Baseball has a way of humbling every player, even the most talented prospects. Injuries, inconsistency and stalled development can turn a promising year into a frustrating one.
But the beauty of the game is that every season brings new opportunities.
For the second year in a row, we’re spotlighting players who are looking forward to brighter days next season after disappointing 2025 seasons. Below, find one player from every organization who fell short of expectations this season, but could make for an interesting rebound or buy-low candidate in 2026.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Yilber Diaz, RHP
Even after Diaz surged up the D-backs’ system and reached the majors last year, there were questions about whether his quality of strikes and lack of a changeup would ultimately push him toward a relief role. Still, Diaz’s mid-to-upper-90s fastball and mid-80s gyro slider achieved wicked results in Triple-A in 2024. But the bottom fell out on Diaz in 2025. The 25-year-old righty has landed just over half his pitches for strikes, struggling to sync up his delivery and scattershot fastball command. Arizona sent Diaz back to the complex in late May and he has exclusively pitched in relief between Triple-A and Double-A since returning. Perhaps an offseason will help Diaz rebuild his strike-throwing and confidence as he looks to recapture the form that put him on the precipice of a big league role. (MC)
Athletics
Mason Barnett, RHP
Barnett was outstanding down the stretch in 2024 at Double-A after the A’s acquired him from the Royals for Lucas Erceg. So it’s not all that surprising he made his big league debut a year later on Aug. 30. His results leading up to that moment, though, left something to be desired. Hitters had an easier time squaring up Barnett’s fastball in 2025, which for long stretches of the year had less carry from a slightly higher arm slot compared to the previous season. He also struggled with pitch efficiency against better Triple-A competition. That combination resulted in Barnett being one of the few arms in the A’s system to take a step back amid a strong year of organizational pitching development. The good news is that his stuff in his big league debut looked a bit more like what he put on tape in 2024, even if the results weren’t good. (MC)
Atlanta Braves
Drue Hackenberg, RHP
Hackenberg positioned himself as one of several upper-level depth options for the Braves after he touched three levels including Triple-A Gwinnett in 2024. But everything went backward in 2025. Hackenberg has nearly as many walks to strikeouts with Double-A Columbus this season, where he’s spent the bulk of his time outside of a two-month stretch where he hit the injured list and then rehabbed in the Florida Complex League. Hackenberg’s fastball quality also took a step back. After others have passed him on the depth chart, the 2023 second-rounder is in need of a bounceback season in 2026. (MC)
Baltimore Orioles
Vance Honeycutt, OF
Honeycutt was a divisive prospect in the 2024 draft class as front offices scrutinized his contact issues in the ACC at North Carolina balanced against his impressive overall skill set. Those bat-to-ball issues torpedoed Honeycutt’s 2025 season with High-A Aberdeen, where he ran a 41% strikeout rate through his first 98 games. Honeycutt struggles mightily with spin and scouts have significant worries about his adjustability at the plate. He has experimented with different setups throughout the year in search of unlocking a bit more contact. Honeycutt plays outstanding outfield defense, stresses the opposing battery on the bases and has above-average raw power, but he needs to find a way to put the ball in play more. (MC)
Boston Red Sox
Yoeilin Cespedes, SS
The Red Sox entered 2025 with an obvious triumvirate of close-to-the-majors prospects in Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. Cespedes wasn’t far behind, opening the year as the team’s No. 6 prospect with hopes of carrying momentum from the Florida Complex League into his first taste of full-season action and establishing himself as a key member of Boston’s next wave. That didn’t quite happen. Low-A pitchers exploited Cespedes’ aggressive, pull-happy approach—it’s not uncommon to see his helmet fly off his head after a hearty swing—especially on pitches away. There are also concerns about his defensive utility after the short, stocky infielder moved almost exclusively to second base in 2025. That shift only increases the pressure on his bat moving forward. To take the next step in 2026, he’ll need to harness his bat-to-ball skills and ample bat speed more consistently. (MC)
Chicago Cubs
James Triantos, 2B
