The Miami Marlins thought they were drafting a legitimate top-of-the-rotation ace in 2014. Tyler Kolek was popping triple-digits with regularity coming out of high school. He was a can’t miss prospect, and the Marlins took him second overall in the draft.
In his first year of professional baseball, Kolek stumbled against the elevated level competition. Despite this, the organization promoted him to single-A baseball. He posted similarly underwhelming numbers.
Kolek needed to undergo Tommy John surgery after making 25 starts in 2015, and missed the entire 2016 season. He looked like a shell of himself in limited return action in 2017.