As most sports fans know, stud pitcher Jose Fernandez tragically died in 2016 in a boating accident at the age of 24. Clearly drugs and alcohol are to blame for the crash, but I can prove there was another cause. The 2011 MLB Draft.
The 2011 draft class was STACKED.
2011 is one of the best draft classes in recent history, and this is only the first 14 picks of round 1!
Back to my theory… If you ever watched Fernandez pitch, it was clear that he was a generational type talent. At the age of just 24 he already had 4 seasons under his belt, all of which he had under a 2.92 or lower ERA, 2 All-Star selections, CY Young votes and his 2013 NL Rookie of the year. So how did 13 teams pass up on this guy?
Well, not all 13 got it wrong. Gerrit Cole, Trever Bauer, Anthony Rendon, Frankie Lindor, Javier Baez, and George Springer all panned out. Multiple rings, WS MVPs, Billions in contracts, silver sluggers, you name it, these 6 guys have it. You can even argue Archie Bradley as a competent pick, FINE. But the other 6 on the other hand, yikes.
WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE GUYS!?!? Danny Hultzan?!?? Bubba Starling?? BEFORE JOSE FERNANDEZ?? Those scouts should never be able to work in talent evaluation again.
The six teams that missed were:
- Seattle Mariners
- Baltimore Orioles
- Kansas City Royals
- San Diego Padres
- Milwaukee Brewers
- New York Mets (Nimmo stinks stfu)
If any of these teams pick Hernandez, he is still in this league today playing the game he loves, smiling, and dominating hitters? Why? Here’s why
- Seattle: not driving a boat in September.
- Baltimore: not driving a boat in September.
- Kansas City: not driving a boat in September.
- San Diego: maybe, but less jetty’s.
- Milwaukee: not driving a boat in September.
- New York: not driving a boat in September.
Listen, obviously there’s a million things that could have happened between the day he was born and the day he died that would have changed the outcome. But it’s hard not to say that the scouts who passed up for such a superstar talent for such duds is not a huge impact.
It’s an absolute shame that professional talent evaluators missed so badly here. In any other city, in any other situation, we are sitting here at the edge of our seats waiting to see if Fernandez will sign for more than Cole & Strasburg. If Fernandez was not in Miami that night, he may have developed into one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
Crazy how things work out. Stay woke.
Pecks