Wondering why I'd start a thread about a career minor leaguer and a 'bust'? Because he really would have been a good pitcher.
I'd never really known what had happened to Everts; other than he was a 'bust'. Well as you all know he had Tommy John surgery. I decided to look through his pre-surgery stats compared to recent ones. This is the end of 03 then 04 for pre. He had surgery in 05.
Average's Before TJ: 3.30 ERA...7.8 H/9...0.64 HR/9...8.05 K/9...1.38 WHIP
Average's After TJ: 4.64 ERA...8.9 H/9....0.47 HR/9...8.71 K/9...1.59 WHIP
He had a very good year in 05 surprisingly so that helped his post surgery stats. And just an add-on to it all he played at the same levels pre and post surgery. So I obviously had a point to all the pain in the ass calculation I did. His numbers have been steadily getting BETTER other than this year which his ERA has slightly become worse. He is a young man at 23 years old and even though he has never played above High A he obviously has all the physical atrributes to be a good pitcher and the stuff hence being a top 8 draft pick. I'm not saying that he will but their is always a chance that in these coming years he breaks-out and becomes something more than a 'bust'. Even if that happens his arm can not handle starting but an ok reliever he can easily be. I would say to not call him an absolute bust until he turns 27.
PS: Being a reliever made his HR/9 go down.