Triantos surged to a 129 wRC+ with Double-A Tennessee in 2024. Triple-A has proven more fickle. Part of the Cubs’ enviable glut of talent in Iowa this season, Triantos again struggled to unlock much impact and owned a .270/.331/.365 through 105 career Triple-A games. Triantos has great bat-to-ball skills and a flat swing plane geared to spray contact to all fields. Parsing which pitches to try and damage, though, has been a challenge. Far too frequently, Triantos expanded the zone to his detriment this season. He’s just a fair runner and defender who spends most of his time at second, although he played a bit more center field in 2025, which puts even more pressure on his bat. Triantos is Rule 5 eligible this winter and it’s fair to wonder whether he’s ready for a big league role. (MC)
Chicago White Sox
Hagen Smith, LHP
Smith’s confounding 2025 season is tough to square. His surface-level production and nearly 33% strikeout rate with Double-A Birmingham are impressive. On the other hand, Smith’s 16% walk rate, 58% strike percentage and stint on the injured list with an elbow injury–the White Sox said they used the time to work on Smith’s mechanics as well–are all causes for concern. Smith is still very much a two-pitch pitcher with velocity that wasn’t quite as firm as when the White Sox made him the fifth pick in the 2024 draft on the strength of his 70-grade fastball-slider combination. Smith has some work to do to clean up his delivery and prove he can stick on a starter track. (MC)
Cincinnati Reds
Chase Petty, RHP
The good: righthander Chase Petty made his MLB debut at the end of April. The bad: just about everything else for the 22-year-old at Triple-A Louisville. Petty’s strikeout rate declined and walk rate increased this season compared to his marks in 2024, which he spent primarily at Double-A. Triple-A can be a difficult level for young pitchers to clear. The ball is different. The strike zone is different. The hitters are more physically mature and experienced. The ABS challenge system can be disruptive. Petty throws plenty hard. He just needs to work ahead of hitters more often for his stuff to play. His ERA has spiraled to 8.15 in his last 13 appearances for Louisville, with 39 strikeouts and 30 walks in 56.1 innings. (ME)
Cleveland Guardians
Jaison Chourio, OF
After a breakout 2024 season that included winning Cleveland’s Minor League Player of the Year, Chourio entered 2025 with newfound expectations. He rocketed up the Guardians’ Top 30 Prospects and was even in the conversation for the org’s overall No. 1 prospect. Even in spring training, scouts were impressed after Chourio arrived looking much stronger. The 20-year-old switch-hitting center fielder never got on track this year and slashed .233/.376/.284 through 76 games for High-A Lake County. Chourio missed three weeks with a shoulder strain early in the season, so perhaps that’s partly to blame for the surprising lack of slug. His under-the-hood data paints a slightly more encouraging picture. But Chourio will need to find a way to elevate and impact more pitches in 2026 to better accentuate his exceptional zone control and solid bat-to-ball skills. (MC)
Colorado Rockies
Benny Montgomery, OF
Montgomery hasn’t lived up to the expectations attached with being the eighth pick in the 2021 draft when he signed with the Rockies for $5 million. Yet even despite injuries, including a shoulder surgery that wiped out nearly all of his 2024 season, Montgomery’s bevy of raw tools remained intact entering 2025. He simply doesn’t make enough contact to actualize them. Montgomery struggled to a 36.5% strikeout rate and 58 wRC+ through 74 games with Double-A Hartford and tumbled out of the Rockies’ Top 30 Prospects entirely. Montgomery swings through too many pitches, especially against spin, and beats far too many balls into the ground when he does make contact. An offseason reset is needed for the 22-year-old outfielder, who enters the offseason Rule 5 eligible yet highly unlikely to be added to Colorado’s 40-man roster. (MC)
Detroit Tigers
Jace Jung, 2B/3B
The Tigers’ 2022 first-rounder entered the season with a legitimate chance to win the team’s starting third base job. Instead, Jung struggled mightily in spring training and, outside of a two-week stint in the big leagues, was merely fine in his second consecutive season of consistent Triple-A at-bats. He has been a non-factor in a small big league sample, where he’s one of just eight players since 2021 to produce zero homers or steals through their first 40 career games. Jung pairs solid pitch recognition skills with above-average power and an approach geared to lift his best contact, though he also misses on pitches in the zone nearly a quarter of the time, not to mention significant defensive questions. Detroit’s infield depth chart is only getting more crowded, casting even more uncertainty over his long-term outlook. (MC)
Houston Astros
