It remains to be seen whether top MLB prospect Brady Aiken will be the next superstar ace left-handed pitcher like Clayton Kershaw or have his limitless career derailed by injury like Mark Prior.

Aiken was taken number one overall in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft by the Houston Astros but found himself unsigned by the July deadline because of alleged concerns over his arm health. The Astros contended that his left elbow construction did not look good on X-rays and offered him significantly less than an initially agreed upon deal of $6.5 million.

The team may have been onto something. According to Adam Berry of MLB.com, Aiken recorded but two outs in his IMG Academy debut before being visited by a trainer. Dozens of scouts were on hand to see Aiken display pitch velocity over 90 MPH on the radar gun before his sudden departure. Not surprisingly, little information on the nature of the injury was offered by the Academy following the game.

As for how Aiken got here, it was a series of unfortunate circumstances. Under the active MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams are restricted in how much they can spend on their draft class without penalty, and the Astros seemed to use the X-ray data to get Aiken to sign under slot. This would allow the Astros to save cap money to nab players in later rounds that might otherwise go to college.

In fact, the Astros drafted another major pitching prospect, Jacob Nix, in the fifth round and even agreed to a deal. However, the deal was hinged on the team's needing the savings from the Aiken deal to fit within the cap. Both players walked away and subsequently enrolled with IMG to get ready for next year's draft. Nix later reached an undisclosed financial settlement from the Astros following a grievance filed by the MLB Players Association on Nix's behalf.

As for where Aiken might end up in 2015, the Astros hold the #2 overall pick (as compensation for losing Aiken) as well as the #5 pick (for being the fourth-worst team in MLB in 2014). Because of the bridges burned last year, they would not consider drafting him. The Arizona Diamondbacks pick first, the Colorado Rockies third, and the Texas Rangers fourth. If healthy, Aiken is likely to go to one of those teams. If he is not healthy, the $5 million offered by the Astros last year will look more and more like a deal that Aiken should have accepted.