Zito has probably had the most disappointing drop-off of anyone on our list. The quirky lefty was one of the best pitchers in baseball during his tenure with the Oakland A's
, where he was selected to the American League All-Star team on three occasions and took home the 2002 Cy Young Award. Following the 2006 season, in which he went 16-10 with a 3.83 ERA, the Giants signed Zito to a seven-year, $126 million contract, making him the highest paid pitcher in Major League history at the time.
Since signing the deal, Zito has gone 31-43, never posting an ERA under 4.00. Zito has also lost between three and five miles per hour on his fastball, allowing hitters to sit on his once-unhittable curve ball. The Giants have experimented with pitching Zito out of the bullpen, looking for any signs that the once dominant lefty can recapture his form. So far, the results have been mixed.
