Here's the Nationals' Spring Breakout roster
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- You have seen a handful of Nationals prospects playing in Major League Spring Training games. Next Friday, you can see a game with exclusively prospects on the field.
The debut of the Spring Breakout is a showcase of the top emerging talents around baseball. The Nationals will travel to Port St. Lucie, Fla., to face the Mets on March 15 at 3:10 p.m. ET in Game 1 of a doubleheader.
The rosters, which were revealed on Thursday, are stacked with exciting glimpses into the future.
Washington’s squad features 22 of its top 30 prospects, headlined by a trio ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100: outfielders Dylan Crews (MLB No. 7, Nats No. 1) and James Wood (MLB No. 14, Nats No. 2) along with third baseman Brady House (MLB No. 48, Nats No. 3). The trio will have the momentum of participating in their first big league camps.
This is an opportunity to see prospects who joined the organization as recently as last year’s Draft, including No. 2 overall pick Crews, third baseman Yohandy Morales (Nats No. 5), right-hander Travis Sykora (No. 11) and outfielder Andrew Pinckney (No. 17). Like Crews, Morales and Pinckney quickly rose to Double-A Harrisburg by the end of last season.
Prospects who joined the club during international signing periods also include outfielder Cristhian Vaquero (No. 9), infielder Armando Cruz and right-hander Andry Lara. Vaquero, only 19 years old, has been participating in some Major League drills in camp.
And if you’ve checked out Sam Dykstra’s breakdown of the best tools in the Nationals’ system, you will see several of those prospects in the Spring Breakout, including No. 10 right-hander Jarlin Susana (fastball, slider), No. 12 left-hander DJ Herz (changeup) and No. 29 southpaw Dustin Saenz (control).
Check out the entire Nationals roster below. Each team was permitted to select 23-27 prospects.
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's the Nationals' Spring Breakout roster with MLB Pipeline's rankings: