3) Daiverson Gutierrez
Rodriguez wasn’t the only former top international prospect to struggle this year. Daiverson Gutierrez also didn’t live up to his potential in 2025. Another member of the 2023 international class, Gutierrez, was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 27th-best international prospect. Another similarity to Rodriguez was Gutierrez’s impressive 2024 season.
Gutierrez hit .259/.396/.435 with a .412 wOBA, and 135 wRC+ over 134 plate appearances between the Dominican Summer League, Florida Complex League, and St. Lucie. Gutierrez showed off some pop, with a .176 isolated slugging percentage. He also rarely struck out, going down on strike three just 13.4% of the time. He was also prone to drawing free passes, with an 11.9% BB%.
But 2025 was a different story. Gutierrez hit just .242/.362/.309 with a 96 wRC+. His strong plate discipline improved, drawing nearly as many walks as strikeouts, with a 13.4% BB% compared to a 14.7% K%. Gutierrez had a complete power outage in 2025. It only took him 134 trips to the plate to reach 13 extra base hits in 2024. This year, he had 14 in 395 plate appearances. That led to his ISO falling below .100 to .067.
Gutierrez wasn’t far behind Rodriguez in the power department. His ISO was the 17th worst among qualified A-Ball hitters. He also had the 25th-worst slugging percentage. His barrel rate was well below average, clocking in at just 2.1%. This is from a prospect who, at the time of being signed, received an above-average 55 projected grade for his power.
The backstop is still young, so there’s hope that he can turn things around. 2026 will only be his age-20 season, and he will be 20 for most of the year. He is definitely still a work in progress, but showing very little raw power during games makes him one of the more disappointing performances from this season.