Paul Skenes, Termarr Johnson headline Pirates' roster for Spring Breakout game against Orioles
Headlined by right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes and second baseman Termarr Johnson, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have 20 of their top 30 prospects on their roster for the Spring Breakout game.
A new MLB concept, the Spring Breakout features top prospects from the Pirates and Baltimore Orioles who will play a game March 14 at LECOM Park. It will be televised on MLB Network, SportsNet Pittsburgh and ESPN+.
The Pirates’ lineup includes nine of their top 10 prospects — with right-hander Jared Jones (No. 2) the lone exception — and 14 of their top 20, as ranked by MLB Pipeline.
Our 2024 Spring Breakout roster! pic.twitter.com/OOe89tNkey
— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) March 7, 2024
The pitching staff includes Skenes, right-handers Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, Braxton Ashcraft and Patrick Reilly and lefties Anthony Solometo and Hunter Barco. Skenes (No. 3), Solometo (No. 82) and Chandler (No. 93) are all top-100 prospects.
Johnson, ranked No. 44 overall, is joined by middle infielders Mitch Jebb, Tsung-Che Cheng and Yordanny De Los Santos; third basemen Jack Brannigan and Jhonny Severino; first baseman Garrett Forrester; outfielders Lonnie White Jr., Shalin Polanco, Jase Bowen, Estuar Suero and Tres Gonzalez; and catcher Omar Alfonzo.
Check out our roster for Spring Breakout!
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— Orioles Player Development (@OsPlayerDev) March 7, 2024
The game promises a potential matchup of the past two No. 1 overall picks, with Skenes (2023) facing Orioles shortstop/second baseman Jackson Holliday (2022), the top-ranked prospect in baseball. They met once already in Skenes’ Grapefruit League debut Feb. 29, where he got Holliday to ground out to second base.
Holliday is one of three top-100 prospects on the Orioles’ Spring Breakout roster, joined by catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo (No. 17) and corner infielder Coby Mayo (No 30). Baltimore also has three of its top-10 prospects in second baseman Connor Norby, outfielder Dylan Beavers and left-handed pitcher Cade Povich.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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