There is often an expectation, fair or not, among baseball fans that once a player is named to a “Top 100 Prospect” list, they are on the fast track to stardom. Obviously, it’s more complicated than that, and Austin Hays’ journey from being the first player in his draft class to debut in the big leagues to an oft-injured minor leaguer and back again could be Exhibit A.
Hays was a third-round pick by the Orioles in 2016 out of Jacksonville University. After tearing up minor league pitching for a year, the then-22-year-old Hays got his first big league call-up.