Spring Breakout to be twice as fun for Reds prospects
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GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds have not yet put together their prospect roster for next month's inaugural Spring Breakout games. But for those who participate, there will be benefits.
“It’s a great opportunity for the prospects to go out and showcase their abilities," Reds player development director Jeremy Farrell said. “It exposes them to the fans and the teams’ individual markets.”
MLB's first Spring Breakout, set for March 14-17, involves all 30 organizations. Each will field a team of their top prospects to play in seven-inning exhibition games against another club’s top prospects.
Rosters will be composed of an organization’s top 20-25 prospects from all levels. They will be revealed live at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 7, on MLB Network.
Possible Reds top prospects who could participate are pitcher Rhett Lowder (No. 2 in the organization per MLB Pipeline, No. 34 overall), shortstop Edwin Arroyo (Reds' No. 3, No. 67 overall) and pitcher Chase Petty (Reds' No. 6, No. 98 overall).
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The Reds are the lone Cactus League team that will have prospects playing two Spring Breakout games. Their game vs. Rangers prospects is March 14 at 6:05 p.m. ET/3:05 MST, part of a traditional doubleheader at Surprise Stadium. The Major League game is set for 9:05 p.m. ET/6:05 MST.
On March 16 at 7:05 p.m. PT/4:05 MST, Reds prospects will play Guardians prospects at Goodyear Stadium. That game will be broadcast live across MLB's digital platforms of MLB.com, MLB.TV and the MLB app.
“We’re in a unique situation where we’ve got two games this year. We’ll look at it as a positive because it can get more guys involved," Farrell said. “If anything, hopefully it’s a break from the monotony of Spring Training for some of these players to go and do something fun, hopefully in front of a stadium full of fans.
“It’s all done to promote the players. Hopefully, they have a good time participating.”
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In previous generations, many organizational prospects were often not well known until they reached the Major Leagues. That has changed dramatically in the past couple of decades.
Said Farrell: “Hopefully, the players feel like, as they transition to the Major Leagues ... some of the exposure and experiences they’ve gotten throughout their Minor League careers prepared them for what to expect and experience and [shortens] that learning curve for when they get to the big leagues.”