On Sunday, March 17, the Astros will travel to Jupiter, Florida, to meet the Cardinals in the Spring Breakout, a one-of-a-kind exhibition featuring the top prospects from each farm system.
The Astros do not have a player ranked among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects, but the team remains optimistic about their prospect quality and depth. The Cardinals will play two Spring Breakout games, with players split between the rosters.
Here’s all you need to know about the game and its intriguing new event.
MLB Spring Breakout is a four-day event that showcases baseball’s future stars, the present Minor League Baseball players. During Spring Training, the inaugural edition will take place at Grapefruit and Cactus League stadiums from March 14 to 17. A series of 16 exhibition games will be played between teams comprised of each MLB organization’s top prospects, establishing a new milestone on the baseball calendar to commemorate our sport’s emerging potential.
The Spring Breakout game will be the first of two games between the teams, with Game 2 scheduled to begin at 12:05 p.m. CT. The Spring Breakout game will kick off at 9:05 a.m. CT.
The standouts are No. 1 prospect Jacob Melton, an outfielder who was just sent to Minor League camp, and shortstop Brice Matthews (No. 4), the club’s first-round draft pick last year. Joey Loperfido (No. 6), the Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year for 2023, will also compete. Other names to keep an eye on include outfielders Luis Baez (No. 2) and Kenedy Corona (No. 12), as well as infielders Zach Dezenzo (No. 5) and Will Wagner (No. 15). The full roster is available here.
Spencer Arrighetti, a right-hander ranked third in the Astros’ organization by MLB Pipeline, has impressed at Major League camp and is one of three Top 10-ranked pitchers on the team, alongside A.J. Blubaugh (No. 8) and Jose Fleury. Arrighetti was named the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2023 after posting a 9-7 record with a 4.40 ERA in 28 games, including 21 starts between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land.
Tekoah Roby, a right-hander ranked third in the Cardinals’ organization and 99th overall, leads the pitchers chosen to play for St. Louis. He will be joined on the mound by left-hander Cooper Hjerpe (No. 7) and right-handers Max Rajcic (No. 14), Adam Kloffenstein (No. 17), and Zack Showalter (No. 18).
If you don’t see a high prospect on your favorite team’s roster, it’s probably because they belong to one of two groups. They are either still in big league camp and competing for a roster spot, or the player is injured or has a medical concern.
The Cardinals are one of two teams that will play two Spring Breakout games, and they have constructed two rosters for each. The Cardinals are also one of only five teams to have made all of their top ten players available for the Spring Breakout games, according to MLB Pipeline.
