3 Biggest Prospect Letdowns in Cubs History

The Chicago Cubs' previous century-plus long World Series drought wasn't exactly the product of the team failing to produce elite talent in their farm system. Just this decade, Chicago has seen seen former prospects Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo emerge as current franchise cornerstones. At one point in time, the Cubs even rostered Gleyber Torres, one of baseball's brightest young talents, before dealing him to the New York Yankees as part of the Aroldis Chapman trade.

In a perfect world, every top prospect would realize his potential and eventually turn into an MLB stud, but, as we know, it's never as simple as that. While Chicago has enjoyed recent success in the prospect department, they've also produced their fair share of busts.

With this in mind, here are the three most significant prospect letdowns in Cubs franchise history.

3. Corey Patterson

First of all, just because a player spends more than 10 seasons in the big leagues doesn't free him from the dreaded "bust" label. Entering the 2001 campaign, Corey Patterson was rated as the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, but he didn't even come close to realizing his full potential. To think that he was once considered a cant-miss five-tool player is almost offensive to players that actually fall under that category. When you consider how lousy his numbers were, it's quite astounding that Patterson lasted six seasons with Chicago. During that span, he hit .250/.290/.400 with 86 stolen bases and 231 RBI. That's shockingly bad for a former No. 2 prospect.

2. Hee-Seop Choi

Fans in the Windy City will never forget when MLB scouts tabbed Hee-Seop Choi as the future first baseman for the Cubs. However, the South Korea native lasted just two seasons in Chicago, during which he appeared in 104 games. In total, Choi slashed a woeful .210/.337/.401 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI. His professional career lasted just four seasons. The Cubs expected big things from Choi and he loudly failed at living up to his lofty billing.

1. Ty Griffin

Chicago selected Ty Griffin with the No. 9 overall pick back in 1988 and he was rated as highly as the No. 22 overall prospect in the league before the 1990 season. However, a failure to adjust to post-college level pitching contributed mightily to Griffin's downfall. Not only did the Georgia Tech product never reach the MLB level, but he never made it past Double-A. For a top-10 overall pick and former top 25 prospect, Griffin undoubtedly deserves to be considered as the Cubs' most notable bust in club history.