6 former St. Louis Cardinals prospects who have fallen from grace

The St. Louis Cardinals have had some top prospects fail to meet expectations or fizzle out in recent years

high-levelWhen you're an organization that prides itself on developing young talent, you're bound to have some high level prospects not pan out. The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of names that fall into that category.

There are plenty of reasons why a prospect doesn't pan out. Sometimes it's simply just overvaluing or placing too high of expectations on a young player. National outlets can fall in love with and hype up a player, or local pundits can prop up a player as a generational talent when they are nowhere near that kind of player.

Other times, players make it to The Show, and then they face obstacles for playing time or are thrown into situations that set them up for failure. There was real potential there with that player, but it never had the opportunity to be realized because of how the team used them.

And then there are the most heartbreaking circumstances where a player just can't stay healthy. Maybe they had an injury that just knocked them down and they could never play at the same level again. Or other guys just repeatedly have their career setback by a variety of injuries. They have the talent when healthy, they just never are.

Sadly, there are a lot of Cardinals that fit this mold from recent years. Let's take a look at six former prospects who have fallen from the high expectations that we once had for them.

Alex Reyes

Not only was Alex Reyes the Cardinals' top prospect for multiple seasons, but in 2017, he was the 6th best prospect in all of baseball.

MLB.com said that "When he's healthy, Reyes is arguably the best pitching prospect in the game, with his combination of elite stuff and missing bats all pointing to a future as a frontline starter". Reyes got his first taste of big league action in 2016, posting a 1.57 ERA in 12 games (5 starts) with 52 SO in 46 innings of work. It really looked like Reyes was going to be the next great frontline starter in baseball.

Reyes basically didn't play the next three seasons due to shoulder and elbow injuries. He looked pretty good during his two seasons back from injury in 2020 and 2021, becoming an All-Star closer his last season in St. Louis and locking down the backend of the Cardinals' bullpen for most of the season. He fizzled out toward the end of the season though, and then missed the entire 2022 season with an injury before being non-tendered this offseason.

Reyes was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason and is now rehabbing with the club, hoping to join their bullpen at some point this season. If Reyes can get healthy, he's still a talented reliever, but overall, it is a huge disappointment to fall off from being a future ace to an injury-riddled reliever.

Dylan Carlson

To this point in his Major League career, Dylan Carlson has been pretty disappointing compared to the expectations that were placed upon him. By no means am I saying Carlson is a failure and will never be the player people thought he could be, but its safe to say he's fallen from grace in the eyes of the Cardinals.

In 2021, Carlson was the 13th-best prospect in all of baseball. He was actually once touted for his ability to hit right-handed pitching, with MLB.com saying that "He’s blossomed as a left-handed hitter in the pro ranks, making harder contact and improving his launch angle while tapping into more power each year". In 969 PA against right-handed pitching at the big league level, Carlson is slashing .223/.304/.374 with 21 HR and 88 RBI. Honestly, it's been pretty frustrating to watch.

Carlson has proven himself to be an great defensive outfielder and someone who can rake against left-handed pitching. He has an .867 OPS against southpaws in his career, showing that at the very least he can be a great platoon player in his career.

Carlson worked hard this offseason to make adjustments hitting against right-handed pitching but hasn't really had enough opportunity to prove that he can be better than he has to this point in his career. Last season, Carlson was dealing with a wrist injury for a long portion of the season, which really seemed to set him back in his development.

Carson Kelly

In 2018, Carson Kelly looked like he would be the Cardinals' catcher of the future. Ranked their 3rd best prospect and the 46th-best prospect in baseball, Kelly looked like he would be a plus defender with an above-average bat at the catcher position. Instead, he was shipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Paul Goldschmidt trade and hasn't lived up to expectations for them.

For his career, Kelly is slashing .223/.309/.383 with 43 HR and 157 RBI in 415 games. He's been a fine catcher in his career but hasn't come close to the ceiling he once had. He was relegated to backup catcher duties this year with the acquisition of Gabriel Moreno, and may not be anything more than a below-average starter at this point.

It's safe to say the Cardinals are pretty happy with their decision to part with Kelly in the Goldschmidt trade. Who knows if the Cardinals' felt like Kelly was being overvalued by the rest of baseball, they turned him into the 2022 NL MVP, which is a huge win.

Luke Weaver

Drafter in the first round by the Cardinals in the 2014 MLB draft, Luke Weaver was another piece of the Paul Goldschmidt trade. Weaver was the club's 3rd ranked prospect in 2017, and was thought to be a middle of the rotatoin kind of starter when he fully developed.

Weaver got a couple of chances with St. Louis from 2016-2018 but posted a 4.79 ERA in 233 innings of work. Crazy stat for you, Weaver somehow pitched more innings for the Cardinals than he did for the Diamondbacks, where he spent the significant part of his prime.

Weaver is now a starter with the Cincinnati Reds, and it has not gone well for him this year. He is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 11.2 innings of work. If Weaver can't get things figured out soon, he may be out of the league in the next year or two.

Andrew Knizner

After Carson Kelly was traded away, Andrew Knizner became "the next guy" to potentially replace Yadier Molina. Knizner was the club's 3rd ranked prospect in 2019, flashing tools in the Arizona Fall League and even being invited to the MLB futures game.

He was actually kind of known for his ability to barrel balls in the minor leagues, needing more work defensively in the eyes of scouts.

Well, it's safe to say the bat has not come around for Knizner. You could argue that if he wasn't sitting behind Molina that maybe he would have developed more at the plate, but in his career, he's just a .202/.288/.282 hitter with 7 HR and 45 RBI in 192 career games.

Knizner is still the backup catcher for the Cardinals, but now for Willson Contreras. With Ivan Herrera in Triple-A Memphis and other catching prospects on the way, I think Knizner's days are numbered in St. Louis.