Top 9 Prospects Who Made It to the Big Leagues Fastest Since 2010

You know the story. Guy gets taken in the Major League Baseball draft. Guy toils for years in the minors. And if he's lucky, guy gets called up to The Show.

That's how it usually goes, anyway. But in rare cases, some players have minimized or even skipped the toiling part and gone from the draft to the majors in a matter of months.

In recognition of the start of the 2021 draft on Sunday, we've gathered up the nine picks who've made it to the big leagues the fastest since the 2010 event. This was a simple matter of counting the days elapsed between the date they were selected and the date they debuted.

Since this list is entirely made up of pitchers, we'll first start with some honorable mentions for position players before counting 'em down.

421 Days: LF Andrew Benintendi, Boston Red Sox

Draft Date: June 8, 2015

MLB Debut: August 2, 2016

A little more than a year after drafting Benintendi seventh overall in 2015, the Red Sox promoted him, and he went on to hit .295 with impressive defense in a 34-game cup of coffee. He later won a World Series ring with Boston in 2018.

414 Days: RF Michael Conforto, New York Mets

Draft Date: June 5, 2014

MLB Debut: July 24, 2015

Speaking of World Series runs, Conforto was part of the Mets' run to the Fall Classic after he made his debut midway through the 2015 season. New York had drafted him 10th overall the year before and has had little reason to regret it, as he's generally played at an All-Star level in seven seasons.

413 Days: 3B Alex Bregman, Houston Astros

Draft Date: June 8, 2015

MLB Debut: July 25, 2016

Bregman joined the Astros via the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, which was compensation for the team's failure to sign No. 1 pick Brady Aiken the prior season. He debuted a little over a year later and has since made two All-Star teams and won an (albeit tarnished) World Series ring.

376 Days: LF/C Kyle Schwarber, Chicago Cubs

Draft Date: June 5, 2014

MLB Debut: June 16, 2015

After choosing Kris Bryant second overall in 2013, the Cubs settled on Schwarber with the No. 4 pick in the following year's event. He was quicker to the big leagues than Bryant, and his time on the North Side surely peaked with his heroic performance in the 2016 World Series.

373 Days: C Mike Zunino, Seattle Mariners

Draft Date: June 4, 2012

MLB Debut: June 12, 2013

Zunino was regarded as a polished catching prospect even when the Mariners drafted him, so it was no great surprise when he joined the team barely more than a year later. After years of ups and downs, he's finally an All-Star in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Draft Date: June 4, 2012

MLB Debut: May 23, 2013

When the Baltimore Orioles drafted Kevin Gausman out of LSU with the No. 4 pick in 2012, the discussion around him was partially centered on donuts. Seriously.

Of course, there was also acknowledgement that Gausman had the goods to become a top-of-the-rotation starter in the majors. His fastball sat in the mid-90s, and his splitter was so good even then that, according to Baseball America, some scouts rated it "among the best they've seen at the amateur level."

After he had posted a 3.11 ERA with 49 strikeouts and only five walks through eight starts for Double-A Bowie at the outset of 2013, the Orioles called Gausman up in May as part of an effort to halt a losing skid. Yet his early results were mixed, and he was back in the minors by July.

So it went for Gausman as he racked up an average-ish 99 ERA+ while he fell in and out of favor first with the Orioles, Atlanta and the Cincinnati Reds through 2019. It's only since he joined the San Francisco Giants that he's realized his full potential, and never more so than now amid his first All-Star season in 2021.

Draft Date: June 6, 2013

MLB Debut: May 24, 2014

After going undrafted out of high school, Corey Knebel subsequently sought to boost his stock in college at the University of Texas. It worked, as he crafted a profile as a shutdown reliever there from 2011 to 2013.

Thus did the Detroit Tigers come calling with the No. 39 pick in '13, and they promptly watched Knebel overpower hitters with a 0.87 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 31 innings for Single-A West Michigan. He then quickly leapt from Double-A to Triple-A to the majors early in 2014.

But following eight unspectacular appearances with the big club in '14, Knebel found himself with the Milwaukee Brewers in January 2015 by way of a trade centered on Yovani Gallardo. With the help of his high-90s fastball and hammer curveball, he eventually broke out as an All-Star in 2017.

Knebel's career since has unfortunately been sidetracked by injuries, including Tommy John surgery in 2019 and a lat strain this year. He had been looking good for the Los Angeles Dodgers before the latter, however, so he may yet reclaim some lost stardom before 2021 is over.

Draft Date: June 7, 2013

MLB Debut: May 16, 2014

Even though Knebel was a first-round pick on account of his likely future as a shutdown closer, he wasn't the first player from the 2013 draft to make it to the majors.

Kyle Crockett claimed that honor. He stayed on the board until Cleveland took him in the fourth round on Day 2, yet he was seen as an advanced pitcher and indeed looked like one as he racked up a 0.36 ERA across not one, not two, but three minor league levels down the stretch of 2013.

Baseball America rated Crockett as Cleveland's No. 11 prospect at the outset of 2014, noting that his modest high-80s fastball played up thanks to his deceptive delivery and ability to locate. Eventually, he put it all on display as he racked up a 1.80 ERA in 43 appearances with the big club that year.

Alas, that tantalizing stretch was also the pinnacle of Crockett's professional career. He got hit around to the tune of a 5.04 ERA in 79 appearances from 2015 to 2018, and he was last seen pitching in the independent Constellation Energy League in 2020.

Draft Date: June 5, 2014

MLB Debut: April 21, 2015

Carlos Rodon could have begun his pro career out of high school in 2011 after the Milwaukee Brewers tabbed him in the 16th round, but he chose to go to college at NC State instead.

