When compared to the NBA NFL or NHL, the Major League Baseball draft is a crapshoot, with only 66 percent of players selected in the first round ever making the Major Leagues. In fact, three times the first overall pick in the MLB draft never saw big league action.

We’ve compiled a list of the ten worst overall top picks in baseball history. Read on to check it out.

Number 10: RHP Matt Anderson 1997 Detroit Tigers
Matt Anderson could throw a baseball hard. Really hard, consistently topping 100 MPH during his career at Rice University. Thanks to his live arm, the Detroit Tigers selected Anderson first in the 1997 draft.

Anderson’s career started out just how it was supposed to. He dominated the minor leagues in 1998, and was nearly as good after his mid season call up to the big club.

However Anderson unexpectedly digressed over the next four seasons with the Tigers. Then, in 2002, he tore an armpit muscle under suspicious circumstances, with Anderson claiming he hurt himself while pitching a bullpen session but with others suggesting he suffered the unusual injury while participating in an octopus throwing contest teammate Jeff Weaver. (They were trying to win Detroit Red Wings’ playoff tickets.)

Whatever the reason, Anderson struggled to top 90 MPH after the injury, and his already struggling Major League career was effectively over.

Number 9: RHP Paul Wilson 1994 New York Mets
If there is one thing the New York Mets had shown during their history it’s that the franchise knows how to develop pitchers. So when they selected hard throwing right hander Paul Wilson out of Florida State with the first pick in the 1994 draft you can forgive Mets fans for thinking they might have another Tom Seaver or Doc Gooden on their hands.

Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the case. Wilson was actually pretty good during his first couple minor league seasons and ended up rated the number two prospect in all of baseball after the 1995 minor league year. However the majors weren’t kind to Wilson and he flopped with 5-12 record and 5.38 ERA during his rookie year in 1996.

So it was back to the minors for Wilson, where he began suffering a series of shoulder injuries culminating in his missing the entire 1999 season.

Wilson did return to the Majors in 2001 and then pitched six completely forgettable seasons with Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. He ended up with a 40-58 record and a 4.66 ERA.

Number 8: RHP Bryan Bullington 2002 Pittsburgh Pirates
Prior to 2013 the Pittsburgh Pirates had endured 20 straight losing season, a record for a North American sports franchise. A lot of the Bucos’ historical ineptitude was related to them never taking advantage of the high draft picks that they received every year.

Never was that more true than in 2002 when Pittsburgh selected pitcher Bryan Bullington out of Ball State with the first pick in the draft. After a few good but not great years in the minors Bullington got the call up and just plain stunk it up with a 1-9 record, 5.62 ERA and 54 Ks over five Major League seasons.

These days Bullington is a mediocre starter in Japan, and the Pirates’ future would be even brighter if they had instead selected Zack Greinke or Prince Fielder with the overall first pick they wasted on Bullington.

Number 7: Outfielder Shawn Abner 1984 New York Mets
With the first pick in the 1984 draft, the New York Mets selected Shawn Abner out of Mechanicsburg Area High School in Pennsylvania. The Mets had had a pretty good recent track record with high picks, selecting Darryl Strawberry first overall in 1980 and Doc Gooden with the fifth overall pick in 1982. But their run of good luck ended with Abner, who struggled in the minors right out of the gate.

In fact, the Mets gave up on Abner in 1986 and shipped him to San Diego as part of an eight player deal. Although Abner’s minor league stats didn’t improve much in the Padres’ system they still promoted him to the majors and over the next six seasons Abner would bat .227 with little power.

It’s true the Mets somewhat mitigate their loss by trading Abner. Especially since Kevin McReynolds, a pretty decent player, was part of their return. However Mark McGwire and Greg Maddux were among the players the Mets could have drafted in ‘86 instead of Abner. Each of those baseball legends would have looked mighty good next to Strawberry and Gooden in what may have been a Mets’ dynasty.

Number 6: Outfield Al Chambers 1979 Seattle Marines
When a draft prospects is called “Toolsy” it usually means two things. First that he has a great deal of athletic ability and, second, that his baseball skills are still pretty raw.

Al Chambers, whom the Marines picked first in the 1979 draft, was the ultimate toolsy prospect. So toolsy, in fact, that the Harrisburg, Pa. high school senior had also signed a letter of intent to play football at Arizona State University.

But the Marines blew him away with a $85,000 signing bonus, which just turned out to be doubling down on a bad investment.

