Over the years, there have been a number of Atlanta Braves prospects that came to the big leagues with a considerable amount of hype. Ronald Acuña Jr. was widely considered one of the best prospects in baseball when the Braves finally called him up and Jason Heyward followed a similar path on his way to making the Braves' Opening Day roster in 2010. However, one name that is starting to be forgotten is Jordan Schafer.
Before Heyward, Schafar was the best big thing in Braves Country. Not only was he Atlanta's top prospect, but Schafer was widely considered to be a top 50 or better prospect in all of baseball and many thought he was going to terrorize MLB for years to come.
Unfortunately, things did not turn out that way and it is a reminder that it takes a lot more than talent and hype to become a star in the game of baseball. Hell, it takes more than that to stick around in the game at all.
Jordan Schafer's tenure(s) with the Braves are a cautionary tale
Now, to be fair, a lot of what went wrong with Schafer and his development was entirely his fault.In hindsight, Schafer himself mentioned that he was too young and immature when he debuted and that led him to making some less than great decisions. One such bad choice resulted in a 50-game suspension for PEDs in 2008 and another led to an arrest for marijuana possession in 2011.
However, it didn't help matters that Schafer's production in the big leagues left a lot to be desired. Schafer was essentially a non-factor for Atlanta after he was first called up in 2009 outside of a fun moment when he homered in his debut. After a lackluster start to 2011, Schafer was traded to Houston in the Michael Bourn deal. Schafer would hang around for a few years and even ended up getting a second chance with the Braves, but he never amounted to much and ended his MLB career in 2015 with -2.2 rWAR as a big leaguer.
Ultimately, the game of baseball is really hard and young guys often make decisions that don't serve their life choices well. Schafer seemingly got his act together, but that wasn't before his career was on life support. Prospects flaming out is just part of the game and an unfortunate side effect of how baseball player development works. The next time you decide to fall in love with a prospect based on their potential, remind yourself that a lot of people felt the same way about Schafer and that didn't end the way they hoped.