Prospecting Gone Wrong: Grant Desme

Normally it's an injury or simple lack of elite-level skill that causes a prospect to leave baseball. As of today you can add a new reason: priesthood. Grant Desme, a 23-year-old prospect in the Oakland A's system has retired to join the ranks of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict approves.

The A's second-round pick in the 2007 draft, Desme was the only 30-30 player in the Minors last year, racking up 31 homers and 40 stolen bases for Kane County and Stockton. Desme also struck out 148 times.

Desme has appeared in a handful of Minor League sets (including autographs):2007 TriStar Prospects Plus, 2008 Just Autographs, 2008 TriStar PROjections and, most recently, 2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition. I wouldn't be surprised if Desme gets a bit of a following due to the move, but anyone holding out on him becoming a star are bound to be disappointed.

Although not a Catholic myself, I've always admired athletes for sticking to what they believe in, Muhammad Ali being the biggest example. Would Jose Canseco fit in this category too, in some twisted way?