MLB Develops Class of '27 embracing future forward mindset

VERO BEACH, Fla. – The class of 2027 hopes to be the model for all the other classes that follow.

“Not even just the ‘28 but the ‘29, the 2030s,” right-hander Devyn Downs said. “All the other classes that are here at the Hank Aaron [Invitational] and the Breakthrough Series events. We just want to be the blueprint like the 2026 class was for us.”

Downs is part of a class that won the Breakthrough Series Tournament Invitational a little more than a month ago, and reached the semifinals of the 2025 PG 17U WWBA National Championship earlier this month. That comes on the heels of the 2026 class, which had 30 MLB Develops alumni selected in this year’s Draft.

What has allowed the team to be so special, according to middle infielder Jeter Farina, is the decisions the players have made every day.

“We really competed and listened to all the coaches that helped us,” Farina said. “I’m proud of my guys to keep showing up because it’s [hard]. It’s not easy to just be away from your family a lot. This is our last summer playing summer ball so it’s a big sacrifice.”

Those decisions extend to the nine positions on the field, where the coaches have been intentional about putting each player in the right spot, infielder Aiden Salinas said.

“We also have our players handpicked [for] each position,” Salinas said. “So it’s just a very well put together team.”

The coaching has also instilled simple values into the group, things like running through the bag the right way, playing fundamental defense and making the routine plays. Those things have stayed with the team.

For Farina, former MLB player Lou Collier has had the biggest impact on him.

“He [tells] me so much about baserunning, infield, hitting,” Farina said. “I basically go to coach Lou [for] anything and he tells me everything I need to know.”

Teaching the players about attitude and how to approach the game has also been a focus.

“They want you to keep a good mind and understand what is going on … being a learner of the game,” third baseman Tavis Honeycutt said. “Just watching as much as you can … and putting that into your own game.”

That consistent time with their coaches has also helped the group build a familiarity that makes them feel like they know them just as well as their coaches back home.

“I feel like I have chemistry with the players, but also the coaches,” Downs said. “Coach [Marvin] Freeman knows if I’m throwing my curveball or slider down, he knows exactly what to tell me to fix it and get it back in the zone.”

That same familiarity has carried over among the players. Having played against one another so often, they have learned how to help each other when they notice something is off, whether it is fielding ground balls or working on their swings. Even during free time at the HAI, Farina goes to the batting cages with his friends, like Blake Ragsdale, to help each other.

That desire to help was evident on Saturday when the only voice you could hear at Holman Stadium at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex was Farina’s.

“First pitch right at him, ain’t nobody better RJ,” he yelled out to Ramon Foster Jr. as he wound up to throw the first pitch of the game.

Honeycutt believes that they all just want to challenge one another. And they fight for one another even when it’s hard.

“[We] want to see each other proceed into becoming the best baseball player you can be,” Honeycutt said. “Just being a great role model to everybody and respecting everybody.”

That commitment to one another takes on even greater meaning while wearing Hank Aaron’s name across their chests, and his number “44” on their hats.

“It means a lot,” Downs said. “I’m very honored to represent Hank Aaron and what he did for us and our culture.”

“There is a lot of history behind his name and a lot of blood, sweat and tears to go behind,” Farina added.

For Salinas, that history is something he hopes to carry forward by encouraging other players to take part in the same experience.

“Representing him is just awesome,” Salinas said. “Hopefully, there’s more kids next year that I can push to come to these events and they grow [due to] these coaches and players around them.”

The way they all did.