Just a few years ago, Jurickson Profar was the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball and looked to have a bright future ahead of him as a middle infielder for the Texas Rangers for the next decade.
Now, he's a forgotten name who's been lapped by Rougned Odor after missing his second straight pro season with a torn shoulder muscle. On Thursday, Profar made his season debut with Low-A Hickory as a designated hitter — he still can't throw — which is unfortunate given he missed all of 2014, but positive in the sense he was expected to miss all of 2015, as well.
Of course, the minor-league season ends this weekend, so he won't get much in the way of work, but it's something, nonetheless.
In the game on Thursday, Profar went 1-for-4 with a single as the 22-year-old looks to restart his pro career after basically two full lost seasons. He's likely to start 2016 in Class-A ball, Double-A Frisco at best, but it'll be interesting to see if he can climb the ladder back to being relative again.