Chambers hit decently in the minors, but the power he showed as a prep player and that had scouts comparing him to Dave Parker and Jim Rice never developed. His time in the majors was short and unpleasant, finishing his 120f at bat career with a .208 batting average and only two home runs. Seattle would go on to have much better luck with their next three overall number ones — Mike Moore, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez — but it was selections like Chambers which kept the franchise picking high over and over again.

Number 5: LHP David Clyde 1973 Texas Rangers
Billed as the next Sandy Koufax and the best pitching prospect of all-time, David Clyde was drafted number one out the Westchester High School in Houston by the Texas Rangers.

His legend was such that Rangers owner Bob Short decided to jump him right to the major leagues as a way to improve the gate for his struggling club. The move was roundly criticized as unfair to Clyde — bumping a college hitter right to the majors is pretty unusual so doing so with a high school pitcher was considered straight up baseball malpractice.

Clyde did about as well as you would expect a green 18-year old would do against Major League hitters; he posted a 4-8 record with 5.01 ERA. He was little better in 1974 and then — surprise, surprise — he started developing shoulder problems.

Clyde last pitched in the majors in 1979, washed up as 24-year old. The mismanagement of David Clyde is to this day a sad and cautionary tale.

Number 4: Catcher Danny Goodwin 1971 Chicago White Sox, 1975 California Angeles
Danny Goodwin is the only man to ever be drafted with the first pick in the MLB draft twice. While this would suggest a player who would eventually go onto a successful baseball career, this couldn’t have been further from the case.

In some ways, the Chicago White Sox dodged a bullet in 1971 when Goodwin decided to attend Southern University rather than sign with the Southsiders. Because when the Angels drafted him again in 1975 Goodwin quickly proved to be nothing but a waste of roster space.

To be fair to Goodwin, he did put up decent numbers in the minors. However he also hurt his arm there, prompting a position move from catcher to first base. While his major league OPS of .674 over seven seasons would have been serviceable for a backup catcher it was atrocious for a first baseman/DH.  Especially one who was twice selected with the first pick in the draft.

Number 3: Catcher Steve Chilcott 1966 New York Mets
The surest sign that you are a bust of a number one overall pick is that you never even made it to the major leagues. Steve Chilcott, a catcher out of Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster California, is one of three men to own that sad distinction.

In fact, the Mets’ 1966 draft pick barely ever made it to triple-A, appearing in just 22 games at the minor league’s highest level. Chilcott can blame poor health for his failure to live up to his potential. He suffered a season ending separated shoulder during his first year of pro ball and was plagued by injuries the rest of his career, which ended after the 1972 minor league season.

To make matters worse for the Mets the second player picked in the 1966 draft was Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

But while Chilcott was an epic draft bust at least he isn’t in prison. Which, as you will soon learn, is where the other two top picks to never make the Major Leagues currently call home.

Number 2: LHP Brien Taylor 1991 New York Yankees
It was unusual to see the Yankees, the most successful franchise in Major League history, with the first pick in the draft. But that’s what they had in 1991, and the Bronx Bombers believed they scored themselves a player that would put them right back on top in Brien Taylor.

The left-handed high school pitcher out of Beaufort, North Carolina was immediately compared to former crosstown phenom Doc Gooden. And while Taylor’s first couple years in the minors weren’t quite Gooden-esque, he looked to be headed to a big time career.

However in December of 1993 disaster struck. Taylor dislocated his shoulder and tore his labrum while defending his brother in a fist fight. After surgery he had lost almost ten MPH off of his fastball and just wasn’t the same pitcher.

He was out of baseball by 2000, having never advanced past double-A. In 2012, Taylor was arrested for cocaine trafficking and eventually sentenced to 38 months in federal prison.

Number 1: Shortstop/RHP Matt Bush 2004 San Diego Padres
In 2004 the San Diego Padres used their first overall draft pick to select hometown boy Matt Bush, who had been a star pitcher and shortstop at Mission Bay High School in San Diego.

While his high school stats were quite gaudy, maybe the Padres should have used their local contacts to look into Bush’s character, as he was suspended for his participation in a bar fight before he even played in his first minor league game.

Drafted as shortstop, Bush struggled to hit minor league pitching when he returned from his suspension and became known for his injuries and behavioral problems. By 2007 the Padres had seen enough of Bush the shortstop and tried to take advantage of his 98 MPH fastball and convert him to a pitcher.

That experiment was derailed by Tommy John surgery and the last most people heard about Matt Bush is in March of 2012 when he got drunk, got in his truck, and ran over the head of a 72-year old motorcyclist, who luckily survived. Bush is currently serving a 51-month prison sentence for what was his third DUI.

