The 3rd annual MLB Spring Breakout showcases the top prospects in baseball, including the San Diego Padres top players in their minor league system. Ninety-one of the top 100 prospects have been named to be included in the rosters for the 16 games that will be played between March 19-22.
This will be the last year that the present format will be in place. Beginning next season, and including 2028, the format will change to a single-elimination style tournament with two teams crowned champions. The Cactus League will have a champion from their 15 teams and the Grapefruit League will have a champion from their 15 teams. The new format doesn’t begin this year in order to not compete with the WBC.
The top 100 prospects in MLB include No. 4 Leo DeVries, traded by the Padres to the Athletics in exchange for Mason Miller and JP Sears. The A’s also received ranked prospects Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Nuñez, all of whom are currently on the A’s roster for the game.
MLB No. 1 prospect, SS Konnor Griffin, and No. 2 prospect, SS Kevin McGonigle, will play against each other when the Pittsburgh Pirates (Griffin) match up with the Detroit Tigers (McGonigle) on March 20 at 4:35 p.m. PT on MLB Network.
The No. 3 MLB prospect, SS/2B Jesus Made, will play for the Milwaukee Brewers against the No. 4 prospect, SS Leo DeVries for the A’s on March 22 at 1:05 p.m. PT on MLB Network. Eight of the 16 games will be broadcast live on MLBN while the other games are carried on their respective team networks or on MLB.TV.
San Diego Padres
The Friars play their breakout game on March 21 versus the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Ariz. at 6:05 p.m. PT on Padres.TV and broadcast on 97.3 FM The Fan, their flagship radio station. MLB.com released its new top 30 prospects for the Padres this past week. Lefty starting pitcher Kruz Schoolcraft is now ranked as the top prospect in the system. Although he has only pitched 1.2 innings of professional baseball, Schoolcraft has huge upside and is being ranked solely on that assessment.
Catcher Ethan Salas, the No. 2 Padres prospect, is still admired for his defensive attributes but is no longer considered a balanced player with his offense not showing well in his limited time above low-A ball. After missing most of the past season, Salas will have to prove himself as a hitter to regain his position as a top prospect in MLB.
The rosters for the teams are including the full top 30 prospects for each team and additional players added per the organization’s desire to have the largest pool of players to choose from. On March 18, the rosters will be trimmed to 23-27 players per team and that will be the final roster for the games.
The Padres have all 30 of their top prospects as well as players recently brought over from the Dominican Summer League to begin their training on US soil and be assigned to a US team. International players to note include SS/2B Jhoan De La Cruz, who helped lead his DSL team to the championship last season. Taiwanese righty Lan-Hong Su and RHP Jeferson Villabona were added from the international ranks. SS Dylan Grego, who was drafted in 2025 and both of the newly drafted catchers, Ty Harvey and Truitt Madonna, are on the original list.
The Cubs top rated prospect, MLB No. 55 catcher Moises Ballesteros, headlines their roster and RHP Jaxon Wiggins, the No. 58 MLB prospect, will likely start the game for the Cubs. The Padres have multiple pitchers who could start but Schoolcraft is the only one ranked on MLB Pipeline and he sits at No. 88.
There will be an updated Padres roster and a game preview after the final rosters are announced.
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