On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates referred to as up the highest choose within the 2023 MLB Draft, beginning pitcher Paul Skenes, who will make his first main league begin Saturday towards the Chicago Cubs.
The imposing 6-foot-6, 235-pound right-hander enters the league with loads of expectations, as produce other pitchers earlier than him. Nonetheless, among the many seven pitchers chosen first total since 2004, some recognizable names have shined of their MLB debuts, whereas others fell into obscurity earlier than that they had an opportunity to make an affect.
Better of the Bunch: Stephen Strasburg (2010), Gerrit Cole (2013)
A Cy Younger Award winner and former World Sequence MVP, Strasburgh lately introduced his retirement from baseball. Nonetheless, he was as soon as essentially the most thrilling prospect within the sport, going No. 1 total to the Washington Nationals in 2009 earlier than dazzling in his MLB debut a yr later. In June 2010, Strasburg grew to become an in a single day sensation, dominating the Pirates in his first profession begin, hanging out 14 in seven innings to earn the win in a 5-2 Nationals victory.
In the meantime, Cole, who the Pirates chosen first within the 2011 MLB Draft, made his MLB debut in June 2013 towards the San Francisco Giants, the place he gave followers a preview of what he’d change into. Now a standout for the New York Yankees and the reigning American League Cy Younger Award winner, he was strong in his first profession begin, permitting two earned runs off seven hits with two strikeouts over 6.1 innings, incomes the win in an 8-2 Pittsburgh victory.
Good, however not nice: David Worth (2008), Casey Mize (2020)
A five-time All-Star, Cy Younger Award winner and World Sequence champion, Worth had an unimaginable 14-year MLB profession. Nonetheless, Worth had a strong but unspectacular debut earlier than attaining these accolades. In September 2008, a yr after going No. 1 to the Tampa Bay Rays, he held the New York Yankees to solely two earned runs off three hits, hanging out 4 in 5.1 innings to earn a no-decision in an 8-4 Rays loss.
Just a few years later, Mize, the highest choose of the Detroit Tigers in 2018, had an identical debut to Worth’s towards the Chicago White Sox in 2010. The proper-hander lasted solely 4.1 innings however struck out seven whereas permitting three earned runs off seven hits, incomes a no-decision in a 5-3 loss.
Nightmare situations: Luke Hochevar (2007), Mark Appel (2022), Brady Aiken (By no means)
Picked first by the Kansas Metropolis Royals in 2006, Hochevar made three appearances within the majors earlier than making his first begin in September 2007, taking the loss (4-2) to the then-Cleveland Indians after giving up two earned runs off three hits in solely three innings of labor. After going 38-59 with a 5.44 ERA in 128 profession video games as a starter, Hochevar in the end proved extra beneficial as a reliever, going 8-6 (152 video games) with a 2.95 ERA and supplied a spark out of the bullpen as a part of Kansas Metropolis’s 2015 World Sequence championship crew.
In the meantime, Appel and Aiken stay a cautionary story after being chosen first by the Houston Astros in back-to-back years (2013 and 2014). Appel by no means debuted for Houston, and following a commerce and being designated for project, he ultimately made it to the large leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022, making six appearances as a reliever. Likewise, Aiken by no means appeared in an Astros uniform, or another MLB uniform for that matter. A contract dispute with Houston resulted in Aiken going unsigned out of the 2013 draft. He re-entered the next yr, chosen No. 17 by Cleveland, however after three uneventful minor league seasons, he was out of baseball by 2019.
