TINSTAAPP

From Wiki Gonzalez

TINSTAAPP stands for There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect. The acronym is used as cute shorthand to debunk the notion of a pitching prospect, particularly the notion of a highly drafted pitching prospect.

It is generally thought to have been adapted by Gary Huckabay (one of the founders of Baseball Prospectus, although Gary's coinage of TINSTAAPP on rec.sport.baseball predates Prospectus) from Robert A. Heinlein's "TANSTAAFL" ("There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch", from the novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress)

However, of the major league pitchers with 200 or more career wins at the end of the 2004 season, all were drafted in the first three rounds of the amateur draft:

1. Roger Clemens 328 (1983, 1st round)
2. Greg Maddux 305 (1984, 2nd round)
3. Tom Glavine 262 (1984, 2nd round)
4. Randy Johnson 246 (1979, 3rd round)
5. David Wells 212 (1982, 2nd round)
6. Mike Mussina 211 (1990, 1st round)
7. Kevin Brown 207 (1986, 1st round)

Pitchers are riskier picks than hitters for a variety of reasons, but clearly the most accomplished pitchers in the game today were correctly regarded as prospects. Just don't tell that to the guy that drafted Brien Taylor.