Some Things I'm Excited To See In MLB's Spring Breakout
Baseball's brand new spring training event begins on Thursday, and I've got a list of storylines I'm watching out for...
Major League Baseball is on the offensive when it comes to making America’s National Pastime relevant again, and the Spring Breakout showcase is the latest tool being used to try and accomplish that goal.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then MLB’s Spring Breakout is a brand new addition to spring training. Over the span of four days, 16 games will be played with the aim to showcase each team’s best prospects all in one place. All 16 exhibition games will be played between teams comprised of each organization’s top prospects, and 12 of the 16 games will be played as part of a traditional doubleheader with the Major League spring training game that day.
The inaugural edition of Spring Breakout debuts on Thursday when the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates - two franchises with loaded farm systems - face each other. In the only other game on the schedule on Thursday, the best prospects from the Cincinnati Reds system will take on the best prospects that the Texas Rangers have to offer.
While there are just two games on the slate on Thursday, there will be five Spring Breakout games on Friday, seven on Saturday and the final two games will take place on Sunday. All 30 MLB teams have put together one-off rosters featuring the best prospects in their respective systems, and the future stars of tomorrow will all be on display in a four-day spectacle designed to showcase the very best young talent the game has to offer.
Allow me to jump off the top rope to say this; I freaking love this idea and I applaud Major League Baseball for coming up with a novel and fun concept to spice up spring training. With Opening Day two weeks away, we’ve hit the dog days of spring training when exhibition games start to get a little tedious, so sprinkling in 16 Spring Breakout games in with the scheduled Grapefruit / Cactus League contests will offer something a little bit more appetizing this weekend.
Also, as someone who covers baseball, and as someone who loves and cares about the sport deeply, learning about the best young prospects in the game is one of the best things about this gig. I’m really excited for the casual baseball fan to watch the very elite of the elite from each farm system test themselves against each other in a slate of games that should really capture the imagination and, hopefully, draw some more eyeballs to what is normally a snoozefest portion of the spring training calendar.
In preparation for the first two games on Thursday, I’ve been carefully breaking down all 30 rosters and I’ve made a list of a few things I’m really intrigued to see unfold throughout the inaugural Spring Breakout showcase.
Allow me to go off on a very quick tangent, first. For all you writers out there, I can’t recommend having Billy Joel’s greatest hits playing softly in the background while you are typing away. ‘Goodnight Saigon’, ‘Big Shot’, ‘And So It Goes,’ and ‘Pressure’ to name just a few proved to be the perfect company when getting this article written.
Anyway, on with what I’m most excited to see throughout MLB’s Spring Breakout…
More Jackson Holliday
Without a shadow of a doubt, the funnest story of the 2023 MLB season, for me at least, was the emergence of the upstart Baltimore Orioles. Powered by a bunch of young talent, the O’s are going to be very good for a very long time. And they could be even better in 2024 once Jackson Holliday earns a call-up to The Show. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, and the son of former Major Leaguer Matt, Holliday is regarded as the best prospect in all of baseball for a reason.
Blessed with five-tool talent, Holliday is an athletic marvel at shortstop and he hit .321 in the minors last year, while collecting 157 hits, 114 runs and 13 homers. Clutch at the plate and capable of executing highlight-reel plays in the field, Holliday has impressed at second base during spring training, proving that there is no limit to his talent.
Currently hitting .294/.314/.559/.873 in spring training with two doubles, two triples, a home run and five RBIs, Holliday could make Baltimore’s Opening Day roster and he’ll look to use the Spring Breakout showcase as another opportunity to prove why he deserves to begin the 2024 season in the big leagues.
Either way, the natural shortstop is just a hell of a lot of fun to watch both at the plate and in the field, and I’ll be stopping everything to watch Holliday and the Orioles on Thursday night.
Battle Of The Loaded Farm Systems
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say Thursday’s game between the Orioles and the Pirates is the sexiest matchup of the entire Spring Breakout slate.
And I don’t even think it is close.
Both organizations can lay claim to owning two of the best farm systems in baseball. Baltimore’s farm system is officially the best in MLB, an honor it has held since mid-2021, while Pittsburgh’s farm system has ranked in the top nine since 2023.
From SS Jackson Holliday, 3B Coby Mayo, DH Samuel Basallo, CF Enrique Bradfield Jr. and LHP Cade Povich with the O’s, to RHP Paul Skenes, 2B Termarr Johnson and SS Mitch Jebb with the Pirates, the second game of tonight’s doubleheader will feature no less than six of baseball’s Top 100 prospects.
