Prospects of Times Past, Part 1

As you know by now, my colleague Eric has taken a look at the players who have successfully made it to the Major Leagues from the Double-A Eastern League’s 2003 All-Star Game’s North Division roster. As a complement to that, I am going to look at a few of the players who failed to make good on their potential after that showcase.

A number of the infielders on the North Division roster failed to achieve Major League success, including Chris Basak (Mets), Craig Brazell (Mets), Mike Cervenak (Giants), Alejandro Freire (Giants), and Brian Myrow (Dodgers).

Basak was 24 at the time and his minor league numbers had been inconsistent. His overall stats at Double-A that season were not overly special (.272/.332/.396). Basak has had just one Major League at-bat, which came with the Yankees in 2007. He spent 2008 in the Yankees and Twins organizations as a back-up infielder.

Brazell was 23 at the time of the All-Star game and was considered a fairly good prospect with intriguing raw power. The former fifth round pick out of high school, though, has never been able to tap into it consistently while maintaining a decent average and respectable on-base numbers. He did make some noise in 2007 when he slugged 39 homers in the minors for the Royals. That earned him five games at the Major League level, where he recorded one hit in four at-bats. Brazell took his powerful bat to Japan in 2008.

Cervenak is an interesting story, even though he was 26 when he was selected to the All-Star Game in 2003. He was signed by the Yankees out of an independent baseball league and spent four seasons in Double-A and another four years in Triple-A before making his Major League debut this season with the Phillies at the age of 31. He appeared in eight Major League games and knocked out two hits.

Freire was another minor league veteran first baseman, who originally signed with Houston out of Venezuela. He hasn’t played in the minors since 2006. Myrow is another former independent league player, who has earned short stints in the Majors with San Diego each of the last two seasons.

Outfielder Jeremy Owens (Red Sox) and Josh Rabe (Twins) both flashed promising tools early in their careers. Owens displayed 20-20 potential, but he could never maintain a respectable average and struck out far too many times in his attempt to be Mike Cameron. Rabe has had a couple of chances at the Major League level with the Twins, but he never showed enough power for a corner outfielder.

Cameron Reimers (Blue Jays) was a pitcher who put up some nice win totals and ERAs despite having below average stuff, which caught up to him in Triple-A. He ended his minor league career two years after his All-Star appearance.

Brent Schoening (Twins) won 12 games in 2006 with average stuff at best and then went on to pitch mostly out of the bullpen in Triple-A for two seasons before hanging up his spikes. David Shepard (Yankees) and Josh Stevens (Red Sox) were relievers who spent their entire careers bouncing between independent baseball leagues and minor league baseball. Shepard last pitched in 2006, while Stevens lasted until 2007.

Kevin Vent (Giants) made the All-Star game in 2003 and received a late-season promotion to Triple-A. Sadly, the 26-year-old reliever never pitched again in the minors after that season.

Tomorrow, I’ll take a look at the 2003 South Division roster for failed prospects, after Eric looks at those who made good on their potential later tonight.