That worked out so well that he was in the running to go to Houston with the No. 1 pick in 2014. Though he "fell" to the Chicago White Sox at No. 3, he quickly put himself on the doorstep to the majors by pitching his way to Triple-A Charlotte by the end of the season.

Come 2015, Rodon rated as highly as the No. 14 prospect in baseball at MLB.com. But while he eventually debuted that April, his major league career came to be defined first by inconsistency and then injuries as he underwent shoulder surgery in 2017 and Tommy John surgery in 2019.

The White Sox even non-tendered Rodon last December, only to eventually re-sign him in January. With the help of improved mechanics, that's worked out beautifully as he's dominated with both his fastball and his slider in a year that's seen him pitch a no-hitter and make his first All-Star team.

Draft Date: June 5, 2012

MLB Debut: April 13, 2013

When the Los Angeles Angels drafted Michael Roth in the ninth round in 2012, they got a pitcher who was light on stuff but heavy on credentials.

In 2011, the southpaw had put up a stellar 1.06 ERA for a South Carolina squad that won its second straight College World Series. Though not as good in 2012, Roth still pitched well with a 2.43 ERA.

Even still, the stuff question loomed so large over Roth's head that Baseball America's report on him for 2013 noted that he "would just be another arm in the organization" if his college heroics weren't part of the equation. He didn't help his cause by posting a 4.91 ERA in rookie ball in 2012.

The Angels nonetheless promoted Roth after he posted a 4.20 ERA for Double-A Arkansas in 2013, yet he failed to erase the stuff question as he posted a 7.05 ERA in 15 major league appearances. His major league career after that consisted of just seven outings in 2014 and one in 2016. He last pitched in affiliated ball in 2018.

Draft Date: June 10, 2020

MLB Debut: September 18, 2020

When the White Sox drafted Garrett Crochet with the 11th pick in last year's draft, they were perhaps going more on faith than anything else.

The lefty had posted mixed results as a starter and reliever at Tennessee in 2018 and 2019, and he made only one appearance in 2020 before the pandemic shut everything down. What he did have going for him, though, was a legitimate 80-grade fastball with triple-digit velocity and high spin.

With no minor league team to assign him to, the White Sox eventually figured "what the heck?" and added Crochet to their bullpen last September. He immediately opened eyes by hitting 101 mph in his debut, which turned out to be merely the first of five scoreless appearances through the end of the regular season.

Cut to now, and Crochet is pumping high-octane fastballs amid a proper rookie season that's seen him put up a 2.73 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. If and when he makes his next appearance in the minors, it would also be his first such appearance.

Draft Date: June 5, 2012

MLB Debut: September 9, 2012

Following Paco Rodriguez's brilliant career at the University of Florida, the Los Angeles Dodgers only let him last until the 82nd pick in the 2012 draft before they jumped on him.

According to Baseball America, the Dodgers had scouts who saw Rodriguez not as nearly MLB-ready but simply as MLB-ready, period. He did little to dissuade those scouts as he entered the club's system and racked up a 0.92 ERA in 21 appearances for Single-A Great Lakes and Double-A Chattanooga.

So, the Dodgers threw caution to the wind and called up Rodriguez for a cup of coffee that September. He stuck around for 2013, when his deceptive delivery and sharp stuff were very much of use in helping L.A. get to October as he posted a 2.32 ERA and silenced left-handed hitters with a .130 average.

Unfortunately, that's when Rodriguez's prime ended. He made just 37 appearances over the next two seasons, the latter of which ended early after he had elbow surgery. The Dodgers traded him to Atlanta in July of that year, but he never suited up there and is now out of affiliated ball altogether.

Draft Date: June 5, 2014

MLB Debut: September 6, 2014

Some might have called it luck that the Kansas City Royals landed Brandon Finnegan at No. 17 in the 2014 draft. But because he fell that far thanks to a shoulder injury, he might have had a different take.

Regardless, Finnegan joined the Royals with a hard fastball and credentials as a productive college player who was on his way to pitching in the College World Series with TCU. He then hit the ground running in the minors, posting a 1.33 ERA in 13 outings for High-A Wilmington and Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

As they were fighting for their playoff lives, the Royals sought a boost from Finnegan when they promoted him that September. They got one as he allowed just one run in seven relief appearances, and he later made history as the first player to appear in the College World Series and actual World Series in the same year.

Finnegan had his moments after that, including a 2016 season in which he had a 3.98 ERA over 172 innings for the Cincinnati Reds. Yet he never truly achieved stardom, and his next appearance in the majors will be his first since 2018.

Draft Date: June 7, 2010

MLB Debut: August 6, 2010

As the 2010 MLB draft was approaching, there was never any doubt that the Washington Nationals would choose phenom slugger Bryce Harper with the No. 1 pick.

Otherwise, there was some intrigue as to where a slender lefty named Chris Sale would go. The Royals considered him at No. 4, but he eventually slipped to the White Sox at No. 13. Though they weren't initially convinced that they could sign him, they did and sent him to Single-A Winston-Salem.

Just a couple of weeks later, Sale was at Triple-A Charlotte and sitting on 19 strikeouts in just 10.1 innings. Having seen enough, the White Sox slotted Sale into their bullpen and watched as he racked up a 1.93 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 23.1 innings down the stretch.

Whereas the other early call-ups on this list took a turn for the worse, this one very much did not. After working as a reliever once again in 2011, Sale entered Chicago's rotation in 2012 and began a run of seven straight All-Star seasons that culminated with him securing the final out of the 2018 World Series.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.