It happens to every team. One season, a highly anticipated prospect rockets his way through the minors. The next, his performance in the majors earns him a bus ride back to Triple-A. After many setbacks and a few years of lackluster performance, the team is forced to contemplate if there is a spot for him on the roster.
This year, three such promising former top prospects with an abundance of talent, but very little to show for it, have fallen into this unenviable category. Let’s take a look what went wrong for these three and why their jobs are in danger.
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, notching just 11 home runs and posting meager on-base percentages of .253 and .278 over those two years. In addition, his once-stellar minor-league numbers have taken a sharp dip; he posted a .185/.267/.352 slash line across Double and Triple-A last year.
Turning 24 this season, Walker is still young as he tries to find his footing. Having sold off numerous important pieces, there is plenty of room on the Cardinals roster for Walker. Still, his poor performance has him battling from behind, fighting for the roster spot he lost in 2024.
OF Jasson Dominguez
MLB Pipeline’s No. 41 prospect in 2024
New York Yankees fans waited for years in anticipation to see “The Martian” land in the Bronx. However, shortly after his debut, fans once more found themselves waiting. 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 got to see him hold a regular roster spot.
Dominguez hit .257/.331/.388 with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 429 plate appearances last year, coming in 13th in the Rookie of the Year voting. Despite a promising showing with his bat, there is doubt he will find his way onto the Opening Day roster.
The outfield proved be an obstacle for Dominguez, as he posted -9 outs above average in left field during his long-awaited rookie campaign. If he is to keep his position, his glove will need to greatly improve.
1B Triston Casas
MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 prospect in 2022
Advertised as a potential 40-home-run hitter, sky-high expectations for Casas quickly came crashing to the ground. After a rocky debut year with the Boston Red Sox, Casas broke out in 2023, hitting .267/.367/.490 with 24 home runs. Since then, injuries reduced him to just 355 plate appearances.
On May 3, Casas ruptured his left patellar tendon while sprinting to first base on an error. His injury sidelined him for the rest of the season and is expected to force him to miss a portion of 2026. But it wasn’t his second major injury in as many years that was most worrying.
Prior to falling 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 pick up Willson Contreras from the Cardinals. As of now, there is a question of whether or not Casas has a job to come back to. If he is to see significant playing time this season, either by winning the DH spot or splitting time at first with Contreras, his numbers will need to recover.
