Bud SmithTOM KURTZ/Getty Images
Chicago Cubs: 2B/3B Mike Fontenot in 2008
It’s not often that part-time players make a big impression, but that’s what Fontenot did while playing for a 97-win Cubs team in 2008. Though he only collected 284 plate appearances over 119 games, he more than made the most of them by hitting .305 with nine home runs.
That effort earned Fontenot more playing time in 2009, but to no avail. He hit just .236 over 135 games, and he barely improved in 2010 before the Cubs dealt him to the San Francisco Giants. On the bright side, it was with them that he won a World Series ring before he flamed out of the majors in 2012.
Cincinnati Reds: C Devin Mesoraco in 2014
Mesoraco was a regular on top prospect lists in the early 2010s, yet it wasn’t until 2014 that he made good on the hype as the Reds’ everyday catcher. By way of an .893 OPS and 25 home runs—not to mention one of the league’s better hard-hit rates—he was an All-Star and down-ballot MVP contender.
As any right-minded team would, the Reds moved quickly to sign Mesoraco to an extension the following winter. But then the injuries came, and they never fully abated as he played in just 113 more games for the Reds until they gave up and traded him for Matt Harvey in a project swap with the Mets in 2018.
Milwaukee Brewers: SS Bill Hall in 2006
Even though he shared a lineup with gargantuan sluggers Prince Fielder and Carlos Lee, Hall had little trouble leading the Brewers with 35 home runs in 2006. He also hit a respectable .270, all while holding it down at shortstop and even moonlighting at other positions.
As he was only 26 in ’06, that should have been merely the start of Hall’s reign. Instead, it proved to be an inexplicable outlier. He lasted just six more seasons in the majors, none of which saw him hit more than 18 home runs.
Pittsburgh Pirates: LHP Jeff Locke in 2013
Nobody did more to lift the Pirates out of Davy Jones’ locker the NL Central’s lower regions in 2013 than NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, but they got quite the boost in the first half from Locke. On account of his 2.15 ERA through his first 18 starts, he was a surprise All-Star that year.
In the second half, however, Locke’s ERA ballooned to 6.12. He was even demoted in August and then left off the team’s roster for the National League Division Series. He managed to save some face in 2014, but he never again sniffed stardom on the road to his final major league appearance on July 3, 2017.
St. Louis Cardinals: LHP Bud Smith in 2001
It wasn’t until June 10 that Smith joined the Cardinals in 2001, yet he quickly became a core member of their rotation and even tossed a no-hitter on Sept. 3. The lefty ultimately ended his rookie campaign with a solid 3.83 ERA, and even earned a win in his only playoff appearance.
After that, Smith crumbled to the tune of a 6.94 ERA through his first 11 appearances of 2002 and…well, that’s it. He was just 22 when he last suited up in the majors on July 19, 2002. On the bright side for the Cardinals, they got Scott Rolen in the trade that sent Smith to the Phillies later that month.
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