Baseball is cruel. One day you’re mowing down hitters and lighting up the radar gun, and the next you’re looking up at your ERA and wondering how it all went so wrong.
Some pitchers bounce back after a rough patch. These guys, not so much. Here are 15 pitchers who fell off and never found their way back to the top.
15. Mike Foltynewicz
He looked like an ace for about five minutes in Atlanta. But after that one All-Star season, it was a whole lot of inconsistency and frustration.
14. Ubaldo Jiménez
He was untouchable with the Rockies for a stretch and even started an All-Star Game. But once the velocity dipped, so did the results—fast and hard.
13. Rick Ankiel
Yes, he reinvented himself as an outfielder, but his fall as a pitcher was legendary. Control issues derailed a promising arm before it ever really got started.
12. Dontrelle Willis
The D-Train came on like a rocket and instantly became a fan favorite. Unfortunately, once the command left him, it never returned.
11. Matt Harvey
The Dark Knight rose, but he fell even faster. Injuries and off-field distractions turned a potential superstar into a journeyman.
10. Edinson Vólquez
He showed flashes of brilliance and even threw a no-hitter. But inconsistency defined most of his career after that initial promise.
9. Barry Zito
The Giants gave him a massive contract, but he never came close to matching his Oakland A’s peak. The curveball stayed pretty, but the results did not.
8. Mark Prior
He was supposed to be part of a dominant Cubs rotation for years. Instead, injuries turned his career into a long list of “what could have been.”
7. Jair Jurrjens
He made an All-Star team and looked like a cornerstone in Atlanta. Then, almost overnight, he was out of the league entirely.
6. Matt Moore
He was a top prospect who showed ace-level stuff early in Tampa Bay. But injuries and control issues dragged him down, and he never fully recovered.
5. Aaron Sanchez
Once the ERA champ in the AL, his dominance didn’t last long. Injuries and command problems piled up, and the breakout season became a distant memory.
4. Ian Kennedy
He had a big year with the Diamondbacks, but it was more of an outlier than a launchpad. His career became a rollercoaster that never went back up again.
3. Danny Salazar
He had electric stuff and made an All-Star team, but his arm couldn’t hold up. After injuries, his comeback attempts never took hold.
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2. Brandon Webb
He was a Cy Young winner and looked like a perennial All-Star. Then the shoulder gave out, and he was done at just 30 years old.
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1. Tim Lincecum
For a few years, he was must-see TV—two-time Cy Young, World Series champ, the whole deal. But when the fall came, it was steep and permanent.
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