Luis Baez, OF
The powerful Baez signed for $1.3 million at 18 years old in 2022 and just two years later climbed as high as No. 2 in the Astros system. Since then, his stock has tumbled as advanced pitching exposed holes in his offensive approach. Baez’s plus raw power remains an enticing foundation, and he punishes fastballs, but Double-A pitchers rarely need to challenge him with heaters. Instead, they’ve attacked his struggles against spin and tendency to expand the zone. While he makes hard contact, he too often pounds the ball into the ground and has trouble squaring up offspeed pitches, which contributed to just two home runs and an 81 wRC+ through 58 games for Double-A Corpus Christi in 2025. Players with Baez’s raw tools usually get time to adjust, but he’ll need an offseason reset to spark a bounceback in 2026. (MC)
Kansas City Royals
Chandler Champlain, RHP
Champlain was a steady performer on his way up the ladder, but Triple-A has proven a much tougher test. He owns a 6.84 ERA through his first 215 innings at the level and tumbled down the Royals’ Top 30 Prospects list in 2025. Champlain’s inability to generate enough swings and misses in the zone despite a wide arsenal remains the crux of his struggles. Champlain’s strikeout rate dipped sharply upon reaching Triple-A and his walk rate hovered near 10% as he was forced to work the edges even despite above-average command. Even so, the Royals kept Champlain in the Triple-A Omaha rotation all season. He’s Rule 5 eligible this offseason if the Royals do not add him to their 40-man roster. In that scenario, a team in need of low-leverage innings out of the bullpen could take a flier on Champlain. (MC)
Los Angeles Angels
Sam Aldegheri, LHP
Last August, Aldegheri was trending upward when the Angels raced him to the big leagues shortly after landing him at the trade deadline. At the time, had punched out a third of opposing hitters in Double-A and even cracked the back of the Top 100 Prospects in September. This season has been less kind. Outside of a pair of big league appearances where he allowed five earned runs in 4.1 innings, the 23-year-old lefty has been back with Double-A Rocket City, where his swing-and-miss numbers took a major step back. Both Aldegheri’s fastball velocity and shape have backed up this year and it appears to have had a cascading effect on the rest of his arsenal, as he’s seen diminished returns on his secondaries. His surface-level production has been much better in the second half, so perhaps he can ride the late-season momentum into a stronger showing in 2026. (MC)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Roki Sasaki, RHP
Baseball is a funny game. Signing Japanese sensation Sasaki for a $6.5 million bonus—a fraction of his value on the open market—last offseason appeared to be a coup for the Dodgers. It hasn’t worked out that way in year one of the arrangement. The 23-year-old Sasaki struggled to throw strikes and elicit whiffs in his first eight MLB starts before spending three months on the injured list with a shoulder injury. He returned from the IL in mid August and had not fared much better in four rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City. It could take time—the Dodgers control Sasaki’s contract for five more seasons—but there just has to be more in his right arm than he has shown this season. (ME)
Miami Marlins
Starlyn Caba, SS
Not many prospects have better defensive tools or more projected future fielding value than Caba. But it’s also true that not many prospects have produced less power than Caba. In the past three seasons, his .054 isolated slugging percentage is 13th lowest among batters with at least 700 plate appearances. The 19-year-old Caba is hitting .224/.338/.281 with one home run in 50 games for Low-A Jupiter this season. Caveat: He missed a chunk of this season with a sprained thumb on his glove hand. (ME)
Milwaukee Brewers
Mike Boeve, 3B
Nearly all notable prospects in the Brewers’ system are playing well this season, making this selection a bit of a stretch. Drafted in the second round out of Nebraska-Omaha in 2023, Boeve hit .338 in his first full season in 2024, but his campaign ended on a sour note when he had a shoulder injury that required surgery after the season. He missed the first month of this season and hasn’t quite recaptured the form he showed previously. Boeve batted .231/.332/.343 with five homers in 63 games for Double-A Biloxi this season. (ME)
Minnesota Twins
Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF
Rodriguez made this list a year ago, which isn’t a good sign, and remains one of the most difficult prospects to evaluate. He has yet to play more than 100 games in a season because of an assortment of injuries. Two separate IL stints—a right hip injury in early June and a right oblique strain a month later—shelved Rodriguez for long stretches in 2025. When healthy, he was reasonably productive for Triple-A St. Paul, though he is a player of extremes. There are very few hitters in baseball with similar power potential who swing as infrequently as Rodriguez, especially at pitches out of the zone, yet also swing and miss so often. Not to mention Rodriguez has now run a groundball rate around 50% parts of two seasons in Triple-A. As such, the range of outcomes are vast for a player with Rodriguez’s Top 100 pedigree. Next season is a critical year for him to stay on the field and prove his outlier approach can work. (MC)
New York Mets
Boston Baro, SS/3B
Baro burst on the scene with a quality season at Low-A St. Lucie last season and then followed with an impressive opposite-field home run in the Mets’ Spring Breakout game in March. That’s what makes his flat performance at High-A Brooklyn so disappointing. Through 103 games, Baro hit .224/.282/.321 with an 84 wRC+ that was one of the worst among regulars in the Mets’ system. He has been active on the bases and has played shortstop and second base well, but the hits just haven’t fallen for Baro this year. A home ballpark that is unfriendly for lefthanded hitters hasn’t helped, but the 2023 eighth-rounder will get a chance to rebound next season. (ME)
New York Yankees
Chase Hampton, RHP
Shortstop Roderick Arias continues to scuffle in his repeat of the Florida State League, but the Yankees likely feel the loss of Hampton more acutely. The talented 24-year-old righthander has now missed the bulk of two seasons, first with a flexor strain in 2024 and then with Tommy John surgery at the outset of this season. Hampton had an intriguing fastball and breaking pitch foundation when healthy in 2023 and will look to continue his progress toward New York when he returns to the mound in 2026. (ME)
Philadelphia Phillies
Moises Chace, RHP
The Phillies acquired Chace at the 2024 trade deadline, and the Venezuelan righthander quickly pitched his way to Double-A and potentially into the club’s 2025 plans. Philadelphia added him to the 40-man roster after that season following his 45% strikeout rate in four late-season starts for Reading. Those plans were altered this season after Chace had Tommy John surgery in June after six Double-A starts. While 2026 will be devoted to rehabbing his elbow, Chace could emerge as a bullpen weapon in 2027 if he recovers his electric fastball. (ME)
Pittsburgh Pirates
Thomas Harrington, RHP
While the Pirates had pitchers with higher ceilings, Harrington was a preseason Top 100 Prospect thanks to his pitchability, deep assortment of pitch shapes and proximity. He even debuted in early April but struggled in two outings and never got back on track after he was optioned to Triple-A. He resurfaced for one big league outing in August, where he allowed six runs and recorded just two outs, before heading back to the minors and subsequently the injured list, putting a bow on a frustrating season. Big league hitters pounded his 92 mph fastball, and his previously pristine command looked more solid than special as he tried to avoid damage in the strike zone. To rebound in 2026, Harrington will need to get back to finding ways to keep hitters off his fastball and leverage his above-average splitter and sweeper. (MC)
St. Louis Cardinals
Tink Hence, RHP
Injuries and lost seasons are a part of pitcher development, as the Cardinals know only all too well this season. Tekoah Roby and Cooper Hjerpe both had Tommy John surgery, while 23-year-old righthander Tink Hence has made just three starts for Double-A Springfield while dealing with a pair of injuries: a ribcage strain followed by shoulder inflammation. It’s a frustrating turn of events for the 2020 second-rounder after he pitched well at Double-A in 2024 and joined the 40-man roster in the offseason. (ME)
San Diego Padres
Ethan Salas, C
Salas made waves in 2023 when he debuted for Low-A Lake Elsinore a few days before his 17th birthday. The gifted Venezuelan backstop hit well that season but has not recaptured that form in each of the past two seasons. This season he has played just 10 games for Double-A San Antonio after suffering a lower-back injury. Salas is still the age of a college freshman, so he has plenty of time to get back on the field and rebuild his prospect stock. (ME)
San Francisco Giants
Marco Luciano, OF