When a team select number one in the Major League Baseball draft they expect to be getting a big time player. However that’s not always the case. In fact, few overall number ones became All-Stars, let alone superstars. Here are ten players who bucked that trend and justified their selection.

Number 10: Catcher BJ Surhoff 1985 Milwaukee Brewers
Drafted as a catcher out of the University of North Carolina, Surhoff had a decent rookie year as a 22-year old. However he spent the rest of his twenties as below-average major league hitter and one who would have little chance of making any sort of positive top ten list.

But a series of moves — the first from catcher to third base and the second from Milwaukee to the Baltimore Orioles — seemed to awake Surhoff’s slumbering offensive game and he suddenly developed the hit tool and power scouts thought he had when he had been drafted number one a decade before.

Surhoff finished off his 19-year career with 2326 hits and 188 home runs. He made one all-star team and was worth a total of 33.4 wins above replacement (WAR.) While he didn’t necessarily prove it during his time in Milwaukee, Surhoff ended up being a relatively serviceable number one pick

Number 9: Outfielder Josh Hamilton 1999 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Any baseball fans know the story of Josh Hamilton. Drafted number one by Tampa Bay out of Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, Hamilton had all the talent in the world and started to show it during his first two years in minor league ball.

However his career was derailed by drug and alcohol abuse and he spent most of the next five years injured or suspended. He was finally able to get clean and in 2007 Hamilton took the baseball world by storm as a rookie with the Cincinnati Reds. He was then traded to the Rangers before the 2008 season, where he became a perennial MVP candidate, taking the award in 2010.

Hamilton signed a 5 year 133 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Angels in 2013 and so far has struggled mightily with his new club. But even if Hamilton’s days as an effective hitter are over he still had six year run in which he was one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball, which is good enough for ninth on his list.

Number 8: LHP David Price 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
A tall slim left hander out of Vanderbilt University, David Price was the number one pick in the 2007 draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He dominated the minors in 2008 and was key part to the Devil Ray’s run to the 2008 World Series as a late season call up.

He had a bit of a hiccup in the 2009 season but had righted the ship by 2010, a season in which he was runner up for the American League Cy Young award.

In 2012 Price became a Cy Young winner, and is now considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. At 28, Price has a lot more pitching (and a lot more money) in his future. As it stands, he’s the seventh best first overall pick of all-time. With a little luck and a healthy arm expect Price to move up this list.

Number 7: Outfielder Harold Baines 1977 Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox’s owner Bill Veck first spotted Baines as a 12-year old Little Leaguer. Veck must have liked what he saw because five years later he made the high school senior from Maryland’s Eastern Shore the first pick in the baseball draft.

Baines played for the White Sox three separate times during his 22-yea career, and also had prominent runs with Oakland and his hometown Baltimore Orioles.

Upon his retirement, Baines ranked 10th in American League history with 1628 RBIs and seventh with 13 grand slams. The six-time all-star had a .289 lifetime batting average with 384 home runs and 2886 hits. Although he never won a World Series he hit quite well during his 120 postseason plate appearances.

Thanks to his poor defensive and the fact that he spent much of his career as DH, Baines doesn’t rate particularly well when evaluated with sabermetric statistics such as WAR. This suggests his reputation will fade as the years go on. However, you can’t completely dismiss the counting stats of the man baseball historian Bill James once called his “favorite player to watch.”

Number 6: First Baseman Adrian Gonzalez 2000 Florida Marlins
San Diego high schooler Adrian Gonzalez was picked first in the 2000 draft by the Florida Marlins. But his power didn’t develop in the minors quite like the Fish expected it to, thanks in part to a wrist injury, so the Marlins dealt him to Texas in 2003.

Suddenly Gonzalez found his missing power and by 2004 he was in the big leagues. But Gonzalez struggled for his first two seasons in Texas and was dealt again, this time to the San Diego Padres.

Maybe it was the home cooking, but Gonzalez immediately became one of the top sluggers in the baseball, knocking home run after home run in the Padres cavernous Petco Park.

A free agent move to Boston and Fenway Park didn’t give Gonzalez the expected power surge, but he continued to hit for high average and be a solid middle of the order presence. He was traded again in 2012, this time to the Dodgers.

If he stays healthy, the slick fielding first baseman should end his career with around 2500 hits and 400 home runs. Not bad for a guy who always seems to get traded.

