Breaking down the Pirates Spring Breakout roster

Rosters for the first ever Spring Breakout was released on Thursday, here's a look at the 27 Pirates playing in it.

The inaugural MLB Spring Breakout rosters were released on Thursday, with some of the best prospects in the game being selected to participate.

The Pirates roster comprises 27 prospects, with players who last played in the DSL up to Double-A Altoona.

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of players participating, with my thoughts and some of the prospects I’ll be watching.

Catcher

Omar Alfonzo

Abrahahn Gutierrez

Axiel Plaz

I’ve talked about Alfonzo a lot on here, as he is someone I’m high on as a potential breakout guy in the system. MLB Pipeline had him on their first top 30 list for the Pirates system on Tuesday, and he put together some promising hitting metrics in Bradenton last year.

Gutierrez is a strong enough defensive catcher that if the hitting shows up in Double-A, he could be a backup option. He was hurt late last year and missed the last part of the season, but is back healthy as an NRI in major league camp with the Pirates.

Infielders

Termarr Johnson

Mitch Jebb

Tsung-Che Cheng

Jack Brannigan

Yordany De Los Santos

Garret Forrester

Jesus Castillo

Jhonny Severino

Tony Blanco

The big name here is Johnson, who has come up with some big-time hits this spring and put up 18 home runs in 2023 as an 18/19-year-old. He also drew over 100 walks but did struggle with some swing-and-miss in the strike zone (he also put up elite chase rate numbers).

An injury cut short the number of plate appearances we saw from Forrester, but Pipeline mentioned him as a potential breakout at first base. Brannigan finished one home run short of a 20/20 season and has been in big league camp, getting a lot of playing time. He’s also one of the best defensive prospects in the system, being able to play a strong third base and shortstop.

Castillo is slowly gaining steam. Prospects Live had him as one of the top 10 prospects in the system (some of their rankings are weighted towards fantasy performance), and he is also on Pipeline’s list.

He led the system in stolen bases and drew over 100 walks as a teenager in Low-A, but he showed little to no power (one home run, 97 mph 95th percentile exit velocity) and batted just .209 last year.

Blanco has some of the best raw power in the system but struck out nearly 40% of the time in the DSL. De Los Santos looked leaps and bounds better than anyone else in the FCL at times as an 18-year-old but then looked entirely out of place at the plate in Single-A.

Jebb hit the ground running after turning pro, hitting a hustle double his first time to the plate and later scoring. He put up some of the best contact numbers in the minors, and with the new rules regarding base stealing, he can be a huge threat there.

Outfielders

Lonnie White Jr.

Shalin Polanco

Jase Bowen

Estuar Suero

Tres Gonzalez

There’s a lot of potential in the outfield, although with plenty of questions. White Jr. has had issues staying healthy, but in the longest stint of his career, he hit nine home runs and stole 18 bases in just 61 games.

Polanco was starting to figure things out before getting hurt, and he had seen a decrease in strikeouts month-to-month before being out. When healthy, he’s a threat to have a 20/20 season, which Bowen did last year between Greensboro and Altoona.

Acquired from San Diego last year, Suero has the tools that scouts love to see out of players. He had a solid debut in the Pirates system, posting a 99 wRC+ across 58 plate appearances after the trade.

Like Jebb in the infield, Gonzalez is a speed/contact-oriented hitter who stole 28 bases last year. He plays a solid center field and drove the ball fairly hard in the three games I saw him in person last year.

Pitchers

Paul Skenes

Anthony Solometo

Bubba Chandler

Thomas Harrington

Braxton Ashcraft

Hunter Barco

Patrick Reilly

JC Flowers

David Matoma

Tyler Samaniego

This is the main attraction when it comes to position groups. Few teams can match the Pirates regarding the pitching prospects in their system, and this list could be better if Jared Jones were included. Instead, he’s competing for a rotation spot out of spring.

Skenes, Solometo, and Chandler are all well-known names. Last year, Harrington finished in a tie for the system lead in strikeouts. Ashcraft was one of the big risers last year and was added to the 40-man roster in the off-season.

Barco was eased back into things last year after Tommy John and could be someone who flies through the system if he gets back to how he was in Florida. Reilly has closer stuff, but it will depend on his control and how far he moves up.

The most interesting name among the pitchers maybe David Matoma, who recently turned 18. He pitched in the DSL last year and didn’t allow a run in 16.2 innings, striking out 14.

He could see time in the FCL this year, and his fastball has been clocked at 100 mph previously.

Pitcher To Watch - Hunter Barco

It’d be easy to say any of Skenes, Solometo, Chandler, or Harrington, and they are certainly worth the price of admission, but we will move down the list a little bit more here.

Barco was a budding first-round pick before his injury and could be a more well-known prospect in most systems outside of Pittsburgh. His two secondary pitches (slider and change-up) could work well in a single-inning outing like this. He won’t blow anyone away with his fastball, but he got the job done in Bradenton.

Hitter To Watch - Lonnie White Jr.

We’ve seen Termarr Johnson and what he can do this spring, but Lonnie is one of the few prospects here who can match him power for power. Pipeline graded it out as a ‘50’ on their most recent rankings, but he can walk into one given the opportunity.

His barrel rate last year in Bradenton would have put him among the major league leaders, and his 95th percentile exit velocity was about a mile-per-hour behind Termarr’s.

White has the toolset to steal the show in a game full of top prospects.

The Pirates Breakout team will play the Orioles on March 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Another former first-round pick, Jackson Holliday, will play for Baltimore.