Beginning on March 14, Major League Baseball will conduct the first ever Spring Breakout series -- a four-day, 16-game showcase of the game's top prospects. Every team will play at least one game (the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds will play two apiece on account of there being an odd number of teams in Florida and Arizona). There are no championships or awards at stake; this is merely MLB's attempt to wisely use the late stages of spring training to introduce the public to the league's future stars.
Battle of the No. 1 picks, round 2
When: March 14, 7:05 p.m. ET
Who: SS/2B Jackson Holliday (Orioles) vs. RHP Paul Skenes (Pirates)
The minors' top hitter and pitcher, according to CBS Sports' preseason prospect rankings, will face off again on Thursday. Skenes won the first round between the two, inducing a groundout to begin a quality outing. Holliday to be the game's top overall prospect. He won't be able to legally drink until December, yet he's consistently shown a preternatural ability to scorch professional pitching. He's a legitimate candidate to head north when camp breaks. Skenes won't make his debut that soon, but he'll find his way to The Show later this year. He's a strapping right-hander with a hot fastball and a swing-and-miss slider.
As an added bonus, these teams are loaded with other notable prospects. The Pirates will have second baseman Termarr Johnson and pitchers Anthony Solometo and Bubba Chandler on hand. The Orioles, meanwhile, will have slugging corner infielder Coby Mayo; last year's first-round pick outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr.; and catcher Samuel Basallo, who we recently noted is a good candidate to make a leap this season.
If you're only going to catch one game of the Spring Breakout series, make it this one.
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