The 5 Greatest MLB Players Who Never Were

Just because someone is an outstanding baseball player doesn’t necessarily mean that they get the opportunity to play Major League Baseball.

There are, at times, obstacles to overcome which block that path. The two most prevalent examples of that have been racial segregation and top prospects not panning out.

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1957, although many Negro Leagues players never got the chance to take a MLB field.

Meanwhile, since the MLB First-Year Player Draft was implemented in 1965, many No. 1 draft picks have failed to play well through the minors and some never even got the call to the big leagues.

There are plenty of players who could be on this list, but I’ve selected five who really stand out in my mind. For those who didn’t make the cut—pun intended—please place their names in the comments section below for a discussion.

Let’s take a look at who did make the cut, for the purpose of this article at least.

*All statistics in this article were obtained via Baseball-Reference, unless otherwise stated. All contract information was obtained via Cot’s Contracts. All injury information was obtained via Baseball Prospectus. 

Brien Taylor (Top Draft Pick)

The New York Yankees liked what they saw from Brien Taylor back in his high school days so took a chance on him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1991 MLB June Amateur draft.

In 2006, agent Scott Boras said that Taylor was the best high school pitcher he’d ever seen, according to FanGraphs. Taylor never turned out to be a great major league pitcher, unfortunately.

After the 1993 season, he got into a fight and ended up tearing the labrum and capsule in his throwing arm. He was never the same afterwards.

In seven seasons in the minor leagues, Taylor never made it past Double-A, going 22-30 in 100 appearances with a 5.12 ERA. 

Buck Leonard (Negro Leagues Star)

Buck Leonard is a well-known name around baseball and that’s primarily because he’s one of the greatest hitters of all-time and is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

He got there, however, despite never playing in the big leagues.

Instead, Leonard spent nearly his entire career playing in the Negro Leagues. He did play a couple of seasons in a league in Mexico, but for the most part, made his claim to fame with the Homestead Grays from 1934 through 1950.

Not every statistic was recorded during that time period, but Baseball-Reference.com has Leonard finishing his career hitting .320/.386/.519 in just under 1,700 plate appearances.

He appeared in 11 East-West All-Star Games and holds the record for the longest tenure with one Negro League team, according to his Hall of Fame profile.

Steve Chilcott (Top Draft Pick)

With the No. 1 overall pick in the 1966 draft, the New York Mets selected Steve Chilcott. With the No. 2 pick, the Kansas City Athletics selected Reggie Jackson.

Jackson is in the Hall of Fame. Chilcott never played a game in the majors.

Chilcott played in the minor leagues from 1966 through 1972, making it to Triple-A at some points, but his career came to an end after just seven seasons and 337 games following a shoulder injury.

As Jeff Fletcher of the Los Angeles Times wrote back in 1994, Chilcott popped his shoulder out of its socket while attempting to dive back on a pickoff attempt at second base.

Up until Brien Taylor, Chilcott was the only No. 1 overall draft pick to never make it to the big leagues. 

Josh Gibson (Negro Leagues Star)

Josh Gibson may never have faced off against some of the top pitching that MLB had to offer, but he is still considered to be one of the best of his era.

Larry Schwartz, of ESPN, wrote that Gibson was often referred to as the black Babe Ruth. That speaks for itself.

Gibson played for the Homestead Grays for the bulk of his Negro League career, but also played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and for a team in the Mexican League. In 16 seasons, encompassing around 2,000 plate appearances, Gibson hit .350/.401/.624 with 107 home runs.

While Gibson’s home run total might not be that appealing to today’s fan, it’s well documented that he would hit home runs further than anyone else. “He hits the ball a mile,” said Walter Johnson, who’s also in the Hall of Fame with Gibson.

Matt Bush (Top Draft Pick)

The San Diego Padres thought they had a star in the making in 2004 when they selected Matt Bush with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. However, he is now considered one of the biggest busts in draft history.

Bush transitioned from a hitter to a pitcher in 2007, but then hurt his arm and required elbow surgery. Bush was never really the same and then got himself into legal trouble along with being involved in a party altercation in 2009.

The big blow for Bush came in 2012, when he was arrested for a DUI hit-and-run and later sentenced to 51 months in prison.

Bush obviously won’t be able to play baseball for quite some time and it’s more than likely that his professional baseball career is over as he never took a MLB mound.