7 Former MLB Top Prospects Entering Make-or-Break 2026 Seasons
Immediate success in the big leagues is far from a foregone conclusion, and even with a slow start in the majors, greatness could still be waiting just around the corner if a few minor things click into place.
For every Paul Skenes or Nick Kurtz, there are dozens of players who take years to fully realize their potential, or at the very least have to deal with some initial struggles before settling in at the highest level.
Ahead, we've taken a closer look at seven former top prospects who have yet to find any consistent success in the majors and are now entering a make-or-break season.
The focus was exclusively on players with MLB experience, though there is a case to be made that prospects like Druw Jones (ARI) and Ethan Salas (SD) are also facing crucial seasons in their developmental arc.
Let's start with some players who made our preliminary list and are also entering crucial 2026 campaigns.
Honorable Mentions
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The following players made our preliminary list of candidates and are worth monitoring in 2026 as they face important seasons in their career arcs:
40-Man Roster Players
OF JJ Bleday, CIN
RHP Cade Cavalli, WAS
C Henry Davis, PIT
LHP DL Hall, MIL
OF Heston Kjerstad, BAL
IF Ronny Mauricio, NYM
IF Curtis Mead, CWS
RHP Bobby Miller, LAD
RHP Nate Pearson, HOU
OF Drew Waters, KC
Non-Roster Invitees on Minor League Deals
OF Dylan Carlson, CHC
OF Jarred Kelenic, CWS
IF/OF Marco Luciano, NYY
RHP Triston McKenzie, SD
1B Nick Pratto, TEX
RHP Kyle Wright, CHC
RHP Taj Bradley, Minnesota Twins
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Age: 24
Prospect Peak: No. 44 in 2023
2025 Stats: 27 GS, 5.05 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 56 BB, 127 K, 142.2 IP
2025 WAR: -0.6
The Rise: After taking some lumps as a rookie in 2023, Bradley looked like a frontline starter on the rise in his follow-up campaign. He posted a 4.11 ERA with 154 strikeouts in 138 innings, and generated a whiff rate north of 30 percent with all three of his offspeed pitches in support of a mid-90s fastball.
The Fall: A dip in his strikeout rate from 26.6 to 21.0 percent last year sent Bradley's numbers tumbling across the board, and a lack of feel for his splitter left him without a go-to strikeout pitch. He was demoted to the minors before being flipped for reliever Griffin Jax at the deadline, and things went from bad to worse following the trade with a 6.61 ERA in 31.1 innings over six starts.
2026 Role: With Joe Ryan, Pablo López, and Bailey Ober locked into the first three spots in the Twins rotation, Bradley is part of a long list of starters vying to round out the starting staff alongside Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Mick Abel, and prospect Connor Prielipp. With so many pitchers in the mix, he risks slipping far enough down the depth chart to become more organizational depth than a future piece of the puzzle if he doesn't right the ship.
C Luis Campusano, San Diego Padres
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Age: 27
Prospect Peak: No. 36 in 2021
2025 Stats: 27 PA, -31 OPS+, .000/.222/.000, 0 XBH (0 HR), 0 RBI
2025 WAR: -0.4
The Rise: Despite some questions about his defense, Luis Campusano still looked like a potential impact player after he hit .319/.356/.491 with 14 extra-base hits in 174 plate appearances in his first extended big league action in 2023. That was enough to earn him the primary job heading into 2024, and he started 51 of the first 75 games behind the plate that season.
The Fall: The end result of his expanded 2024 role was a 78 OPS+ and negative-0.7 WAR over 299 plate appearances, and he ended up left off the playoff roster in favor of Kyle Higashioka and scrapheap pickup Elias Díaz, given his lack of defensive value. He spent the bulk of last season back in the minors, playing just 10 games in the big leagues, though he hit a robust .336/.441/.595 with 25 doubles, 25 home runs, and 95 RBI in 105 games at Triple-A El Paso.
2026 Role: The Padres only have two catchers on the 40-man roster right now and Campusano is one of them, so he has the inside track to break camp as the backup to Freddy Fermin. He is out of minor league options, so if he doesn't win a roster spot, he'll be exposed to waivers.
OF Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals
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Age: 23
Prospect Peak: No. 6 in 2024 and 2025
2025 Stats: 322 PA, 79 OPS+, .208/.280/.352, 20 XBH (10 HR), 27 RBI
2025 WAR: 0.3
The Rise: It was Dylan Crews, not Paul Skenes, who took home 2023 Golden Spikes honors as the nation's top amateur player after he hit .426/.567/.713 with 18 home runs and 70 RBI in 71 games playing alongside Skenes at LSU. He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft and made his MLB debut the following August.
The Fall: Despite hitting a lackluster .218/.288/.353 over 132 plate appearances in his first big league action, expectations were still extremely high for Crews, and he began last season as one of the NL Rookie of the Year favorites. Instead, it was more of the same in 2025, and middling batted-ball metrics provide little reason for objective optimism. His 38.7 percent hard-hit rate would have ranked in the 29th percentile among qualified hitters.
2026 Role: The Nationals have gotten nowhere so far with their rebuilding efforts, and they are going to give Crews every opportunity to prove himself, so he will be penciled in as the everyday right fielder to open the year. That said, another season of limited impact will place him squarely on the hot seat for playing time.
