Some exciting prospect news around the league broke on Thursday morning, as player inclusions for all 30 teams across the sport were announced. For the Washington Nationals, they were no different, as the team chose a whopping 36 prospects in the organization to represent the club.
In case you are unfamiliar with Spring Breakout, basically it is a prospect showcase for teams to show off much of their young talent, but the Nationals earned a very distinct honor this year. In fact, they were one of two teams, the Chicago Cubs being the other, who were chosen to play in 2 different Spring Breakout games. MLB chose a team from the Grapefruit League, the Nationals, and a team from the Cactus League, the Cubs, to play twice for scheduling purposes.
We certainly will not be complaining, as it will be really unique experience to be able to watch a ton of future Nationals take the field against future big leaguers from other teams as well. The team will be playing the Houston Astros' Spring Breakout team on Friday, March 14th at 2:05 PM EST, and the New York Mets' Spring Breakout squad on Sunday, March 16th at 5:05 PM EST. Both games will be held at CACTI Park, which is the home field for the Nationals in spring training.
As for who we will get to see? I mentioned before that the team will be playing 36 prospects between the two games, and out of those 36 we are going to see 17 of the team's Top 30 Prospects, which was just updated on MLB.com this past week. I made this table below, laying out all of the ranked prospects that fans will get a chance to see.
Name | Position | Nationals Top 30 Ranking |
|---|---|---|
Jarlin Susana | RHP | 3 |
Brady House | 3B | 4 |
Seaver King | SS | 5 |
Alex Clemmey | LHP | 6 |
Luke Dickerson | SS | 7 |
Caleb Lomavita | C | 9 |
Daylen Lile | OF | 10 |
Cayden Wallace | INF | 11 |
Yohandy Morales | 1B/3B | 13 |
Kevin Bazzell | C | 14 |
Tyler Stuart | RHP | 15 |
Jackson Kent | LHP | 21 |
Brad Lord | RHP | 23 |
Marquis Grissom Jr. | RHP | 24 |
Elijah Green | OF | 25 |
Andrew Pinckney | OF | 26 |
Sam Peterson | OF | 30 |
Additionally, we will get to see some other names as well that deserve some credit in this article. Unranked position players include infielders Armando Cruz, Jorgelys Mota, Randal Diaz, 1B TJ White, and catchers Sir Jamison Jones and Maxwell Romero. Outfielders Brenner Cox and Carlos Tavares will also be participating in the games.
Righties Jose Atencio, Brendan Collins, Robert Cranz, Marc Davis, Angel Roman, Thomas Schultz, Seth Shuman, Jack Sinclair, Carlos Romero, Yoel Tejada, Sam Vasquez, and Alex Meckley will join lefties Andrew Alvarez and Dustin Saenz as the team's pitchers who currently rank outside the Top 30.
There are a few notable omissions, such as righty Travis Sykora, who we likely won't see until after the season begins while he recovers from an injury, righty Cade Cavalli, which, who knows what's going on with his health these days, and OF Robert Hassell III, who might just be battling for a spot on the team's Opening Day roster.
Some of these names participating are certainly significant, and the name that stands out to me the most at this time is Luke Dickerson, the team's #7 ranked prospect. He was the club's 2nd round selection in 2024, and has yet to make his professional debut after signing with the Nationals for overslot value as opposed to honoring his commitment to the University of Virginia. Of course, we do not know how much he will actually play in the game, but it will be really awesome to see all of this future talent on one field wearing Nationals gear and competing against top prospects of other organizations.
Who are you most excited to watch in Spring Breakout? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.