Sad to say, I saw this one coming a mile away.
Chris Snelling, who had pretty much the worst luck of any position prospect ever, hit a line-drive single for Australia in his first World Baseball Classic at-bat Saturday against Chinese Taipei starter Chien-Ming Wang and then immediately left the game with a leg injury.
Snelling was ranked by Baseball America as a top 100 prospect three times while making his way through the Mariners system and debuted in the majors as a 20-year-old in 2002. However, one injury after another prevented him from establishing himself. In all, he hit .244/.360/.400 in 225 major league at-bats from 2002-08. He last played in the United States in 2009, appearing in 19 games for the Pirates’ Triple-A club.
Australia is a long shot to advance in the World Baseball Classic, so even if Snelling’s latest injury proves minor, it seems doubtful that a U.S. audience will ever see him again.