Since being drafted with the 20th pick of the first round in 2016 by the Dodgers, high expectations have been placed on Gavin Lux. By 2019, he was one of the top prospects in baseball by 2019, ranked 40th overall by Baseball America and 70th by MLB Pipeline. Lux was so impressive in the minors, he appeared in 23 games with the Dodgers that season at the age of 21, slashing .240/.305/.400 with two homers and nine RBI.

In Double-A and Triple A in ’19, Lux slashed .347/.421/.617 with 26 homers, 76 RBI and 10 steals. That showing moved Lux up the prospects rankings in 2020 as he was ranked as the fourth overall prospect by BA and second by MLB.

Sadly for Lux owners, the Lux Era become a reality. In 2020 he played sporadically before given a chunk of time to prove himself last season. However, instead of establishing himself as the second baseman of the future, he turned into a utility player, seeing time at second base, shortstop, left field, center field and even one game apiece at third base and right field.

Lux is only 24-years-old, so there much more future than past when it comes to his career. Unfortunately, he has not established himself. Thus, we have to ask “is Lux really is going to be the player we expected him to become?” If not, who else should we look at who may have a better future?

There are two middle infielders who are basically the same age as Lux – 24-year-old Jeremy Pena of the Astros and 23-year-old Jose Barrero of the Reds. Pena has yet to play a game in the majors but has been given the task of replacing Carlos Correa. Barrero, who has had a couple of cups of coffee with the Reds the past two years, suffered a broken hamate bone and is now out until at least May, but we are looking into the future and not just today.

Let’s discuss these three players and find out what I think their future is.