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Big-Name MLB Prospects in Danger of Being Labeled "Four-A Players"

Hearing the term "Four-A" player is supposed to be a nice way of saying that someone is a bust, but when you really stop to think about it, it actually comes off sounding worse. 

The term Four-A player has been used forever in Major League Baseball, as a simple way of talking about a prospect that could rake in Triple-A only to get called up to The Show and look like Tony Romo in a late-season game for the Dallas Cowboys. 

It would be much easier for a prospect to flame out in the minors, because then there wouldn't be nearly as much head scratching as there is when a player can excel at every level of baseball except the one where it matters the most. 

Of course, the disparity in talent between Triple-A and Major League Baseball is off the charts. It's never easy to make the move and have immediate success—even the best players can take at least a full year or two before they figure it out. 

We get spoiled when we see players like Albert Pujols move straight from A-ball to St. Louis and become the best player of his generation or see Bryce Harper and Mike Trout at 19 and 20 years old put together historic rookie seasons. 

So in anticipation of the usual questions that these big-name prospects will get, here are the players that appear to be in the most danger of being tagged with the dreaded "Four-A" label. 

These are not players that necessarily have failed in the big leagues, but they have at least one glaring hole in their game right now that prevents them from being successful. 

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