryant. And you’re a fool if you think there is even a small chance of it.
Ha ha. So you just said you can almost 100% say Appel is never going to be worth anywhere near Bryant. Almost 100% means not quite 100% meaning there is a small chance. Then the next thing you say is you’re a fool if you think there is even a small chance of it.
Quinn has so much potential but the guy cannot stay healthy. Had high hopes for him.
I never really like Sean Rodriguez but you never wish that to happen to anyone. I have a lot of respect for him for trying to make it back to the bigs this season. Most players if they were in his situation would just take the year off and recover and care for their family but he feels like he and his family are at a point where he can return to baseball activities. If anyone can do it it is Sean, he has a lot of drive and pride in his game and defiantly wears it on his sleeves. I look forward to seeing him back in a Braves uniform this season.
I swear the Marlins can’t catch a ******* break.
Aiken is looking like he’s never gonna make it. In fact, he’s actually going backwards this season.
Reggie Jackson over Steve Chilcott would definitely have changed things for the Mets, Athletics, and Yankees, and quite possibly the trajectory of Jackson’s career as well.
Hindsight is 20-20. Like 20 teams could have drafted Trout in 2009. They didn’t. The second pick in that draft was Dustin Ackley by the M’s and the third pick was Donavan Tate by the Padres. Both those teams might have seen their fortunes changed dramatically by picking Trout. But the MLB draft is a crapshoot. You can’t really blame teams for making those kinds of choices, given the knowledge they had at the time.
exactly
Not blaming anyone, just fascinated by the “butterfly effect” that a different decision may have had on the Mets, A’s, Yankees, and possibly Jackson himself.