5 pitchers who failed to turn into aces with the Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies history is scattered with some excellent pitching, from Robin Roberts to Steve Carlton to Cole Hamels and others. And the team certainly is fortunate to currently have the 1-2 punch of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola (regardless of how you feel about him) at the front of their rotation at the moment.

But too many times, we have been sold a bill of goods or boarded the hype train for a young arm that just didn't pan out, wide a wide range that has gone from 'somewhat disappointing' to 'abject disaster'. Perhaps this is the case with many other teams, but we only care about the Phillies, so the point is moot. And this probably all goes back decades, well before we had all of the data and video that we do now. So let's just zone in on the last 30 years of Phillies history as we cherrypick a few of these hurlers who let us down and made us swear we'd never get excited about any young pitcher ever again (even though we all know that we still would).

We could talk about more recent flameouts like Spencer Howard or Bailey Falter, but instead we'll just stick to pitchers who are either past their playing days or, in one case, have generated enough of a sample size to not have to worry about them starring elsewhere after an inability to step up for the Phillies. Expectation also plays a large part in this discussion, as high draft picks or pitchers who came over in high-profile trades are more likely to stick in our minds than guys who made a nice initial splash but then immediately fizzled. One thing is sure, though, this list could be a whole lot longer. Welcome to the annals of Phillies pitching.