Last week, Major League Baseball announced rosters for the league’s third annual Spring Breakout series. The event, which debuted in 2024, serves as a precursor to MLB Opening Day and showcases baseball’s future stars and emerging talent. Former top prospects and current big leaguers such as Jackson Holliday, Paul Skenes, and Trey Yesavage are among the Team USA alumni who once put their skills on display at Spring Breakout.
This year’s pool of top prospects features a record number of USA Baseball alumni, with 114 players set to compete in the four-day, 16-game exhibition slate from March 19-22. It marks the first time more than 100 alumni will participate, surpassing previous totals. In 2024, 73 alumni were named to rosters while 84 participated last spring – a testament to USA Baseball’s pursuit of identifying and developing the next generation of talent.
USA Baseball Alumni & Matchups
A Pipeline as Strong as Ever
For the second consecutive year, the Collegiate National Team boasts the most alumni on Spring Breakout rosters. Forty-nine former Collegiate National Team members will compete in this year’s showcase, including 17 from the 2024 collegiate squad. That group is highlighted by Tyler Bremner, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, and 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner Charlie Condon.
The 2023 Collegiate National Team follows with 15 alumni while the remaining 17 players are split among the 2022 and 2021 teams.
Additionally, 40 players who have played for the 18U National Team will compete in Spring Breakout, the most since the event began in 2024. Of those players, 22 have won a gold medal in international competition. Meanwhile, both the 2021 and 2022 squads feature 10 participating players apiece.
The 15U National Team is represented by 22 alumni, including 16 gold medalists, while the 12U National Team features 19 alumni – the most in program history at Spring Breakout. The program continues to produce players who not only reach the majors, but make an immediate impact. Last year, 2015 12U National Team alum Nick Kurtz earned a Spring Breakout roster spot and surged to the majors, proceeding to earn AL Rookie of the Year honors and a Silver Slugger Award after launching 36 homers in his rookie year campaign.
Keeping the AL Central Covered in Red, White, and Blue
For the second straight year, the American League Central leads all divisions in Team USA representation at Spring Breakout. The division will see 25 alumni compete this weekend, up from 21 in 2025.
The Cleveland Guardians account for eight alumni, followed by the Chicago White Sox who boast six. The Royals and Twins are responsible for four apiece while Detroit will have three alums competing. The Chicago Cubs are tied with Cleveland for the most alumni on the roster with eight.
Every division features at least 16 USA Baseball national team alumni, while nearly every team in the league will have an alum compete this weekend. The Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres are the three Clubs without an alum on the roster. In addition, every team in the AL Central, NL Central, and NL East includes at least one player who has donned the red, white, and blue.
Top Picks and Prospects
This year’s Spring Breakout features no shortage of elite talent, with former high draft selections and top prospects looking to make their mark.
Among the 114 players who have played for the stars and stripes, 26 are ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, including five players in the top 10.
Topping the list and holding the rank of the game’s top prospect is Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, who is already catching attention after hitting three homers in his first six Spring Training games.
The Detroit Tigers also feature a pair of top prospects in Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. Clark sits at No. 10 overall while McGonigle, ranked No. 2, was on Detroit’s initial Spring Breakout roster before being replaced by Bryce Rainer, a two-time alum and Detroit’s first-round MLB Draft pick in 2024.
Also in the top 10 is 2023 Collegiate National Team alum and St. Louis Cardinal JJ Wetherholt (No. 5) and two-time alum Colt Emerson (No. 9), who is on the cusp of earning a major league roster spot for the Seattle Mariners.
In total, 14 alumni selected in the first round will compete, highlighted by the top four picks of the 2026 MLB Draft. Eli Willits, who was selected first overall by the Washington Nationals headlines the group, followed by Tyler Bremner who was drafted second overall by the Los Angeles Angels. Seattle’s third pick and 2021 18U alum Kade Andersen will take the bump while two-time alum and fourth overall pick Ethan Holliday will play shortstop for the Colorado Rockies. Holliday looks to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Jackson Holliday, after the latter was selected No. 1 in the 2022 MLB Draft and competed in the inaugural Spring Breakout in 2024.
Matchups to Keep an Eye On
A full slate of 16 highly anticipated games will be played across the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues, with top prospects facing off as former Team USA teammates will compete alongside and against one another.
Thursday, March 19
The matchup featuring the most alumni takes place on the first day of competition, as the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels square off at 4:10 p.m. ET with 13 alumni from all four national teams set to compete. The Angels’ Bremner, Xavier Mitchell, and Nate Snead will take on 2024 Collegiate National Team teammates Dean Curley and Nolan Schubart of the Guardians. Meanwhile, 2023 18U National Team teammates Trey Gregory-Alford and Joey Oakie will face off and take the mound for Los Angeles and Cleveland, respectively.
Friday, March 20
Arguably the most anticipated Spring Breakout game will be played under the lights at LECOM Field in Bradenton, Florida, at 7:35 p.m. ET, as the Detroit Tigers take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Prior to McGonigle’s removal on the Tigers’ roster, three top 10 draft selections would have taken the field. Rainer now joins Tigers teammates and Team USA alums Izaac Pacheco and Clark, who will take on a Pirates lineup that features Griffin, 2023 CNT infielder Duce Gourson, three-time alum Termarr Johnson, and 2023 18U alum Levi Sterling.
Saturday, March 21
Young talent will be scattered across the diamond when the Colorado Rockies take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at 8:00 p.m. ET as 11 alums are set to compete. There are five players who most recently competed on a 2024 national team. Collegiate National Team teammates Condon and Max Belyeu take on Arizona’s Patrick Forbes, while gold-medal winning 18U National Team teammates Holliday and Kayson Cunningham will dig in at shortstop for their respective teams.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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