Making a lineup for MLB's 'Spring Breakout' prospect showcase

A look at a potential roster for MLB's newest feature

Photo Credit: WTM

Major League Baseball announced a new ‘Spring Breakout’ prospect showcase, where each team will put a roster together and play a seven-inning exhibition game against a designated opponent.

The showcase will take place from March 14-17, with the Pirates playing the Baltimore Orioles in Bradenton on the first day of the event at 7:05 pm ET.

Rosters will be announced closer to the showcase, but for now, I thought it’d be fun to put together a potential lineup and some pitchers to fill the seven innings of the game.

For this, only players who have yet to play in the majors are eligible, and I will pick five starting pitchers and two relievers to cover the seven innings.

Catcher - Omar Alfonzo, Single-A Bradenton

At its core, this is still a showcase, an opportunity to highlight some of the lesser-known prospects in the system. The catcher position is a toss-up in the Pirates system, with Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez graduating. Carter Bins and Abrahan Gutierrez are the furthest along at the position, but I believe Alfonzo is the best prospect behind the plate currently in the system, and he gets a chance to show that.

First Base - Jase Bowen, Double-A Altoona

His position flexibility helps him here, as Bowen will slot in at first for the Pirates showcase team. Bowen already had an opportunity to show off his skills in the Arizona Fall League, finishing as one of the better hitters.

Second Base - Termarr Johnson, High-A Greensboro

Johnson is the best-hitting prospect in the system right now, so this is an easy inclusion. As a teenager, he drew 100 walks on the season - one of four to do so last season.

He had some swing-and-miss issues last year but showed off more raw power than some may have thought he’d have.

Third Base - Jack Brannigan, High-A Greensboro

He played exclusively at shortstop during the Arizona Fall League but got kicked back to third here. Brannigan is one of the best defensive infielders in the minors, with one of the strongest arms.

Brannigan also has plus speed on the base paths and finished a home run shy of 20 this past season.

Shortstop - Tsung-Che Cheng, Double-A Altoona

Cheng struggled a bit in Altoona, and he will have to hit left-handed pitching better, but he was added to the 40-man roster this off-season and has one of the better hit tools in the system.

With plus speed and gap power, he can be fun to watch in an exhibition game like this (he made several plays for Chinese-Taipei in the WBC)

Left Field - Shalin Polanco, Single-A Bradenton

An injury limited him to just 70 games this season, and he did have some swing-and-miss issues, but he was fun to watch when he was on and had an outside shot at a 20-20 season before he started to slow down before getting hurt.

Defensively, he was fantastic, manning center field in Bradenton with ease.

Center Field - Matt Gorski, Triple-A Indianapolis

There are few in the system with Gorski's raw power, as he punishes the ball when he makes contact.

Watching him on TV doesn’t do his size justice, making it even more impressive how he moves in the outfield. He’s built like a tight end but can run in center as few can.

Right Field - Lonnie White Jr., Single-A Bradenton

All three are legitimate center fielders defensively, I slid White to right field because of his arm. He has some of the best raw power in the system, and if he stays healthy, it’s not hard to see a 20-20 season for him while playing in Greensboro.

He had the best barrel rate of hitters with at least 100 recorded batted ball events (BBE).

Designated Hitter - Josiah Sightler, High-A Greensboro

His sample size in Bradenton was small, but he left an impression after putting up a 109 mph 95th percentile exit velocity, trailing only Mason Martin on Prospects Live’s available data.

Utility - Jesus Castillo, Single-A Bradenton

I mentioned previously that Termarr was one of four teenagers to walk 100 times this past season - Castillo was one of the other three.

Regarding versatility, look no further than Castillo, as he played seven different positions in the same game to close out the 2023 season.

Starting Pitcher 1 - Paul Skenes, Double-A Altoona

The first overall pick from the 2023 draft and touted as the best pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg, yeah, that one was obvious.

I went more straightforward with the rotation to show how much depth the Pirates have there.

Starting Pitcher 2- Bubba Chandler, Double-A Altoona

He really came on at the end of the year and flashed his immense potential. I saw him in his last start in Greensboro, and he was as good as advertised, even getting stronger as the game went on.

Starting Pitcher 3 - Anthony Solometo, Double-A Altoona

Solometo landed in Altoona quickly, and although he struggled a bit, you can see the pieces for him to be a successful major-league pitcher.

Starting Pitcher 4 - Jared Jones, Double-A Altoona

He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at a game I was at this past year. The fact that each pitcher only throws an inning will allow Jones to let loose a bit, which will almost certainly lead to some triple-digit readings on his fastball.

Starting Pitcher 5 - Thomas Harrington, High-A Greensboro

There may not be an organization that can go 1-5 like the Pirates can when it comes to their top pitching prospects. Harrington tied with Jones for the most strikeouts in the system last year.

Honorable Mentions - Carlos Jimenez, Braxton Ashcraft, Michael Kennedy, Hunter Barco

The fact that Ashcraft is left off of here just speaks to the pitching depth. This is precisely the kind of showcase Jimenez can put himself on more people’s radar with his great change up, it would just be a matter of how wild he is that day.

Kennedy was one of the best pitchers in the Florida Complex League at just 18 years old, he’d be a fun one to watch in this, but the shear amount of names ahead of him forces him back. Tommy John likely kept Barco out of the first round in the 2022 draft, again showing the depth the Pirates have.

Relief Pitcher 1 - Brandan Bidois, Single-A Bradenton

Of pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched in the minors last year for the Pirates, Bidois had the highest strikeout rate (41.6%). He throws a curveball that easily tops 3000 rpm of spin and has one of the better fastballs when it comes to shape (19.7” IVB).

Relief Pitcher 2 - Valentin Linarez, Double-A Altoona

The numbers don’t jump off the page, but he was fantastic once he shifted to the bullpen, including seeing a bump in his velocity. He currently has 15 strikeouts in 13 innings while posting a 2.03 ERA in the Puerto Rican Winter League.