That’s a lot of high-end talent in one place all at the same time.
Plus, I’m all in for the highly-anticipated matchup between Holliday and Skenes. Two of the top prospects in all of baseball met earlier in spring training - with Skenes retiring Holliday on a grounder to second - and that is going to be a really fun battle to watch play out. And a duel we could be seeing a lot in the major leagues over the next decade plus.
Nats Attack
It has been a couple of rough years for the Washington Nationals. Heck, it has been nothing but misery since they won the World Series in 2019. Watching top star after top star bolt town (Max Scherzer, Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner - yikes, Nats fans really have had it bad) hasn’t exactly been fun.
However, they do say that you have to go through some suffering in order to appreciate the good times more, and it is fair to suggest that the future is looking bright for the Nationals. Incredibly bright.
Boasting a loaded farm system, the Spring Breakout game against the Mets on Friday will give Nats fans a concentrated look at top prospects in the ilk of OF Dylan Crews (No. 7 prospect in baseball), OF James Wood (No. 14) and 3B Brady House (No. 48). Crews looks every inch the future face of the franchise for the Nationals, while Woods looked impressive early in spring training, hitting .306/.444/.611/.1.056 with three homers, a triple, five RBIs and three stolen bases. If there is one Spring Breakout roster you should stop everything for in order to watch, then consider the Nationals.
Three-Headed Monster
There are a slew of elite prospects ready to showcase their other-worldly talents in the Spring Breakout, but there are three studs in particular I’m going to make sure I drop everything in order to watch:
OF Jackson Chourio - Milwaukee Brewers
OF Pete Crow-Armstrong - Chicago Cubs
OF Spencer Jones - Yankees
Chourio is the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball and he signed a historic eight-year, $82 million deal with the Brewers earlier in the offseason. A rare talent, Chourio will stack up plenty of 30/30 seasons once he does reach the major leagues.
We’re a couple of years removed, yet I still can’t quite believe that the Mets actually gave up Crow-Armstrong for INF Javier Báez at the Trade Deadline, in what was effectively a pure rental. Talk about a boneheaded decision. Anyway, Crow-Armstrong has ascended to elite prospect status, and he’s going to become one of the best defensive center fielders in all of baseball. His bat and plus speed is pretty damn good too, as illustrated by a .283/.365/.511 slash line to go along with 20 homers, 26 doubles, seven triples, 82 RBIs, 37 steals and 98 runs in 107 games between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Yeah, this kid is legit great and I love the fact he actively wanted to take part in the Spring Breakout showcase.
Finally, Jones has been talked about more than most other prospects during spring training. There’s two reasons for that. Firstly, Jones has been mentioned in trade talk given that he is the Yankees’ No. 1 position prospect and he is a prize they would have to part with in order to make their roster better today. Unsurprisingly, the Yanks didn’t end up trading for White Sox ace Dylan Cease because they didn’t want to give up Jones. That’s a smart move. Secondly, Jones has attracted all kind of headlines for his jaw-dropping power, especially after blasting a 470-foot home run on his first swing in a Grapefruit League game. Yes, that really happened. It sure seems like the Yankees have another towering slugger on the way up.
Although there are too many high-end prospects to mention, I’m beyond pumped to watch the tantalizing trio of Chourio / Crow-Armstrong / Jones across this weekend.
Big Apple Rising
Covering the Mets - and also being a fan - I keep a close eye on the farm system and the prospects trying to work their way up the baseball food chain. This exercise has taken on even more importance in the wake of the franchise hitting the reset button at the Trade Deadline last year.
Several of the prospects the Mets acquired last year will star in their Spring Breakout matchup against the Nationals on Friday, including INF Luisangel Acuña, OF Drew Gilbert, OF Ryan Clifford, RHP Blade Tidwell and RHP Dominic Hamel.
Gilbert really impressed me in the five spring training games he played in this year, while I think Acuña could morph into a really exciting everyday player in the bigs. A number of these prospects will have the opportunity to earn a call up to The Show over the next couple of years, and the Spring Breakout showcase will give Mets fans a close-up opportunity to see some of the stars of the future show out and highlight their elite tools.
Suffice to say, I’m really thrilled Major League Baseball decided to shake up spring training by introducing the Spring Breakout. I think this event is going to be really good for the sport both in the short and long-term.