SS Nick Gonzalez, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Age: 26
Prospect Peak: No. 49 in 2022
2025 Stats: 408 PA, 84 OPS+, .260/.299/.362, 26 XBH (5 HR), 30 RBI
2025 WAR: -0.6
The Rise: Nick Gonzales hit an absurd .448/.610/1.155 with 26 hits, 12 home runs, and 21 walks in 16 games during a pandemic-shortened junior year at New Mexico State, and later that spring, he was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 draft. Viewed as one of the most polished bats in his class, he batted .302/.385/.565 with 23 doubles and 18 home runs over 80 games at High-A in his pro debut to solidify his top prospect status.
The Fall: Those strong 2021 numbers proved to be his production peak in the minors, and he quickly tumbled off leaguewide Top 100 prospect lists. He made his MLB debut on June 23, 2023, and over parts of three big league seasons, he has a lackluster .257 average and 87 OPS+ over 923 plate appearances.
2026 Role: It looks like Gonzales will begin the 2026 season as Pittsburgh's starting shortstop, but his runway to make an impact looks extremely short with top prospect Konnor Griffin flying through the minors. With arbitration awaiting for the first time next offseason, he could be a non-tender candidate if he doesn't take a step forward.
LHP Kyle Harrison, Milwaukee Brewers
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Age: 24
Prospect Peak: No. 26 in 2024
2025 Stats: 11 G, 6 GS, 4.04 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 14 BB, 38 K, 35.2 IP
2025 WAR: 0.5
The Rise: An eye-popping 157 strikeouts in 98.2 innings during his pro debut as a teenager in Single-A ball put Kyle Harrison on a huge upward trajectory from third-round pick to Top 100 prospect. By the start of the 2024 season, he had climbed all the way to No. 26 on the Top 100, behind only Paul Skenes, Andrew Painter, Jackson Jobe, Ricky Tiedemann, and Cade Horton among pitching prospects.
The Fall: After a promising debut, Harrison was a full-time member of the San Francisco rotation in 2024, finishing with a 4.56 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 118 strikeouts in 124.1 innings. Despite his pedigree and remaining upside, he lost the No. 5 starter job to Landon Roupp last spring and was demoted to the minors, where he was pitching when the Giants shipped him to Boston in the Rafael Devers blockbuster trade.
2026 Role: Traded this offseason again, Harrison is now poised to compete for a spot in the Milwaukee rotation. He was essentially a two-pitch pitcher last season, leaning heavily on his fastball (58.7% usage) and slurve (27.4% usage), and the slurve was hit hard with a .639 slugging percentage allowed. The Brewers have a knack for developing pitching talent, but he also shares some troubling similarities with DL Hall, who has failed to take the next step since joining the organization.
RHP Max Meyer, Miami Marlins
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Age: 26
Prospect Peak: No. 44 in 2021
2025 Stats: 12 GS, 4.73 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 20 BB, 68 K, 64.2 IP
2025 WAR: 0.0
The Rise: With a 70-grade fastball and 70-grade slider, Max Meyer had the best pure stuff in the 2020 draft, though it came with concerns about his ability to handle a starter's workload due to an undersized 6'0" frame. Those questions were immediately answered when he logged a 2.27 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 111 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021, seemingly putting him on the fast track.
The Fall: Meyer made his MLB debut midway through the 2022 season, but lasted just two starts before suffering a shoulder injury that ultimately ended in Tommy John surgery. He has made 23 starts over the last two seasons since returning to action, but his 5.18 ERA in 121.2 innings has not matched the early hype, and his 91.9 mph average exit velocity allowed, among the worst in baseball, speaks to his significantly less overpowering stuff.
2026 Role: After the Marlins traded away Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers this winter, Meyer enters camp with a clear path to a rotation spot. However, with top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling knocking on the door, he will no longer be able to rest on his top prospect pedigree and will need to take a tangible step forward in 2026.
OF Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals
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Age: 23
Prospect Peak: No. 4 in 2023
2025 Stats: 396 PA, 66 OPS+, .215/.278/.306, 20 XBH (6 HR), 41 RBI
2025 WAR: -1.7
The Rise: With an imposing 6'6", 250-pound frame that belied his age, Jordan Walker exploded onto the top prospect scene with huge offensive seasons in 2021 (82 G, .936 OPS, 43 XBH, 14 HR) and 2022 (119 G, .898 OPS, 53 XBH, 19 HR) before his 21st birthday. Only Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, and Jackson Chourio were slotted ahead of him on the Top 100 prospect list to begin the 2023 season, and he was expected to follow a similar trajectory to those young superstars.
The Fall: A loud spring performance in 2023 earned Walker a surprise spot on the Opening Day roster, but with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado blocking his path at the corner infield spots, he had to learn the outfield on the fly. He began his MLB career with a 12-game hitting streak, but the Cardinals demoted him back to the minors in late April. Between the defensive transition and consistent yo-yoing back and forth to the minors, his development was seemingly stunted.
2026 Role: With the Cardinals now in full-scale rebuilding mode, Walker will be the everyday right fielder to start the season, but a change of scenery may still be necessary. Still only 23 years old, he will be arbitration-eligible for the first time next winter, so this could be his last chance to break through in St. Louis.
