3 Cincinnati Reds prospects who've fallen woefully short of lofty expectations

3. Reds LHP Jacob Heatherly has fallen short of expectations.

The Cincinnati Reds spent a third-round pick on Jacob Heatherly, but the left-hander has yet to live up to the lofty expectations. Heatherly, more than the other two prospects on this list, has seen his stock fall in part due to injury.

The Reds offered Heatherly second-round money in order to sign the southpaw away from his commitment to the University of Alabama. Heatherly appeared in nine games during his first professional season and posted a 4.99 ERA with 31 punch outs in less than 40 innings of work.

Heatherly showed a better feel for the strike zone in 2018 with a 26.6% strikeout-rate and 11.41 K/9. But his unsightly 21.7% walk-rate kept Heatherly at the Rookie Level throughout his first two seasons. A shoulder injury only allowed Heatherly to make four starts in 2019 and in the 8.2 innings in which did throw, Heatherly owned an ERA of 8.31.

Heatherly missed the 2020 season due to the shutdown of the minor league season and only pitched at the Cincinnati Reds complex in Arizona last year. Heatherly announced via Twitter in September that he'd be undergoing Tommy John surgery, which will effectively end any chance the left-hander had at competing in 2022.

Jacob Heatherly has been saddled with injuries throughout his professional career. While that's certainly a reason for Heatherly's lack of performance, the fact remains that he's been unable to reach his true potential, and this most recent setback will likely put his Reds career in jeopardy.

You're not going to bat 1.000, but missing out on some of these highly-rated prospects certainly affects Cincinnati's ability to compete. I hope that all three are able to rebound in 2022 and perhaps resurrect their careers.