This year, three such promising former top talents with an abundance of talent but very little to show for them fall into this unenviable category. Let’s take a look at what went wrong with these three and why their jobs are in jeopardy.
OF/3B Jordan Walker
MLB Pipeline‘s No. 4 prospect in 2023
Walker, the St. Louis Cardinals’ most anticipated prospect in recent years, showed promise at the Major League level, hitting .276/.342/.445 with 16 home runs in his rookie year in 2023. In 574 plate appearances since then, Walker has struggled to produce, recording just 11 home runs and posting measly on-base percentages of .253 and .278 over those two years. Additionally, his once-stellar minor league numbers have taken a sharp decline; he posted a .185/.267/.352 slash line across Double and Triple-A last year.
Walker turns 24 this season and is still young as he tries to find his feet. After selling numerous key pieces, there is plenty of room on the Cardinals roster for Walker. Still, his poor performance has him fighting from behind and fighting for the roster spot he lost in 2024.
FROM Jasson Dominguez
MLB Pipeline’s No. 41 prospect in 2024
New York Yankees fans waited with anticipation for years to see “The Martian” land in the Bronx. Shortly after his debut, however, fans waited again. A combination of injuries and underperformance limited Dominguez to just 100 MLB plate appearances over his first two years. Finally, in his third season, fans could see him hold a permanent spot in the squad.
Dominguez hit .257/.331/.388 last year with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 429 at-bats, 13 of whiche at the Rookie of the Year election. Despite a promising performance with his bat, there is the doubt he will find made his way onto the Opening Day roster.
The outfield proved to be an obstacle for Dominguez as he posted up -9 outs above average in left field during his highly anticipated rookie campaign. If he wants to maintain his position, his glove will have to improve significantly.
1B Triston houses Houses
MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 prospect in 2022
Advertised as a potential hitter with 40 home runs, the lofty expectations for Casas quickly fell apart. After a rough rookie year with the Boston Red Sox, Casas broke out in 2023, hitting .267/.367/.490 with 24 home runs. Since then, injuries limited him to just 355 plate appearances.
On May 3, Casas tore his left patellar tendon while sprinting to first base after an error. The injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season and is expected to force him to miss part of 2026. But it was not his second serious injury in as many years that worried him most.
Before going on the IL, Casas was hitting just .182/.277/.303 with three home runs. This combination of injury and underperformance led the Red Sox to acquire Willson Contreras from the Cardinals. As of now, the question is whether or not Casas has a job to return to. If he wants to see significant playing time this season, either by winning the DH spot or splitting time with Contreras first, his numbers will have to rebound.
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