Prospects tantalize fans with glimpse of the future
BRADENTON, Fla. — The buzz that permeated LECOM Park for the first annual Spring Breakout game on Thursday night started well before first pitch, a 101 mph laser from Paul Skenes to Orioles center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr.
To fully grasp the excitement this event created, one merely had to venture out onto the boardwalk in right field.
Off to the right, young fans waited in lines dozens deep to snag autographs of their favorite prospects. To the left, Pirates fans craned their necks and held up their phones, eager to catch a glimpse of Skenes, the sport’s top pitching prospect.
“There’s a lot of really good talent here for the world see,” Bubba Chandler said. “A lot of faces people are gonna become familiar with over the years.”
Thursday game was part of an MLB-wide effort to showcase prospects by pitting those groups against one another throughout spring training. The Pirates and Orioles earned top billing — and a national audience — due to Skenes and shortstop Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in the sport.
Holliday might’ve arrived with the higher ranking and the more famous father, but it was Skenes who ultimately stole the show. In fact, as much fun as the entire evening turned out to be, an event MLB should want to reproduce and improve in 2025, there’s no question what people will be talking about after this one.
Skenes was incredible. He opened by pumping 101, 101 and 102 mph fastballs past Bradford for a strikeout. He then fell behind Holliday, 3-1, before rallying with a cutter that seemed to draw a bit of a snicker from the normally stoic Skenes.
Holliday then swung through a pitch that Statcast strangely classified as a four-seam fastball — confusing because it arrived at about the same velocity (91.6 mph) as Skenes’ cutter. Not that it mattered.
“I don’t remember what I was saying,” Skenes said. “Hopefully [the camera] didn’t get my lips too good.”
Say whatever you want, Paul. You’re earning it.
That much was evident after the game when Skenes began riffing on what this event was supposed to be about for the Pirates: a formal showcase of the talent coming up through the organization, specifically on the mound. For all the fuss over the major league rotation, it’s the opposite in the minors; nobody else has four pitchers in MLB Pipeline’s top 100.
Skenes, Jared Jones, Anthony Solometo and Chandler occupy the spots. There’s also Braxton Ashcraft, Thomas Harrington and more.
“We’re gonna be good for a while, which is cool to see,” Skenes said. “The first wave of guys that are gonna go up are gonna be really good, and then we have a stockpile of guys who are going to come up right after. I don’t think people realize how good we are. I don’t even know if we realize how good we are as a system.”
The No. 1 overall pick from last summer’s draft made short work of the Orioles, finishing his inning by getting second baseman Connor Norby to bounce out to third. Winning the sixpitch battle with Holliday was impressive. Ditto for Skenes throwing 11 pitches, eight strikes and six of the 11 registering triple digits.
“It was electric,” Termarr Johnson. “To throw the ball as hard as he does and still hit his spots, it’s everything you would want out of a pitcher.”
If Pirates fans were jazzed to see Skenes, well, this certainly should’ve done the trick. The bigger conversation with Skenes should shift to how soon he’s ready for major league competition — and it might be now, although the Pirates are adamant he must adjust to professional life first.
But on this night, fans could see that Skenes won’t be alone when it comes to talented younger players capable of impacting the big club. Another of those is Johnson, the organization’s second-best prospect, and someone with a surprising amount of power for his stature.
Johnson isn’t physically imposing like Skenes. But good luck finding a hitter his age with more confidence, a better feel of the strike zone or a smoother swing. Johnson is also smart. Like when he saw there was a hole up the third- base line and stopped his swing short to place the ball there.
“I was just trying to go with the pitch,” Johnson said of a first-inning single.
Lonnie White Jr., another super athletic prospect, followed with a single of his own. Jack Brannigan gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly.
Ashcraft relieved Skenes and bookended his outing with two strikeouts. The problem: back- to- back walks, two stolen bases allowed and a sacrifice fly tying the game at 1.
The Pirates picked up their second run in similarly unpredictable fashion: a walk, a passed ball and a balk. Their third came via another sacrifice fly, this time with Mitch Jebb getting the RBI.
“I think it’s good to get the top prospects in the organization together,” Jebb said. “We’re all gonna be sent to different places once the season starts. It’s good that we’re all playing together. We all have a goal of getting up there and helping the Pirates win.”
Jase Bowen added to the offense with a 2-for-3 night. But even with Solometo (illness) and Harrington (shoulder) sitting out, the Pirates still leaned on what Skenes said: the impressive pitching.