These prospects stood out most in Spring Breakout

As the inaugural Spring Breakout weekend comes to a close, there was no shortage of talent on display. With dozens of Top 100 prospects and nearly two-thirds of the 900 players who make up the team Top 30 prospects lists taking part, each club was well represented … but a select few stood out.

Here are the top prospects – one from each organization – from Spring Breakout.

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Blue Jays: Addison Barger, OF/3B/SS (No. 6)Barger’s loudest tools are his power from the left side and his plus-plus throwing arm from the right. Both were on display in Saturday’s 9-1 loss to the Yankees. He connected on a 103.9 mph triple in the fourth inning to give the Jays their only extra-base hit of the afternoon, and he also unleashed a 103.8 mph throw from right field. Only Brenton Doyle and Ronald Acuña Jr. had more velo on outfield throws in the Majors last season. The seed was higher than its target, but while Barger needs to work on accuracy, his cannon should have runners thinking twice.

Orioles: Trace Bright, RHP (No. 17)The pitching talk in the Orioles-Pirates game may have centered around Paul Skenes but Bright certainly looks ready to build off of a solid first full season, when he pitched his way to Double-A. The 2022 fifth-rounder went three strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out four. More importantly, coming off a year that saw him walk 5.1 per nine, he walked only one.

Rays: Xavier Isaac, 1B (No. 4/MLB No. 78)Isaac was coming off a twisted left ankle that forced him to start at DH for Tampa Bay. The lefty slugger didn’t have to worry much about running when he homered twice, doubled and walked in an 8-8 tie with the Twins. The 2022 first-rounder is known for his 65-grade power but managed only one game with three extra-base hits during his first full season with Single-A Charleston and High-A Bowling Green. He clubbed 19 homers in that campaign, and as Saturday showed, he could be in line for a lot more in seasons ahead.

Red Sox: Ceddane Rafaela, OF (No. 4/MLB No. 76)Rafaela took time off from competing for Boston’s center-field job to dazzle on both sides of the ball against the Braves. One of the top defensive prospects in the game, he covered a lot of ground on a second-inning fly ball to make a difficult play look easy, then quickly threw across his body to double up a runner off second base. An inning later, he hammered a three-run homer to left-center against Braves right-hander Patrick Halligan.

Yankees: Spencer Jones, OF (No. 2/No. 84)Jones’ power/speed combination produced 49 extra-base hits and 43 steals in his first full professional season and was on display again in a 9-1 rout of the Blue Jays. Jones homered twice – blasts of 399 feet at 107 mph and 427 feet at 109 mph – and also beat out an infield single with the highest sprint speed of the game (29.8 feet/second).

Guardians: Kyle Manzardo, 1B (No. 2/MLB No. 59)Manzardo has a knack for rising to the occasion in Arizona. He homered in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game last November, went deep twice in the AFL’s playoff semifinal and crushed a ball over the right-field pavilion at Goodyear Ballpark. He also drew two walks in a 6-2 victory over the Reds.

Royals: Trevor Werner, 3B (No. 20)The 2023 seventh-rounder slashed .352/.450/.703 with nine homers over 35 games in Rookie and Single-A ball last year, and he kept the power party rolling with a homer for Kansas City’s only extra-base hit in a 4-3 win over Milwaukee. Werner has plus power from the right side but faces swing-and-miss questions as he begins his career in earnest this summer. Notably, he slid across the diamond to play first base with Cayden Wallace holding down third, and as he exhibited Sunday, he could have enough pop to be valuable at the cold corner.

Tigers: Jace Jung, 2B/3B (No.4/MLB No.60)Jung’s power pushed him to the 12th overall pick out of Texas Tech in 2022, and that slugging ability made him Detroit’s Minor League leader with 28 homers between High-A and Double-A last season. The left-handed hitter lived up to his scouting report as he went deep twice in Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Phillies. The Tigers have slid Jung from second to third with Colt Keith set to take over the keystone in the Majors, and Jung may not be far behind the other infield prospects in 2024.

Twins: Gabriel Gonzalez, OF (No. 4/MLB No. 79)The Twins put up eight runs in the third inning against the Rays on Saturday and Gonzalez, the newest addition to the Twins’ prospect pool courtesy of January’s trade of Jorge Polanco to the Mariners, was at the center of it. He had the Twins’ lone extra-base hit of the game, a 100.8 mph double that drove in a pair of runs in an eventual 8-8 tie.

White SoxSpring Breakout game versus Cubs rained out.

Angels: Caden Dana, RHP (No. 3)The projectable 6-foot-4 right-hander the Angels took in Round 11 of the 2022 Draft and gave $1.5 million to sign away from his commitment to Kentucky had a solid first full season, though he was on a pretty limited workload. If his outing in his Spring Breakout start against the Dodgers is any indication, he might be ready for the gloves to come off. Dana tossed two hitless innings, walking one and striking out three.

A’sSpring Breakout game versus Giants rained out.

Astros: Spencer Arrighetti, RHP (No. 3)The Astros’ best pitching prospect earned his Spring Breakout start and delivered two scoreless innings while permitting only a walk. He touched 95 mph with his four-seam fastball while also mixing in a cutter, slider, changeup and curveball.

MarinersSpring Breakout game versus Padres rained out.

