Game 113 Open Thread: August 9, 2005

reyes davis
0-0, 0.00 9-7, 4.27

just by coincidence, john sickels is doing a "prospect retrospective" at his blog Minor League Ball today. he took a look at the top AAA and AA pitching prospects of 1993 and found that not a single worthwhile pitcher came out of the class. best career probably turned in by steve trachsel, although rick helling also had his moments.

that crop of top prospects included a cardinal farmhand named allen watson, who was every bit as heralded as anthony reyes, if not more so. baseball america rated him the #9 prospect in all of baseball that year, and the 4th-best pitching prospect. (reyes was listed #47 this spring by baseball america, and #15 among the pitchers.) i picked watson for my roto reserve roster and considered myself pretty smart. he came up in july and, per the day-by-day database, looked even better than advertised -- 6-0, 2.86 in his first eight starts with a 1.167 whip. then came start #9: 4 hits, 4 walks, 8 earned in two-thirds of an inning. he went 0-7 from there on out, finished the year with a 4.60 era, and was never any good thereafter.

just a little perspective on a day of great anticipation . . . . .