Here's the Pirates' Spring Breakout roster
BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates are the only team with four pitchers on MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 100 prospects list.
On March 14, three of those pitchers will get to suit up together in what could be a preview of what a future Pirates rotation will look like, in Major League Baseball¡¯s inaugural Spring Breakout game.
The contest between the Pirates¡¯ and Orioles¡¯ best prospects will take place at LECOM Park. Leading the way for the Bucs are their collection of starting pitching prospects: No. 3 overall prospect Paul Skenes, No. 82 prospect Anthony Solometo and No. 93 prospect Bubba Chandler. The game is a way for teams to show off some of their top prospects and offer fans a glimpse of what the future holds.
For the Pirates, that includes Skenes¡¯ 102 mph fastball, Solometo¡¯s funky mechanics and Chandler showing why he skyrocketed up prospect boards after a dominant second half of last season.
¡°It¡¯s kind of a glorified back field game, which is cool,¡± Chandler said earlier this spring.
While it has already been decided that the trio is not going to make the Pirates¡¯ Opening Day roster, they may not be too far away. All three were promoted to Double-A Altoona last season, and it¡¯s reasonable to assume they will move higher in 2024. In Skenes¡¯ case, that could potentially mean the Majors, which would be a rapid rise after being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in last year¡¯s MLB Draft.
They also all got a good look at Major League Spring Training this year, giving them time to acclimate to a big league environment. All three received good feedback from their team in camp, too.
¡°The nice thing about being here and being in the locker room is this is a team that we¡¯re going to win a lot of games with, hopefully,¡± Skenes said. ¡°So that¡¯s the goal, to win a lot of games with them for a long time.¡±
The top of the Pirates¡¯ farm system is stacked with pitching, including No. 7 prospect Braxton Ashcraft, who will also participate in the game. General manager Ben Cherington often says a team can never have enough pitching, but it looks like there should be talented young arms on the way in the next couple years.
They¡¯ll be given quite a task against the Orioles¡¯ lineup, which will feature some of the top prospects from the highest-ranked farm system in the game. The much-hyped Skenes vs. Jackson Holliday matchup has already happened, but there should be plenty of Top 100 vs. Top 100 at-bats in this game.
It should be an external challenge after this group of young pitchers has been pushing each other to get better.
¡°For all of us, we¡¯re all just doing the same thing, pushing each other,¡± Solometo said. ¡°It¡¯s good to have 1-1s and other picks, but it¡¯s nice to see the guys we drafted put in that effort. It sets the runway for everyone else.¡±
What is Spring Breakout? MLB Spring Breakout is a four-day event showcasing baseball¡¯s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball. The inaugural edition will be held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus league stadiums during Spring Training. A series of 16 exhibition games will be played between teams comprised of each MLB organization¡¯s top prospects, creating a new touchpoint on the baseball calendar that celebrates our sport¡¯s budding talent.
Here is the Pirates' Spring Breakout roster with MLB Pipeline's rankings: