Futures Skills Showcase to highlight prospects
Discussions of hitting prospects typically involve a breakdown of tools and skills. Who has the most raw power? Who has the best feel to hit? Even with the advent of so much more data, these evaluations often provide at least a little subjectivity. Imagine if, in one day, you could
Discussions of hitting prospects typically involve a breakdown of tools and skills. Who has the most raw power? Who has the best feel to hit? Even with the advent of so much more data, these evaluations often provide at least a little subjectivity.
Imagine if, in one day, you could have those prospects on one field at one time, putting those tools to the test against each other. Wait no longer: On Monday, Major League Baseball announced the first-ever Futures Skills Showcase, to be held as part of All-Star Saturday on July 13 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
The All-Star Futures Game is already the jewel event for anyone wanting to see the next generation of Major League stars. Now some of MLB’s top prospects will get to compete in a video game-like competition at the conclusion of the Futures Game that goes beyond the standard home run derby. There will be three rounds of challenges, during which players can accumulate points by executing various hitting skills. Here’s a breakdown of the challenges, along with some potential Futures Gamers who could excel in each round.
Round 1: Hit It Here
Hitters will aim to hit infield and outfield targets in order to earn points corresponding to each target’s value. Four obstacles (representing traditional infield positions) will be placed on the infield dirt, and hitters will earn points for hitting outfield targets on the fly or on a bounce. Similar to the KBO Bunt King competition, hitters may also earn points by bunting the ball onto bullseye-style targets and earning points corresponding to where the ball rests.
Round 1 favorites: No. 1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday and top A’s prospect Jacob Wilson are the only two prospects with a 70 grade hit tool. Dylan Crews and Brooks Lee and their 65 hit grades would be considered favorites as well.
Round 2: Call Your Shot
Hitters will have a number of swings to showcase their bat control. To start, they will announce to which field (left, right, or center) they will try to hit the ball. If successful, they then will choose to hit to one of the two remaining fields, and once successful will have to hit the last field. After all three fields are cleared, hitters will continue to “call their shot” to any field with their remaining swings. All hits must hit the outfield grass (clear the infield) to count.
Round 2 favorites: More bat control here, and in addition to the quartet above, prospects that were on the recent Top 10 pure hitters in the Minors list could put up some major points here: the Rays’ Junior Caminero, the Cubs' James Triantos, the Mariners' Cole Youngand Colt Emerson, the Twins’ Walker Jenkins and sleeper prospect Mike Boeve of the Brewers.
Round 3: Swing For The Fences
Hitters will showcase their all-field power and attempt to hit home runs. Batters will earn bonuses for homers hit to the opposite field and will have the opportunity to earn additional bonus points for streaks of home runs hit on consecutive swings.
Round 3 favorites: This is obviously where the guys with the big power grades come into play. The Rays' Junior Caminero and Nationals outfielder James Wood are the two with 70-grade pop. Sluggers like the Rays' Xavier Isaac, the Mariners' Lazaro Montes, the Orioles' Coby Mayo and the Cubs' Owen Caissie all have 65 grade power and could really mash in this round.
Trying to figure out who could win the whole thing? There’s no guaranteed formula, but adding up all 900 prospects’ hit and power tools provides a nice list of front-runners for this video game come to life (hit+power totals in parentheses):
Jackson Holliday, 2B/SS, Orioles (130)
Junior Caminero, 3B/SS, Rays (130)
Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals (125)
James Wood, OF, Nationals (120)
Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins (120)
Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Orioles (120)
Brooks Lee, OF, Twins (120)
Xavier Isaac, 1B, Rays (120)
“The All-Star Futures Game is a premier event on the baseball calendar for the next generation of Major League stars and the addition of the Futures Skills Showcase to All-Star Saturday will enhance the experience for both players and fans,” said MLB Chief Baseball Development Officer Tony Reagins. “Building on the success and popularity of the inaugural Spring Breakout, this is another exciting opportunity for Baseball to engage with a young audience while providing a platform for these great young players to display their incredible talents in a competitive format.”
Single day tickets for All-Star Saturday on July 13th are officially on sale beginning today at allstargame.com. Tickets for All-Star Saturday include access to all three events taking place at Globe Life Field, including the All-Star Futures Game, MLB Futures Skills Showcase and the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game. Tickets are also available now at allstargame.com for the HBCU Swingman Classic presented by T-Mobile at Globe Life Field on July 12th, and for Capital One All-Star Village at Choctaw Stadium from July 13th-16th.
Additional information regarding 2024 All-Star Saturday, including Futures Game roster selections and participants for the Futures Skills Showcase and the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information about All-Star Saturday, please visit mlb.com/all-star/saturday.
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.