Let’s jump ahead to a year from now. The 2026 season has concluded, and an impending lockout is looming over Major League Baseball. But before the darkness of a very long off-season takes over, let’s review some of those players who had such high potential in dynasty leagues and see how they fell from grace.
Here are my predictions for five players who we all thought would be long-term locks coming into 2026, but won’t reach the high ceilings that had been set for them by the end of the season.
Matt Shaw once looked to be the answer for the Cubs at third base for the next seven to eight years, but an underwhelming rookie season in 2025 is just the start of what could continue into 2026. While he did have a 3.1 bWAR in 2025, the offensive numbers were led by a .226/.295/.394 slash line. Thirteen home runs, 44 RBI, and a 21.5% strikeout rate will lead to an even more underwhelming 2026 season.
Shaw won’t be able to fix the holes in his swing, and it will move the Cubs into a position where they will need to look for new talent at the hot corner that they can depend upon, especially in the midst of a pennant chase in September.
The dismal 2025 postseason performance will be just the beginning of an underwhelming year at the plate for Andy Pages in 2026. Just like James Outman before him, Pages will turn a breakout season at the plate into a massive drop-off that will lead the Dodgers to turn to other talent in center field.
While his defense will hold up considerably, the Dodgers want to keep their juggernaut offense going at every position and not leave any gaps to fill. That is why they will move Pages into a backup outfield role down the stretch and limit his playing time from where it was just a year before.
Age will catch up to the former Padres closer with his new team, as he loses the closer role in mid-June 2026 after failing to record seven save opportunities over a 16-game stretch. The 35-year-old righty will also see a significant drop in velocity, going from 98.6 MPH on average in 2025 to 97.2 MPH on average in 2026.
The life of a reliever can shine very brightly when he is at the top of his game, but Suarez is just one of the latest bright, burning relievers whose shine could burn out very quickly after four strong seasons in the Padres bullpen.
Jo Adell’s breakout 2025 season will turn out to be a one-and-done deal, very similarly to former Phillies all-star Dominic Brown just 12 years before him. Both were highly touted prospects in their organization’s farm system who took a few years to reach their full potential they had as prospects, but once they finally did reach it, it only stayed for a full season and came back down to Earth.
Adell’s 37 home runs and 98 RBI were an astonishing sight with the Angels last season, but the Angels’ center fielder will regress closer to how he was in 2024, still managing to be serviceable to start, but not providing enough on offense to help out his team down the stretch.
The Pirates spent most of 2025 keeping Bubba Chandler in the minors after proving he didn’t need to spend more time than he did there, making 24 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis.
He had a decent performance in 2025, making his MLB debut on August 22, and appearing in seven games, with four starts, posting a 4.02 ERA in 31.1 innings. The Pirates will have Chandler in their 2026 Opening Day rotation, but the success will last for only so long as hitters across the league catch up with him and see him sent back down to Triple-A in July 2026.