Milwaukee Brewers: 5 former prospects from the 2000s lost to history

While fans will always fantasize about the names on top 10 prospects lists, not all of them will work out. Several won’t make the Majors due to injury, performance, or skill. The Milwaukee Brewers have had their fair share of these guys, and we’re going to detail five ‘can’t-miss’ guys who totally missed.

Is it just us or have top prospects list gotten better in recent years? Occasionally there’s a fantastic flame out, but more often than not, most top guys end up at least making the Majors. Of the Milwaukee Brewers’ recent top prospects, almost all have found their way to baseball’s highest level.

However, in the 2000’s, this wasn’t always the case. Guys throwing 95 MPH+ often flamed out. Toolsy outfielders often couldn’t translate their skills to the diamond. Speedy infielders didn’t look quite as quick as they moved up the organizational ladder. These are the guys we’re choosing to remember. The guys who were awesome in their teens or early twenties, but just couldn’t put it together.

Keep in mind, we’re not hating or mocking. Baseball is hard, and there’s a reason only 750 guys from around the world are good enough to play at the highest level every year.

Nick Neugebauer

Nick Neugebauer had everything a scout could possibly want in a top starter, and it’s no wonder that he was drafted in the second round in 1998. He had the look, the size, and the stuff to slot in behind Ben Sheets for years as the Milwaukee Brewers #2 starter.

Neugebauer was rated as the 17th best prospect in all of baseball in 2002, after he posted a 3.10 ERA in 130 2/3 innings between two levels in 2001. In 2001, he struck out 175, walked 61, and was tagged for seven homers. He even earned a late season call up, and was battered for five runs in six innings. However, he did strike out 11.

He was penciled into the Milwaukee Brewers rotation in 2002, and he actually made 12 starts at baseball’s highest level. He posted a 4.72 ERA in 55 innings, and was eventually sent back to Triple-A.

Neugebauer was hampered by rotator cuff injuries during 2002, needed surgery in the off season, and was never the same. He missed all of 2003, and tried a come back in 2004. After one appearance in High-A, he was released, and eventually retired.

Brad Nelson

Do you know who was rated even higher than Jones in 2003? Brad Nelson! The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Nelson in the fourth round of the 2001 draft, and Baseball America rated him as the 21st best prospect of all of baseball in 2003.

Nelson blasted 20 homers with an .856 OPS in Single-A and High-A in 2002, and that strapped the rocket to his back. Nelson made it to Double-A in 2003, and that’s where his career started to stall.

After earning the promotion to Huntsville in 2003, Nelson posted a .589 OPS in 39 games. In 2004, he spent the full year at Double-A, and managed a .755 OPS with 19 homers. He was again back in Double-A in 2005, and managed a .798 OPS with six homers before finally getting a promotion to Triple-A at the age of 22.

22 years old is hardly over the hill for a baseball prospect, and it was great to see Nelson finally get over the hump. He was stuck there until finally getting a cup of coffee in 2008, but by then Prince Fielder had already had one 50-homer season, and was firmly entrenched at first base. Nelson made the roster in 2009, but was set to be sent back to Triple-A in early May. He elected free agency, and caught on with the Seattle Mariners. He bounced around for a few years before finally calling it a career after the 2014 season at age 30.

Jose Capellan

Remember when the Milwaukee Brewers sent Danny Kolb to the Atlanta Braves during the 2004/05 off season? They received top prospect Jose Capellan in return, and he was rated as the 25th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America in 2005.

Capellan had the pedigree, the look, the size, and the stuff to become the next great Dominican right-hander.

Capellan had already experienced a cup of coffee with the Braves, but started the 2005 season in Triple-A. He logged 90 2/3 innings with the Nashville Sounds, and posted a 3.87 ERA with 76 strikeouts and 42 walks before earning a late season call up.

Capellan made 17 appearances in relief for the Brewers, and managed a 2.87 ERA with 14 strikeouts and five walks in 15 2/3 innings.

He spent the majority of the 2006 campaign with the Milwaukee Brewers, and logged a 4.40 ERA in 61 relief appearances. He struck out 58, walked 31, and was tagged for 11 homers.

This is where his Brewers career went sideways. In 2007 Capellan was placed on the ‘restricted list’ due to a ‘poor attitude’. What happened was he refused to go back to Nashville, and the Brewers couldn’t work out an acceptable trade. He was restricted for about two months until the Brewers dealt him to the Detroit Tigers for 26-year old lefty Chris Cody.

Capellan bounced around for a few years before finding himself out of baseball after the 2010 season. He suffered an unexpected heart attack in 2015, and passed away at the age of 34.

Mark Rogers

Mark Rogers was the fifth overall pick of the 2004 draft. He was rated as the 55th best prospect in 2005, and the 44th best prospect in 2006. The average of those two numbers is 49.5, which is almost exactly how many innings Rogers threw in the Majors, 49.

Rogers rocketed through the Brewers’ Minor League system, and only logged four innings at Triple-A before getting the call to the Majors in 2010. And that’s where everything went wrong for the former top prospect.

Rogers was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in 2011, and eventually required surgery. After working his way back from that issue, he suffered from shoulder injuries that completely derailed his career. Rogers did make it back to the Majors in 2012, but he was diagnosed with right arm fatigue, and never really bounced back.

Rogers stuck it out for a few more years, and ended up in independent ball in 2014. He’s called it a career since then, and has moved on.