Number 5: Catcher Joe Mauer 2001 Minnesota Twins
Attending the same St. Paul, Minnesota high school as Hall of Famer Paul Molitor did, Joe Mauer became the only person to ever win USA Today’s National Baseball and National Football Player of the Year award.

The fairytale continued in the 2001 baseball draft when he was selected first overall by his hometown Minnesota Twins. Once in the minors, Mauer quickly established himself as the top prospect in baseball. And since getting the call up in 2004 Mauer has done nothing but live up to expectations.

A six time all-star, three-time batting champion, three-time Gold Glove winner and the 2009 American League MVP, Mauer may one day make day an argument for the greatest catcher of all-time.

That assume he sticks to the position, and there are many who think Mauer’s days behind the plate are numbered. But no matter where he plays, just Mauer’s offensive prowess make him a worthy number one overall pick.

Number 4: Outfielder Darryl Strawberry 1980 New York Mets
The New York Mets made Darryl Strawberry the first pick of the 1980 draft. It wasn’t long before the 6 foot 6 inch outfielder showed the same prodigious power in the minor leagues that he had at Los Angeles’s Crenshaw High.

Strawberry captured the Rookie of the Year in 1983 and made every All-Star Game between 1984 and 1991. While Strawberry was never a particularly great average hitter, he augmented his power with speed, going 30/30 in 1987 and exceeding 25 stolen bases five times.

By the time Strawberry signed a big free agent contract with his hometown Dodgers in 1991 his skills were in premature decline, thanks to drug problems and eventually colon cancer.

One of the most iconic and popular players of the ‘80s, Strawberry was at best a troubled role player in the ‘90s. Strawberry finished with 335 home runs and eight all-stars appearances. But the supremely talented slugger’s career will always be one of what could’ve been.

Number 3: OF Ken Griffey Jr. 1987 Seattle Mariners
The son of Reds’ all-star Ken Griffey, Ken Griffey Jr. was drafted first out of Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati by Seattle in 1987. He was in the majors by 19 and his smooth left handed swing and even smother center field play quickly established “The Kid” as the most popular player in Major League Baseball.

His career in Seattle spanned 1989 to 2000 and the all-around skill he displayed during that time period were on par with names like Mays, Aaron and Mantle. Expressing a desire to be closer to home, Griffey pushed for a trade to the Reds in 2000 and it was granted.

That was also about the time injuries started taking a toll on the 13 time all-star. Thanks to poor health Griffey wasn’t able to reach 3000 hits or set the all-time home run record, two milestones that seemed very much in play around the midpoint in his career. Still, his 630 home runs and 2781 hits place him among the all-time greats and Griffey will take his place in the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in 2015.

Number 2: Shortstop Chipper Jones 1990 Atlanta Braves
Drafting first in 1990, that Atlanta Braves wanted to select pitcher Todd Van Poppel. But with Van Poppel explicitly stating he wouldn’t play for Atlanta the Bravos turned to prep shortstop Larry “Chipper” Jones. This turned out to be quite the fortunate turn of events for Atlanta. Van Poppel quickly flamed out and Jones, who was moved to third base, became one of the greatest to ever play.

Spending his entire career with the Braves, Jones became the face of Atlanta’s 14 straight division title dynasty, an MVP winner, an eight time all-star and the second best switch of all-time, after Mickey Mantle.

While injuries denied Jones the chance at 3000 hits and 500 home runs he remained a highly effective player till the end, winning a batting title in 2008 at age 36 and posting solidly above average offensive numbers as a 40 year old.

The soon-to-be first ballot Hall of Famer retired with a .303 batting average and 468 home runs. For his career Jones was worth 85.1 wins above replacement, 31st all-time among position players.

Number 1: Shortstop Alex Rodriguez 1993 Seattle Marines
You don’t have to like Alex Rodriguez. In fact, it would be odd if you do. A-Rod is a narcissist, a cheat and a weirdo. He’s also the best player to ever be picked with the first pick in the draft. And, really, it’s not even close.

During his 20 year career with the Mariners, the Rangers and the Yankees Rodriguez has 654 home runs and 2939 hits. He has 14 all-star appearances, three league MVP and has posted 115.7 wins above replacement, 16th all-time.

Whether A-Rod ever adds to his gaudy statistics has to do with lawyers and arbitrators. Whether he ever makes the Hall of Fame depends on how the voters eventually treat the steroid era. But we can confidently say, thanks to his on field performance, that Alex Rodriguez tops the list of best players ever drafted with the first pick.