While Giants pitching prospects Mason Black, Trevor McDonald and Joe Whitman all have ERAs that start with a “5,” it is the 24-year-old Luciano who is most in need of a fresh start. He’s not exactly having a bad season for Triple-A Sacramento—he has 23 homers and leads the Pacific Coast League in walks—it’s just that he hasn’t done enough to separate himself from the pack and is running out of time. Luciano has slid down the defensive spectrum from shortstop to second base to left field, without answering questions about his hit tool or delivering enough power to accept tradeoffs in defense and bat-to-ball deficiencies. He is on his third option this season and while he may qualify for a fourth in 2026, the five-time Top 100 Prospect no longer appears to be a priority. (ME)
Seattle Mariners
Felnin Celesten, SS
Celesten teased his gaudy tool set for two years after signing for $4.7 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2023, but injuries limited him to just 32 official games over that span. The good news is that Celesten remained healthy in his age-19 season in 2025. But the extended look also highlighted plenty of areas of Celesten’s game that need tightening. Celesten’s impact production (108 wRC+ in 93 Low-A games) didn’t quite meet the power potential lurking under the surface, and his shortstop defense was raw. Scouts generally prefer his swing from the left side, though there are some questions about his overall hittability as he climbs the ladder. All the building blocks that made Celesten a one-time Top 100 Prospect and popular breakout pick are still there—power, speed, athleticism—but it may be a slower burn for it all to coalesce than some had hoped. (MC)
Tampa Bay Rays
Brayden Taylor, 3B
The Rays’ 2023 first-rounder began the year as a Top 100 Prospect and will finish it ranked No. 19 in their system, a startling and perplexing fall for a player with Taylor’s well-rounded skill set. After hitting 20 homers across High-A and Double-A in 2024, Taylor hit for virtually no impact in his return to Double-A Montgomery as he battled his mechanics and a pull-heavy approach. He is still a solid defender at third base, and there are reasons to believe some degree of a bounceback is possible in 2026. Taylor’s swing decisions remained disciplined all season and he undoubtedly ran into some bad luck with a .220 BABIP through early September. Still, Taylor exits the season with significant questions about whether his current plan of attack can work after a disastrous 2025. (MC)
Texas Rangers
Emiliano Teodo, RHP
Teodo emerged as one of 2024’s breakout pitching prospects after reshaping his upper-90s fastball into more of a two-seamer, posting a 1.98 ERA as a Double-A starter, earning a Futures Game nod and briefly cracking Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects. The 2025 season was far less kind. Injuries limited him to just 25 innings as of Sept. 4, including a right shoulder impingement and two separate IL stints for a back issue. When Teodo was available, the Rangers deployed him out of the bullpen, but he was quite erratic, with nearly as many walks (25) to strikeouts (30) between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. Even before his struggles this year, Teodo toed the starter-reliever line. A healthy offseason could get him back in the mix for a big league role in 2026 if the Rangers opt to leave him in the minors throughout September. (MC)
Toronto Blue Jays
Orelvis Martinez, 2B
Martinez struggled through his first full season following a 2024 PED suspension. His 28.4% strikeout rate in Triple-A is his highest since 2022, when he whiffed 28.5% of the time in Double-A but offset it with 30 home runs. That he’s still trying to find his footing in the upper minors three years later highlights the concern. His trademark power hasn’t looked as imposing, either—his exit velocities and hard-hit rates dipped notably in 2025 compared to his pre-suspension performance last year. Now playing almost exclusively at second base, Martinez landed on the injured list in early September. He’s never made much contact—he hasn’t topped a 70% contact rate since 2021—but previously had enough pull-side power to make it work. This season, though, his chase issues and struggles against offspeed pitches led to a 72 wRC+ through 99 Triple-A games and raised questions about whether that approach will translate to the majors. (MC)
Washington Nationals
Seaver King, SS
The Nationals drafted King 10th overall in 2024, the third Wake Forest player off the board following Chase Burns and Nick Kurtz. While Burns and Kurtz flew MLB this season, King has taken a slower track and has spent most of this season at Double-A Harrisburg. He has put his speed to use on the bases with 26 steals and has played his first full season at shortstop after focusing on third base and center field in his draft year, but the bottom line has been less than expected. King has put too many pitcher’s pitches in play by chasing out of the zone and making groundball contact, resulting in a .235/.287/.327 batting line and 82 wRC+ through 115 games. (ME)
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
