This has been a helluva week for early 2000s prospect busts.
Jerome Williams beat the Orioles on Sunday for his first big-league win since September 25, 2005 and last night Sean Burroughs homered for the first time since April 30, 2005.
Williams and Burroughs were both first-round picks in the late 1990s and the 2001 version of Baseball America‘s annual prospect ranking had Burroughs at No. 6 and Williams at No. 19. Josh Hamilton held the top spot, followed by Corey Patterson, Josh Beckett, Jon Rauch, and Ben Sheets.
Since then Williams and Burroughs have combined for 24 wins and 12 homers, and they haven’t been in the majors together since 2007. Burroughs’ long journey back to the big leagues is particularly interesting and his opportunity in Arizona stems from Kevin Towers being the general manager who drafted him in San Diego.