Here's the Padres' Spring Breakout roster
AJ Cassavell
@AJCassavellPEORIA, Ariz. -- The Padres' reloaded farm system has, naturally, produced one of the most loaded Spring Breakout rosters in baseball.
On Saturday, when Padres prospects square off against the Mariners in their makeup game from the first-of-its-kind event, the San Diego roster could feature three Top 100 prospects.
That group will be headlined by the top prospects in the last two international signing classes -- catcher Ethan Salas and shortstop Leodalis De Vries. Salas, the No. 8 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, is coming off a strong showing in his first big league camp at just 17 years old (though he was reassigned to Minors camp earlier this week).
"You mentioned his age," Padres manager Mike Shildt recently said. "I don't think of him as 17. He just is a really good player."
De Vries, meanwhile, will be getting his first taste of the spotlight. He arrived at Padres camp fresh off signing his contract in January. Already, he's turning heads with his advanced approach on the back fields.
It's unclear which pitchers might be available for the game. But it almost doesn't matter. The Padres have such a deep array of young pitching talent that they're likely going to throw an exciting arm or two.
The Padres' Spring Breakout roster includes pitchers Robby Snelling (MLB Pipeline's No. 36 ranked prospect) and Dylan Lesko (MLB No. 56).
"It should be cool, the best guys in the orgs facing each other," Salas said. "But in terms of the game, I'm betting on our guys. I'd take our guys to war. It should be fun."
In his first professional season, Salas was promoted as high as Double-A San Antonio. The organization wanted its top catching prospect on hand for last season's Texas League playoff run -- and wanted him working in tandem with some of their top young pitchers.
"He definitely doesn't come across like [a 17-year-old]," fellow prospect Adam Mazur said earlier this spring. "You can tell he's reading hitters. He's looking at all the little things. He calls a great game, really good at receiving, really good at knowing what a pitcher needs in his set-up or as a target. You know when you're pitching to him that he's going to battle with you."
Salas, Snelling and Lesko represent three of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects in line to play for the Padres in Spring Breakout. The club's top prospect, Jackson Merrill, made the big league roster for the team's Opening Series in Korea, where he recorded the first hits of his MLB career.
The game is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.
How to tune in: The game will be available on MLB Digital (MLB.TV, MLB.com, MLB App), Padres.com, Mariners.com and Gameday.
What is Spring Breakout? MLB Spring Breakout is a four-day event showcasing baseball’s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball. The inaugural edition was held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus league stadiums during Spring Training. A series of exhibition games were played between teams comprised of each MLB organization’s top prospects, creating a new touchpoint on the baseball calendar that celebrates our sport’s budding talent.
Here's the Padres' Spring Breakout roster with MLB Pipeline's rankings: