Atlanta Braves: Top 5 busts as former no. 1 prospects

Jordan Schafer -2.2 rWAR (6 seasons)

I hate seeing Jordan Schafer on this list. I always rooted for the guy and I was actually quite shocked to see how much the metrics didn’t like him. As much as I rooted for him, I can’t argue with the numbers. Prior to the 2008 season, Schafer registered as the 17th best prospect in the game by Baseball Prospectus.

Heading into 2009, Schafer had not yet even played above Double-A when the Braves named him the Opening Day starter in centerfield. In his very first at-bat, he blasted a homer to whet everyone’s appetite. He would go on to his just 11 more in his career. The magic did not continue as Schafer finished his rookie season with a .204 average in 167 at-bats. His OPS+ sat at just 61 prior to being optioned to Gwinnett.

Schafer wouldn’t see a major league field again until late-May of 2011. Later that July he was traded to the Astros as part of the Michael Bourn deal. Ultimately Schafer was a part-time player over parts of six seasons for Minnesota, Houston, and two stints with the Braves. He finished below replacement level with -2.2 rWAR on his career. He also finished with -37 defensive runs saved in center field, although he was above average in the corner spots.

Best Season
His most productive season according to OPS+ was in 2013 when he posted an 88 for the Braves in his second term with the team. Schafer appeared in 94 games and stole 22 bases while setting a career-high in on-base percentage with a .331 clip.