The Best Crop of Wasted Talents So Far

Baseball

By JONAH KERI
May 9, 2008

Fifty-five years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Ralph Kiner, one of the best power hitters in the game and a future Hall of Famer, to the Chicago Cubs as part of a 10-player deal. Kiner had butted heads for years with the general manager of the Pirates, Branch Rickey, a great judge of talent — and also one of the thriftiest baseball executives of all time.

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J. Pat Carter / AP

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Jake Peavy pitches to the Florida Marlins in the first inning of a baseball game on Saturday, May 3, 2008 in Miami.

When the trade was announced, Rickey famously told Kiner: "We finished last with you; we can finish last without you."

It's doubtful any current major league GM would be that harsh. Still, a number of players have put up huge numbers so far this year, only to see the rest of their team ... well, stink. All of the following players toil for teams who, six weeks into the season, look like they could finish last (or next to last) with these contributors — or without them.

Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady, Pirates: It's déjà vu all over again for the Pirates, as two more outfielders are having monster seasons more than a half-century after the Kiner deal. Those contributions haven't helped much, though, as the Pirates were 13-19 through Wednesday's games, second-to-last in the NL Central.

McLouth looks on his way to a breakout year. Through Wednesday's games, he's ranked fifth in the league with a 1.079 OPS, tied for fourth in homers with nine, tied for second in doubles with 13, third in runs scored with 31, and tied for fourth in hits with 45. It's a testament to the incompetence of the former regime that it took this long for McLouth to claim the everyday center field job given the weak competition for the gig, which consisted of Rajai Davis, Nyjer Morgan, and the Pirate Parrot.

Meanwhile, Nady's early start looks like more of an aberration. Coming into this season, Nady had a track record that suggested a player with moderate power but just so-so on-base skills, who often struggled to hit right-handed pitching, and ranked as decidedly average for a right fielder. He's hitting .349 AVG /.408 OBA /.563 SLG, and ranks second in the majors with 34 RBI. Still, he turns 30 this year, and has benefited from an absurdly lucky .402 batting average on balls in play. Following another Rickey motto, the Bucs would do well to trade Nady a year early (when his value's at its peak) instead of a year too late (when he pulls back to his usual levels).

Jake Peavy, Padres: The defending NL Cy Young winner is on his way to another big season. Through seven starts, Peavy's tied for seventh with a 2.22 ERA, tied for fourth in strikeouts at 46 — and is the staff ace for the worst team in baseball to date, the 12-22 Padres. The problem lies with the offense, tied for worst in the majors at 3.3 runs scored per game. You can only blame the offense-suppressing environment of Petco Park so much. Young players such as Khalil Greene have regressed sharply, while Jim Edmonds is playing center field with a fork stuck in his back.

Zach Greinke, Royals: Another young ace doomed by the ineptitude of the offense behind him, Greinke looks like he's finally fulfilling his huge potential this season, sporting a 1.80 ERA (tied for fourth) and a 3:1 strikeout-to-walk rate through his first five starts. But with Kansas City dead last in the AL in runs scored, the contributions of Greinke and one of the strongest and most underrated bullpens in the game are being wasted on a 15-18 team.

Edinson Volquez, Reds and Josh Hamilton, Rangers: This one hurts even more, since Volquez is just in his first full season in the majors, leads the majors in strikeouts (52), and ranks second in ERA (1.06) — yet his team sits dead last in the NL Central. In fact, with Volquez and fellow young flamethrower Johnny Cueto pitching well alongside staff ace Aaron Harang, plus a powerful lineup stuffed with sluggers, it's baffling to see the Reds struggling this badly.

Volquez was part of one of the best win-win trades in recent history, with Hamilton going the other way to Texas. Hamilton leads his team with seven homers, 40 hits, and 73 total bases, and leads the majors with 36 RBI. The Rangers' no. 3 hitter has teamed with cleanup man Milton Bradley to anchor Texas' attack, in the process quieting fears over the off-field reputations of both players. As always, though, it's the pitching that's let the Rangers down. Only the Tigers have a higher AL ERA than Texas does, as off-season pickup Jason Jennings has been a disaster in the rotation, while most of the bullpen has been nearly as bad.

Honorary mentions: Erik Bedard, Mariners, Aaron Cook, Rockies, and Tim Lincecum, Giants.

Mr. Keri (jonahkeri@gmail.com) is a writer for ESPN.com's Page 2.