Matt Kemp had an interesting career, and if you watched him in 2011, you might have thought this was a potential Hall of Famer.

Kemp joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in late 2006 after three years in the Minors, but it was not for another two seasons that he established himself as an everyday Outfielder.  Breaking out in 2009 with a 26 HR/101 RBI/34 SB year where he won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove, Kemp was tenth in MVP voting, and Los Angeles thought they had a potential megastar.  After a decent 2010, Kemp had one of the best seasons of a player who didn't win the MVP.  Kemp's 2011 saw him finish one Home Run shy of a 40/40 year, but he still led the NL in taters.  Adding a second Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, Kemp also led the NL in Runs (115), RBIs (126), and OPS+ (176).  It was a phenomenal year, but that was the only campaign Kemp would have that could be categorized as such.

Kemp was still a good power hitter, belting 20 or more Home Runs six more times, but he only stole 42 more Bases after his 40 SB year.  The Dodgers traded Kemp to San Diego after the 2014 Season, and he bounced around with stops in Atlanta, Los Angeles for a second time, Cincinnati and Colorado, finishing with good power numbers of 287 Home Runs and 1,031 RBIs. 

Kelvin Herrera played his entire career coming out of the bullpen, a career that began in the Majors with Kansas City in 2011.  

The Dominican came into his own in the middle of the decade, becoming Kansas City’s set-up man in 2014, and helping his team get into the World Series that year.  An All-Star in both 2014 and 2015, Herrera was again outstanding in his role in 2015, with the Royals returning to the World Series, though with a different result, with KC winning it all.

Herrera would later become Kansas City's closer, but as they faltered, Herrera was traded to Washington during the 2018 Season.  His sat with the Nationals was brief as he signed with the White Sox in 2019, but he struggled badly and was out of Baseball after the 2020 Season.

Jeff Samardzija might have a losing record of 80-106, but he was one of the best athletes in Notre Dame history, having starred in both Baseball and Football, and he could have easily had a career in the NFL as a Wide Receiver.  Instead, he opted for a career in Baseball, which began in Chicago with the Cubs.

Samardzija was in the bullpen for the first four years in Wrigley, became a starter in 2011, and would have one of the more unique seasons of any starter in recent memory.  While posting a lower ERA of 2.83 in 17 Games for the Cubs, he had a meager record of 2-7.  Samardzija was chosen for the National League All-Star Game but was traded to Oakland before the contest and was ineligible to play as he was now an American League player.

He never had an All-Star caliber year again but was still a decent starter, who would later play for Chicago (AL) and San Francisco.

Jason Kipnis played ten seasons in the Majors, nine with Cleveland, where he was twice an All-Star.  The Second Baseman never broached elite status, but the Indians had a solid starter who had 1,146 Hits and 126 Home Runs over his career.