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Colorado Rockies: The 10 biggest draft busts in franchise history

By Noah Yingling|
DENVER, CO - JULY 2: Greg Reynolds #37 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Coors Field on July 2, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JULY 2: Greg Reynolds #37 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Coors Field on July 2, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 08: Christian Friedrich #53 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park at on August 8, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Nationals won 6-1. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 08: Christian Friedrich #53 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park at on August 8, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Nationals won 6-1. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Number 7: Friedrich

Christian Friedrich was drafted by the Rockies as the 25th overall pick in the 2008 Draft. He was viewed as one of the top prospects in all of baseball shortly thereafter. Before the 2010 season, Baseball Prospectus had him ranked as their 22nd best prospect but that, obviously, didn’t pan out.

In 2008 and 2009, he pitched well in the lower minor leagues but he started having issues once he got to Double-A Tulsa. In 2010 and 2011, he spent the full season there and he pitched to a 5.05 and a 5.00 ERA in 18 and 25 starts.

He only made five starts for Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2012 before they called him up, as they were a bit thin on the pitching front. He went 5-8 with a 6.17 ERA (75 ERA+). He was injured for much of 2013 as he only made three starts in Triple-A but in 2014, he pitched exclusively in the majors and exclusively out of bullpen.

68 appearances and a 5.25 ERA later, the Rockies released Friedrich before the start of the 2016 season. He signed with the Padres and he wasn’t much better (he actually was worse by ERA+) as a starter for them in 2016.

He was with them in 2017 too but he never played due to injuries. He played in independent ball and in Korea before signing with the White Sox this past offseason as a minor league invite to Spring Training this season.

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