Matt Bush

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Matt Bush (born on February 8, 1986 in San Diego, California) is a minor league baseball player that was selected first overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft out of Mission Bay High School. When Matt signed with the Padres he received a signing bonus of $3,150,000, which is the largest signing bonus ever given to a Padres draft pick.^{[citation needed]}

Bush was the first shortstop drafted first overall from high school since the Seattle Mariners took Alex Rodriguez in 1993.^[1]

The Padres' selection of Bush in 2004 was controversial from the start. Jeff Niemann, Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver were considered better, but San Diego did not think they were worth the bonus they would command as the top overall choice. As a compromise, they decided to take Bush who was from the San Diego area and was also considered an elite talent.

Bush's pro career began poorly when he was suspended before he ever took the field for his role in a fight outside an Arizona nightclub.^[2] The shortstop went on to hit .192 in 99 at-bats between the Rookie-level Arizona League and the short-season Northwest League.

2005 did not bring improvement. In his first full season in 2005 as he hit .221 in 453 at-bats for Fort Wayne.

During spring training in 2006, he broke his ankle and missed half the season.

Bush struggled again in 2007, hitting to just a .583 OPS as of May 28th. The Padres then converted the strong-armed Bush to a pitcher. His fastball reaches a speed of 95 mph and he has prior knowledge of pitching from his days as a high school ace. After a promising start in rookie league, Bush tore a ligament in his pitching elbow and is not expected to pitch again until the 2009 season.^[3]

[edit] References

^ "Bush selected by Padres with top pick in baseball draft", USA Today, June 7, 2004. Accessed August 6, 2007.
^ Center, Bill."Bush's suspension lifted", The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 21, 2004. Accessed August 6, 2007.
^ Brock, Corey. "Notes: Bush needs elbow surgery", MLB.com, August 18, 2007. Accessed June 5, 2008.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Delmon Young	First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 2004	Succeeded by Justin Upton

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Major League Baseball number one overall draft picks

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