Astros number one pick Brady Aiken has “an elbow ligament issue”

Remember that story in Sports Illustrated a couple of weeks ago about the Astros’ being the “2017 World Series Champs?” Well, that was an on-paper thing. Baseball has this habit, however, of not playing out on paper. And the biggest off-paper thing are pitcher injuries. Like this:

No. 1 pick brady aiken is said to have an elbow ligament issue. astros look to discount deal. story coming on @CBSSports

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 7, 2014

That’s some seriously bad news for both Aiken and the Astros.

Bad news for Aiken in that he had agreed to a $6.5 million bonus with Houston, and now that looks to be in jeopardy.

Bad news for the Astros in that he’s the third straight number one overall pick for the Astros and the third straight to experience a bump in the road. They selected shortstop Carlos Correa first overall in 2012 and pitcher Mark Appel last year. Correa fractured his leg last month and is out for the season. Appel has struggled in the low level minors and has recently had a bout with thumb problems.

You can draft perfectly and develop perfectly, but sometimes the fates don’t want to comply.