But then sucked for five straight years before his spike this year.
What goalposts are being moved? You know who was a "highly thought of prospect"? Chris Ianetta. He's a scrub now.
What does his prospect standing have to do with the fact that he ended up being a scrub? It's exactly the same case with Casey Kotchman (both players coincidentally played for the Sox and were awful).
Two half years. Actually, one third of a year, and one half year. Afterwards, he had five, count them, five straight seasons of regressing offensive capped by a near 300-point OPS spike.