3 St. Louis Cardinals players who have already hit their peak

The 2025 MLB season became a prove-it year for the St. Louis Cardinals' young core. With much uncertainty of roster capability due to development issues, roster patching, and lack of resources provided by the front office, John Mozeliak exited on the precipice of seeing what the roster he constructed was capable of. Some players thrived in this structure, as Masyn Winn elevated his defense to win his first Gold Glove Award. Alec Burleson also proved he is no longer to be considered as a platoon player, as he won the Silver Slugger Award in a utility role. We also saw Matthew Liberatore finally put himself together to have a very successful season as a reliant starting pitcher. But several players failed in this structure to prove that their projected talent would come to light.

Here are three players who have unfortunately reached their peak and did not reach their projected potential.

Lars Nootbaar

The golden child of Baseball Savant hype. Nootbaar was supposed to convert his high exit velocity, low swing-and-miss, and on-base skills to transform into a global superstar within the Cardinals organization. Instead, fans found out that Nootbaar's floor and ceiling are at the same level. Even after posting yet another season mostly in the red from his savant page, his Baseball Reference page stayed consistent with career norms.

In 135 games played, which was a career high, Noot posted a 1.3 WAR, which is the second lowest of his career. He had 119 hits compared to his 125 seasonal average, 24 2B to his 26 seasonal average, 13 HR to his 18 seasonal average, and 48 RBI to his 60 seasonal average. His .234/.325/.361/(.686) slash line from 2025 is considerably lower compared to the season average of .242/.341/.406/(.747). Nootbaar had all the opportunity to propel his game to another level, given that it is the healthiest he has been at the Major League level. But instead, he trended downward and cannot break the peak he has reached, which is a good player but not a superstar level.

Nolan Gorman

The once-promising slugger, hoping to be in the middle of the lineup for years to come, is now fighting for a starting role. Gorman continues to trend downward and easily had the worst season of his career in 2025. Gorman posted 0.1 WAR after 111 games with a slash line of .205/.296/.370 (.666) with only 14 2B, 14 HR, and 46 RBI in 402 PA. Gorman was a strikeout machine, ranking in the bottom one percent, bottom one percent in xBA, and bottom four percent in whiff%. His ability to draw walks was the only saving grace to his OPS, as he was borderline ineffective with the bat in his hands.

As more young talent is on the rise in Thomas Saggese and JJ Wetherholt, and Brendan Donovan continues playing Gold Glove defense at 2B, Gorman is looking to not have a role with this team going forward. If Wetherholt wins the 2B job in spring training, then Brendan Donovan will be most likely to take over 3B if Nolan Arenado can be traded. The hourglass has run out on Nolan Gorman as being a starter in St. Louis. If he is not fine with being a platoon player in situational play, then he will most likely be shopped this winter.

Jordan Walker

If Cardinals fans thought the failure of Dylan Carlson was bad, have you seen what is happening with Jordan Walker? When analyzing the downfall of the John Mozeliak era, fans have discovered many decisions made or not made. The passing of once-top prospect Oscar Taveras truly impacted the organization in ways that changed the course for them for years to come. But as the leader of the team, you eventually have to find new solutions and move forward.

Given it has been a decade since the incident, Mozeliak's solutions have yet to be found. Many once-promising prospects flamed out and never amounted to any value. Of the biggest names, none stand out more than Dylan Carlson. The switch-hitting center fielder who won the 2019 Texas League Player of the Year award in Springfield was finally the future star in the making, until the organization struggled to handle his development, which led to his being traded to Tampa Bay in 2023.

Jordan Walker was drafted to provide more insurance to the depleted Minor League system and develop into the star player the organization has failed to develop in a whole generation. Instead, Walker's career has been full of miscommunication, rushed positional changes, lack of confidence, and lack of adaptation. Walker provided negative 1.7 WAR over 2025 with no value provided to the team. He is still young and still has the potential cloud hanging over him. But Walker has not provided value to the team in his first 3 seasons, which is considered by most to be a trend. Trends are hard to break, and this is looking more like the reality of what Jordan Walker is.