What Happened to Delmon Young?

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Delmon Young had a pretty solid season last year, with a league average bat and a very good arm in right field making him a decent major league ballplayer. So what's so bad about that? The problem is, the often forgotten Young was once considered the top prospect in baseball—for about four years.

Let's start with some background on Delmon Young. Delmon is the hulking 6'3", 200 pound little brother of former Major League (and current Nationals AAA) slugger Dmitri Young.

He was born on Sept. 14, 1985, which makes him, quite surprisingly, only 23 right now. He was the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2003, a year after they took currently Major League star BJ Upton with the second overall pick.

Although he did not play that season, his prospect status was almost immediately evident. When Baseball America came out with it's rankings for the following season, he debuted on the list—at the No. 3 overall spot.

This isn't all that unusual, but it's still a high ranking for a player with no pro experience. For example, 2008 first rounder Tim Beckham debuted on the list at 28 this season. The two players ahead of him—Joe Mauer and BJ Upton—are both All-star caliber players. That shows you how highly Young was thought of at the time.

Scouts loved pretty much everything about Young. He had tremendous power to all fields, a great line drive swing, could hit for average and power, had good range and a great arm in the outfield, and could run the bases. He was considered a can't miss.

Young lived up to the hype initially. In his first pro season, 2004, he hit .322 with a 25 homers and 21 steals in the Sally league as an 18 year old. He had arrived on the professional scene in a big way.

When the Baseball America rankings for the 2005 season came out he was again in the third spot, behind Mauer and current Cy Young candidate Felix Hernandez.

His 2006 season was even better. The 19 year old started at AA Montgomery, his home town team, and raked big time. In 84 games he hit .336 with a near 1.000 OPS, 20 homers, and 71 RBI.

Despite playing just over half the season, he would go on to win the Southern League MVP award. Once promoted to AAA Durham at only 19 years old, Delmon struggled a bit. He only hit .285, and his .303 OBP left something to be desired. But he was 19 and already in AAA. Not much to complain about there.

By that point Delmon was the top prospect in Major League Baseball, and Baseball America rated him as such going into the 2006 season. As a 20 year old Baseball America went out on a limb—well not really—by saying he should be in the big leagues at some point that season. A scout was quoted as saying "He (Delmon) can do whatever he puts his mind to do."

But 2006 was a year of turmoil for Young. On Apr. 26 Young was called out on strikes. Unhappy with the call, Young stared down the umpire, then, while walking towards the dugout, tossed his bat at the umpire, hitting him in the chest.

The infamous tossed bat incident cost Young 50 games, and limited how well he could develop at the minor league level. On the season, he still hit .316, but his .341 OBP wasn't great and he only hit eight homers in limited playing time.

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