D-backs ready to show off top prospects at Spring Breakout
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Count the Diamondbacks among the teams that are excited about the debut of Spring Breakout next month, in which baseball’s future stars will be showcased.
Each Major League club will field a team of top prospects to play against the top prospects from another organization in an exhibition game between March 14-17.
The D-backs top prospects will face the Rockies top prospects on March 16 at 4:10 p.m. MST at Salt River Fields. The game will be broadcast on Major League Baseball’s digital platforms and MLB network and tickets for the game are available now.
The Spring Breakout rosters will be revealed live on a special MLB Network program on Thursday, March 7 at 9 a.m. MST, co-hosted by Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds. Spring Breakout participants will join the MLB Tonight program, which will simulcast on MLB’s digital platforms, plus commentary will be provided by MLB Pipeline experts from Spring Training in Arizona and Florida.
Each roster will be constructed using MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospects list as its foundation. That means that players with rookie eligibility entering the 2024 season -- most of whom will come directly from those Top 30s -- can crack their club's Spring Breakout roster. Major League rookie eligibility is defined as any player who has yet to exceed 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched, or 45 total regular-season days on an active roster at the game's top level. So even players with Major League experience could participate in Spring Breakout if added to their respective rosters, including 23-27 players per club.
"It's a great idea," D-backs senior vice president and assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye said. "I think anytime we get the opportunity to take our best young players and showcase them in front of the fans, it's a great thing.
"This game is trending towards young players playing a huge role on competitive teams. It used to be that competitive teams would slowly break those players in, and I think you take a look around the league, and some of the best teams are starting rookies on Opening Day. So I think it's another step towards getting your best young prospects into the big leagues."
The D-backs are certainly an example of a team that has won with young players.
Last year's NL Rookie of the Year winner, Corbin Carroll, was pivotal to Arizona's run to the World Series.
Fellow outfielders Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy, along with infielder Geraldo Perdomo and catcher Gabriel Moreno, were among the contributors who made their big league debut over the last couple of seasons.
Where in the past, the hype and stories were reserved for a couple of prospects, the growth of outlets like MLB Pipeline has increased the awareness of each team's rising stars, and the Spring Breakout will help draw even more attention and make it available to a wider audience.
"Look, for many years, the Arizona Fall League was the only way you could see kind of the best prospects in the game," Sawdaye said. "Now, with Spring Breakout, we get a chance to expose even more fans, and you get to watch your best prospects play against another organization's best, which is pretty cool."