In early June, five Texas Rangers Youth Academy baseballers were invited to participate in the MLB Develops and USA Baseball Breakthrough Series.

The annual five-day series focuses on developing players through seminars, mentorship, gameplay, scout evaluations and video coverage, while providing them a platform to perform for scouts and college coaches.

Kaleb Gilreath, Jalen McLin, Santos Salinas, Nicholas Smith and Kaleb Thompkins were all on-site representing the Rangers Youth Academy and got the opportunity to learn from former Major Leaguers, and some of baseball’s best coaches.

Gilreath, Salinas and Thompkins soaked up all the information possible in what they unanimously described as a fun and educational experience.

Salinas found the most value in working with coach Marvin Freeman due to his combination of humor and high-level feedback. His biggest takeaway was learning different mechanics to improve his pitching technique and new ways to be responsible with his moves on the mound.

Gilreath found that getting instruction from his favorite coach, Lester Strode, was most beneficial and allowed him to adjust on the fly, and immediately implement the tips he received.

“My experience at the Breakthrough was one to remember,” said Gilreath. “I met players from all around the U.S. and learned things that can really help impact my game. I’m very blessed I got to be a Breakthrough Boy and hope others continue to make this event special.”

Thompkins echoed Gilreath’s thoughts that meeting and competing against players with similar backgrounds and goals is a major plus to attending the event. Coach LaTroy Hawkins and Enrique Burgos were the most helpful to Thompkins due to their ability to simplify high-level topics.

His greatest takeaway from the weekend was learning to “be comfortable in uncomfortable situations,” which he’ll remember each time he steps on the baseball diamond and carry with him throughout life.