Bryan Bullington

by Benne on Dec 10, 2008 4:09 AM EST Comment 10 comments

Hey guys,

Just popping in here hoping for a little help. I've been working on a year-by-year reveiw of all 1st-round draft picks for another site, and upon looking over 2002, I came across Bryan Bullington, #1 pick. I had never heard of Bullington until doing this little project, and att first glance it seems like a horrendous pick, what with guys like B.J. Upton, Prince Fielder, Scott Kazmir, and Cole Hamels all on the board.

So what happened to Bullington? Was it injuries that did him in? General ineffectiveness? Did he have massive upside at the time of the pick, or was this just another disastrous move by the Littlefield regime?

Thanks for any information you can provide. As a Mariners fan, I can sort of sympathize with the long-suffering Bucs fanbase. Hopefully the new front office can resurrect this once-proud franchise, baseball will benefit greatly from it.

Once again, thank you.

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Bullington’s stuff disappeared right after he turned pro. He lost 4-5 mph off his supposedly mid-90s fastball and his breaking stuff fell off, too. It looks like he just had a fluke season as a junior in college, as he hadn’t been as good as a sophomore. By the time he got to AAA, he seemed to be coming around as a finesse pitcher who might make it as a fifth starter, but then he had labrum surgery and he didn’t pitch well in his brief major league chances. I expect the Pirates let him go because he lacked the stuff to have much upside.

by WTM on Dec 10, 2008 6:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wilbur pretty much nailed it.

At this point, he’s just a space-filler.

by Vlad on Dec 10, 2008 9:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No argument here

just: What kind of fluke suddenly gives you a 4-5 mph boost on your fastball and then goes away?

by bucdaddy on Dec 10, 2008 10:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Happens all the time.

Justin Reid did the same thing in ’04, for example.

by Vlad on Dec 10, 2008 11:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Okay, so it was a little of both--injuries and ineffectiveness.

Wikipedia says that Littlefield also picked him over Upton for signability reasons and that he could be a “good #3 starter.”

Reading over the various moves and draft picks Littlefield made is like watching a cute puppy get slowly tortured.

Every day I hear about Seattle sports' failures. Every night I fall asleep to the sound of my own tears.

by Benne on Dec 10, 2008 3:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

More ineffectiveness than injuries.

By the time he got hurt, he already looked like a #4/#5 at best.

Ultimately, he was just a blown scouting call. With ownership supposedly pushing hard for him, since as a college pick he would (in theory) be ready before Upton or the third h.s. guy they were considering (either Loewen, Gruler, or Everts, I forget which).

by Vlad on Dec 10, 2008 3:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs