2012 MLB Draft Prospects: Players Who Will Fail to Live Up to Massive Hype

Every year, draft prospects fail to live up to the hype. This happens more frequently in the MLB draft than any other.

The climb to baseball stardom is a long and challenging one, but the fall from grace is very swift and disappointing.

I believe there are a few players in this draft who will be selected highly but never reach their "potential."

Mark Appel

Mark Appel is considered a lock to be a top-10 pick in this year's draft.

The Stanford alumni has overpowering stuff but isn't that dominating. If a player fails to dominate in college, I tend to believe that will carry over to major leagues. 

Baseball America states that Appel's delivery and slow motion make him easy to square up, even with his great stuff. 

Keith Law of ESPN even believes Appel should be the No. 1 overall pick to the Houston Astro's. Appel is still an interesting prospect but will never reach the status of a premier ace starting pitcher.

Deven Marrero

Deven Marrero is widely considered the best shortstop prospect in the draft. The Arizona State product will be a first-round pick due to his unique skills.

He has struggled this season, and there are several explanations as to why. 

SunDevilSports reports that he has batted just .279 this season, and he only plays in the Pac-12. 

Keith Law still thinks he's a blue chip prospect, but others aren't so sure. 

Marcus Stroman

The Duke prospect looks like a disaster to me. He was great stuff but doesn't have great stamina.

He looks like a player who could be moved back and forth from closer to starter throughout his career. He's only 5'9" which makes me believe that he could have injury concerns down the road or lose his "stuff" sooner rather than later.

To me, a reliever/closer is not a worthy or smart first-round selection

Alex Wood

Wood is a left-handed pitcher who can throw hard. That's about the only thing he can do. He doesn't have any serviceable secondary pitches that can keep hitters honest.

In the big leagues, it doesn't matter how hard you throw. Hitters will always catch up to a good fastball. If Wood wants to be any good at the next level, he needs to improve his change-up and slider.

Conclusion

The baseball draft is very different than that of other leagues'. Many high draft picks never even make it to the major leagues. Hopefully that trend begins to end. It's better for the teams and the state of baseball as we know it.