Rangers prepare for Spring Breakout: 'A glimpse of the future'
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- If a fan wanders the Rangers' Surprise Stadium Complex backfields, they may stumble upon a fun matchup between top prospects from Texas' farm system and several other Cactus League clubs.
That being said, it's never guaranteed that you'll find the best matchups you're hoping for. That's what makes MLB's new Spring Breakout event so exciting.
Spring Breakout is a new MLB event spotlighting the sport's most promising future stars. Each team will put together a roster of its best prospects -- regardless of age or Minor League level -- to play against top prospects from another organization in a seven-inning exhibition game.
The Rangers’ prospect squad will play a group from the Reds on March 14 at Surprise Stadium at 5:05 p.m. CT/3:05 p.m. MST. It will be a traditional doubleheader, with the big league clubs playing after the Spring Breakout game.
“What you're seeing is a glimpse of the future,” said Rangers assistant general manager for player development Ross Fenstermaker. “If the Cincinnati Reds and the Rangers face off in the World Series, you're seeing a potential matchup now that you might see two or three years in the future.
“So I think it should be exciting. The Futures Game is always an exciting event for fans to see the state of the future of the game, but this is concentrated in specific to your organization. So I think it's fun to see those matchups and to see all those players on the field at the same time.”
The Spring Breakout rosters will be revealed live on MLB Network on Thursday, March 7, at 10 a.m. CT.
Fenstermaker said that the Rangers already have an idea of which of their top prospects they'll choose to compete in the game, but on the pitching side, they'll be bound to the throwing schedule they've been on since the start of camp.
For the Rangers, Top 100 prospects like Wyatt Langford (Rangers' No. 2, MLB No. 6) and Sebastian Walcott (Rangers' No. 3, MLB No. 71) are expected to face Cincinnati's Rhett Lowder (Reds' No. 2, MLB No. 34) and Chase Petty (Reds' No. 6, No. 98 overall).
“I do think it's exciting,” Fenstermaker said. “I think it's a great opportunity to showcase all of our players at different levels throughout the system on one field at one time against the Cincinnati Reds. So I'm excited to see the game. We've done similar things in the past, but to do it all on one day across the entire landscape of MLB, for all prospects, I think it's exciting.”