Once considered among the best prospects in baseball just five years ago, suspended first baseman Jon Singleton now finds himself unemployed.
According to Mark Berman of KRIV FOX 26, the Houston Astros released Singleton in the midst of his 100-game suspension for his third failed drug test.
The 26-year-old, who appeared 114 career games with Houston between 2014 and 2015, never returned to the majors after he slashed .171/.290/.331 with 14 home runs and 151 strikeouts in 357 at-bats across two seasons.
According to MLB.com, Singleton ranked as the 19th-best prospect in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline in 2013. The left-handed hitter was ranked higher than All Stars like New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager.
In fact, he was ranked higher amongst Houston’s prospects than outfielder George Springer and starting pitcher Lance McCullers.
Houston kept Singleton down with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies for the entire 2016 season. He finished the year with a .202/337/.390 slash line with 20 home runs and 124 strikeouts in 410 at-bats.
After his struggles at Triple-A, the Astros sent the first baseman down to Double-A Corpus Christi for the entire 2017 season. Across 385 at-bats, Singleton hit 18 home runs with a .205/.376/.397 slash line and 132 strikeouts.
Singleton, who four years ago signed a five-year contract with $10 million guaranteed without a single game played in the majors, will need to serve out the remainder of his suspension before he can even begin to try and catch the eye of a new team.
Given his track record and multiple failed drug tests, the prospective future in baseball looks dim for this once promising player.