Call to the pen
Fansided

MLB Draft: 4 first overall picks to never make it to ‘The Show’

By Clint Manry

08 JUN 2015: The draft board show the first selection of Dansby Swanson by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Alex Bregman by the the Houston Astros during round 1 of the Major league Baseball First Year Player Draft held at Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus,NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
08 JUN 2015: The draft board show the first selection of Dansby Swanson by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Alex Bregman by the the Houston Astros during round 1 of the Major league Baseball First Year Player Draft held at Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus,NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next

Brady Aiken, LHP

  • 18-years-old
  • 2015 MLB Draft
  • Cleveland Indians
  • $2.513 million

The juicy parts of Brady Aiken‘s professional baseball career came way before he made his first start in the Cleveland Indians’ organization. Unfortunately, none of the stories afterward include a successful major league career.

In 2013, Aiken led the 18U U.S. national team to a gold medal, striking out 10 batters in a gold-clinching start. Months later he was awarded the USA Baseball International Performance of the Year Award, and entering the 2014 MLB Draft, was pegged the no. 1 prospect in the country by ESPN’s Keith Law.

However, as often the case within this piece… things, of course, didn’t work out for Aiken. The Houston Astros selected the lefty no. 1 overall in the 2014 draft, but issues regarding the Aiken’s pitching elbow resulted in a dispute about his signing bonus (the Astros were still prepared to give Aiken $5 million). But by the time the July 18 deadline came (for signing draftees), Aiken was still left unsigned, becoming the first overall pick not to sign since Tim Belcher in 1983.  Nine months later Aiken underwent Tommy John surgery.

Fast-forward to the 2015 MLB Draft: Cleveland selected Aiken 17th overall (though his no. 1 pick from the season prior still counts!), and once his rehab from TJ surgery was concluded, he found himself pitching for the Arizona League Indians in June of 2016; though it was immediately apparent the lefty was overmatched. In 24 innings of work in the desert, Aiken allowed a 7.13 ERA, including 4.9 walks per nine (granted, he did strike out 35 batters). Aiken’s performance came around at his next stop — an August promotion to short-season Mahoning Valley — where he got a handle on the free passes (3.2 BB/9) and somewhat maintained his punch outs (8.9 K/9). Still, though, Aiken allowed 20 hits in 22.1 innings and finished the 2016 season in A-ball with a 4.43 ERA (not exactly top-pick material).

The following season wasn’t any better, as Aiken was moved up to Single-A Lake County. In the Midwest League, the lefty went just 5-13 in 27 starts, ending the 2017 season with a 4.77 ERA, still lacking anything inspiring enough to warrant much excitement.

With two years of middling work in the low-minors under his belt, Aiken took his age-21 season (2018) off, before making just two relief appearances for Lake County in 2019. According to the Indians, Aiken’s status going forward is still uncertain; although, I think it’s safe to say that the organization is quite a long ways away from reaping the benefits of its $2.5 million investment from five years ago.

Home/MLB News