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Everything You Need To Know About Spring Breakout 2026

Originally posted on Just Baseball | By Leo Morgenstern | Last updated Mar 10, 2026 8:34 AM ET

Spring Breakout is coming back for a third year.

In 2024, we saw Paul Skenes strike out Jackson Holliday. In 2025, all three of Boston’s big three hit one out of the park – first Kristian Campbell, then Marcelo Mayer, and finally Roman Anthony. Two days later, we saw Trey Yesavage throw the first pitch of his professional career.

We’ve already seen more than 200 spring breakout participants debut in MLB, with three of them taking home Rookie of the Year honors (Skenes, Nick Kurtz, and Drake Baldwin).

What will we see in 2026? I couldn’t say. But what I can tell you is that it will include some of the most exciting prospects in the game.

With the third annual Spring Breakout on the horizon, Just Baseball has you covered with every detail you need to know about the four-day event. So, let’s dive in, because Spring Breakout is coming soon to a Grapefruit or Cactus League ballpark near you.

What Is Spring Breakout?

Spring Breakout takes place over four days in mid-March. Rosters composed of the top prospects from each MLB club’s farm system play against one another at their team’s spring training ballpark. It’s an opportunity to watch a ton of the game’s top prospects face off in no-stakes, all-fun exhibition contests.

When Is Spring Breakout 2026?

This year’s Spring Breakout begins on March 19, two days after the World Baseball Classic final. The games will run until March 22.

The Marlins and Astros will get things started in the Grapefruit League with a game at 12:05 pm ET on Thursday, March 19. Meanwhile, the Reds and Giants will play the first game in the Cactus league, getting started at 1:05 pm local time (4:05 pm ET).

Sunday, March 22 will mark the end of Spring Breakout 2026, with the Brewers and Athletics playing the final game of the event. They’ll get underway at 1:05 pm local time (4:05 pm ET)

Complete Schedule

Grapefruit League

Teams	Date	Time	Location
Marlins vs. Astros	March 19	12:05 pm EDT	CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches
Phillies vs. Twins	March 19	1:05 pm EDT	Lee Health Sports Complex
Nationals vs. Cardinals	March 19	4:30 pm EDT	Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium
Rays vs. Mets	March 19	7:10 pm EDT	Clover Park
Red Sox vs. Orioles	March 20	6:05 pm EDT	Ed Smith Stadium
Tigers vs. Pirates	March 20	7:35 pm EDT	LECOM Park
Blue Jays vs. Phillies	March 21	1:05 pm EDT	BayCare Ballpark
Braves vs. Yankees	March 21	6:35 pm EDT	George M. Steinbrenner Field

To account for an odd number of teams in the Grapefruit League, the Phillies will play two games.

Cactus League

Teams	Date	Time	Location
Reds vs. Giants	March 19	1:05 pm MST / 4:05 pm EDT	Scottsdale Stadium
Guardians vs. Angels	March 19	1:10 pm MST / 4:10 pm EDT	Tempe Diablo Stadium
Royals vs. Rangers	March 20	1:00 pm MST / 4:00 pm EDT	Surprise Stadium
Mariners vs. Brewers	March 20	2:10 pm MST / 5:10 pm EDT	American Family Fields of Phoenix
White Sox vs. Dodgers	March 21	3:30 pm MST / 6:30 pm EDT	Camelback Ranch-Glendale
Rockies vs. Diamondbacks	March 21	5:00 pm MST / 8:00 pm EDT	Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
Padres vs. Cubs	March 21	6:05 pm MST / 9:05 pm EDT	Sloan Park
Athletics vs. Brewers	March 22	1:05 pm MST / 4:05 pm EDT	Hohokam Stadium

To account for an odd number of teams in the Cactus League, the Brewers will play two games.

Just Baseball’s Top 100 Prospects in Spring Breakout

Earlier this month, each team revealed its 40-man player pool for Spring Breakout. On Monday, March 16, official 27-man rosters will be released.

It doesn’t take a math genius or a prospect guru to tell you that not everyone from the preliminary rosters will actually participate in Spring Breakout, but it’s pretty clear it’s going to be a star-studded event.

Only 12 of Just Baseball’s Top 100 Prospects aren’t in their team’s 40-man player pools: Nolan McLean (No. 3), Carson Benge (No. 11), Connelly Early (No. 23), Payton Tolle (No. 28), Jonah Tong (No. 30), Bryce Rainer (No. 35), Jarlin Susana (No. 54), Josuar De Jesus (No. 58), Travis Sykora (No. 67), Brandon Sproat (No. 71), Logan Henderson (No. 92), and Jimmy Crooks (No. 99).

If there’s one matchup to watch, it will almost certainly be the Tigers-Pirates game on March 20, when we could see Just Baseball’s top two prospects, Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle, go head to head.

How To Watch Spring Breakout 2026

According to MLB.com, all 16 Spring Breakout games will be available to watch on MLB.tv, MLB.com, and the MLB App. Many of the games will also be available on their teams’ local networks and on the Amazon MLB FAST Channel.

In addition, MLB Network will broadcast every Spring Breakout game, though due to conflicting times, only eight of them will air live. The other eight will air at a later time/date.

If you’re looking to attend a game live, you can find links to purchase tickets for all 16 games on MLB.com.

The Spring Breakout Tournament

If you’re a fan of Spring Breakout, you might have already heard that some big changes are coming to the event in 2027.

While this year’s Spring Breakout will look much like it did in 2024 and ’25, the prospect showcase will become a tournament next year.

We don’t have all the details about the format of the tournament just yet, but we know that every game will be an elimination game, and two champions will be crowned: one in the Grapefruit League and one in the Cactus League.

MLB is clearly optimistic about the new format, having already greenlit a tournament in both 2027 and ’28.

Of course, amid all this excitement, it’s worth keeping in mind that Spring Breakout 2027 could be significantly affected by a lockout next offseason. Minor league players have a separate labor contract from major leaguers, but a lockout that extends into March could prevent any prospects on 40-man rosters from participating in Spring Breakout

This article first appeared on Just Baseball and was syndicated with permission.

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