Rangers: Cameron Cauley, 2B (No. 13)One of the most dynamic players in the system, Cauley provided two of the Rangers’ five hits and drove in their lone run in a 4-1 loss to the Reds. He tripled in a run against Julian Aguiar to give Texas a short-lived lead in the first inning, then doubled off him in his next at-bat.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Isaiah Drake, OF (No. 22)The only thing that could slow Drake down against the Red Sox was a right calf cramp that forced him out of the game. The 2023 fifth-rounder showed off his 70-grade speed when he walked and stole second in the second inning, then tripled in a run (and then scored) in the fourth. He cramped up in the bottom of that inning when trying to make a diving catch in foul territory, but it won’t be a long-term issue.

Marlins: Thomas White, LHP (No. 2)The top left-handed pitching prospect and the 36th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, White started against the Cardinals and struck out the side in his lone inning. He whiffed Victor Scott (last year’s Minor League stolen base champion) on an 81-mph slider and Thomas Saggese (the 2023 Minor League hits and total bases leader) on a 95-mph fastball, then caught Pedro Pagés looking at another 95-mph four-seamer.

Mets: Brandon Sproat, RHP (No. 13)The 2023 second-rounder out of Florida had shown good velo on the backfields early in his first Spring Training camp and had no issue bringing the fastball to the main stadium, touching as high as 99. Aided by a pitch timer violation, Sproat needed only six pitches to retire the side in the sixth inning of the Mets’ 4-2 win over the Nationals and got whiffs on four of those six – two on his fastball, two more on his upper-80s cutter.

Nationals: T.J. White, 1B (No. 30)In a lineup featuring Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House, White – Washington’s starting DH – was the only player to pick up multiple hits as he went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the loss. The second-inning two-bagger recorded an exit velocity of 107.4 mph and served as a reminder of what type of power the switch-hitting first baseman can bring when he’s able to make consistent contact.

Phillies: Mick Abel, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 49)Yes, he gave up a solo shot to the Tigers’ Jace Jung, but Abel continued to have a very strong spring that started with some solid Grapefruit League performances. The homer was the only run he allowed and he struck out three and walked none in his two innings of work. Tip of the cap to Justin Crawford, who went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base from the leadoff spot.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Jacob Misiorowski, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 33)This was a typical Misiorowski outing through and through on Sunday. The Brewers’ top pitching prospect fanned five batters over 2 ⅔ hitless innings … and also walked three over the same span. The 6-foot-7 righty, who owns two plus-plus pitches in his fastball and slider, also hit two batters, underlining how his control can affect an otherwise stellar outing in which he fanned 38.5 percent of his batters faced. Those looking for an extended version of Misiorowski’s epic Futures Game appearance last year got a taste this weekend.

Cardinals: Tink Hence, RHP (No 2./MLB.64)St. Louis had two Breakout games this year, but it was the Game 1 starter who stole the spotlight and kept it. The 21-year-old right-hander struck out three and allowed just one hit over two scoreless frames in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Marlins. Hence averaged 95.9 mph on his fastball, getting three swings-and-misses on the heater, and added another whiff on both his slider and changeup. All four of his offerings had called-strike-whiff rates above 30 percent in the 30-pitch outing.

CubsSpring Breakout game versus White Sox rained out.

Pirates: Paul Skenes, RHP (No. 1/MLB No. 3)No team has more than the four pitchers the Pirates have on the current Top 100, and three of them showed off their stuff in the Pirates’ win over the Orioles in the marquee matchup of the Spring Breakout. Collectively, they gave up one run on one hit and struck out nine in seven innings. Skenes certainly lived up to advanced billing by throwing six of his 11 pitches in the first inning over 100 mph, getting No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday with one of his two strikeouts in his inning of work.

Reds: Rhett Lowder, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 34)Cam Collier will forever be known as the prospect who hit the first-ever Spring Breakout home run, but it’s hard to look past what the 2023 No. 7 overall pick did in his two innings of work. He was up to 95 mph, had all four pitches working, and tossed two hitless innings, walking none and striking out three.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Jordan Lawlar, SS (No.1/MLB No.11)Lawlar has some experience with the ABS challenge system from his days with Triple-A Reno, and he put that to good use when he asked for a review on a called third strike in the fourth inning of Arizona’s 3-1 win over Colorado. The call was overturned, giving Lawlar another chance, and shortly after, he struck a double and scored the D-backs’ first run. That sequence not only provided one of only two Arizona extra-base hits but also underlined Lawlar’s batting eye in his quest to return to the Majors.

Dodgers: Kendall George, OF (No. 12)The Dodgers’ top pick (supplemental first round) in the 2023 Draft and the fastest player in the system, George broke into pro ball by hitting .370 with 17 steals in 28 games last summer. He provided more excitement in an 8-1 rout of the Angels, lacing an opposite-field double and pulling a ball into the right-center gap for a standup triple, scoring two runs and driving in another.

GiantsSpring Breakout game versus A’s rained out.

PadresSpring Breakout game versus Mariners rained out.

Rockies: Drew Romo, C (No. 9)Romo made a strong impression on the big league staff in Cactus League action with how he carried himself and how he prepared. He made another strong statement in Spring Breakout action. Not only did he go 2-for-2 and drive in the Rockies’ lone run in the game against the D-backs, he also used the ABS challenge to have a pitch overturned for a Carson Palmquist strikeout.