Pitching prospect Ferris excited for Spring Breakout encore

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The inaugural Spring Breakout in 2024 also marked the first time that Jackson Ferris suited up for the Dodgers. Now, he'll look to reprise last year's performance -- and as the top pitching prospect in the organization, he could be a candidate to start the game.

The Dodgers' prospects take on their Cubs counterparts on Thursday at Camelback Ranch. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. PDT/MST on MLB.TV.

The Dodgers acquired Ferris and No. 6 prospect Zyhir Hope in the trade that sent Michael Busch to the Cubs ahead of the 2024 season. Ferris (MLB Pipeline's No. 4 Dodgers prospect, No. 70 overall) had a strong first year in the organization, finishing the season at Double-A Tulsa, where he posted a 2.54 ERA across seven starts.

The 21-year-old left-hander was named the Dodgers' Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season and is in big league camp as a non-roster invitee. Ferris discussed Spring Breakout and his experience with the organization in a Q&A with MLB.com:

MLB.com: What did you think of Spring Breakout last year?

Ferris: I thought it was good, just in terms of getting out onto a big field, seeing a little bit more fans. It was a lot of fun, just being out there with a bunch of the guys, just playing another team.

MLB.com: Was it cool to be able to play with and against prospects from all Minor League levels?

Ferris: You definitely get to meet a lot of guys. With it being my first year last year, I got to meet a bunch of different guys that I didn't really necessarily know at that time. It's definitely good to be out there and meet those Double-A, Triple-A guys. And then I got fortunate enough to be in Double-A at the end of the year, so some of those guys I got to play with, and it was a lot of fun.

MLB.com: Coming off your first year in this organization, how has your overall experience been, and how do you feel heading into this season?

Ferris: My first season went well. I feel like at the beginning, we were still trying to get to know each other -- me and the coaches, trainers, strength coaches, everybody. And then by the end of the season, we just kind of clicked on all cylinders and everything just went well. Coming into Spring Training, I feel ready to go for my second year, now that we all know each other pretty well. I know exactly what I need to do to get ready out on the field, and then what I need to do in order to be good out on that field.

MLB.com: Is there anything you learned about yourself, with the help of the organization, in that first year?

Ferris: I feel like in that first year, it was just kind of getting everything over the plate. Whenever I get strike one -- strike one's a big pitch for me, and a big pitch in baseball in general. But I feel like when I get ahead, 0-1, it definitely changes the outcome of my outing in terms of going deep into a game and just getting as many outs as possible to allow the team to win.

MLB.com: Was that a matter of focusing on landing strikes, or more having the mindset to be confident to throw something in the zone?

Ferris: I feel like it's a little bit of both. You can never have too much confidence out there on the mound. You've just got to have trust in yourself. But at the same time, you've just got to fine-tune things. … In the bullpen, take every pitch as if it's an 0-0 count, just see how many times you can get strike one in a bullpen [session]. Because if you can't get strike one in a bullpen, it's going to be hard to get strike one on a game. So just kind of trying to take those practice reps as much as game reps as possible.

When I first got here, I was nitpicking on the corners a little bit. Sometimes an umpire doesn't give you a call, or sometimes it's just off. … I feel like the coaches here taught me pretty well, like, if you just throw everything over the white part of the plate, a great hitter only gets a hit three out of 10 times. You're gonna get a hitter out the majority of the time if you just get it over the plate.