Holliday, Basallo, Mayo head up O's Spring Breakout game roster

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles’ No. 1 ranked farm system has been on display pretty much every day this spring training in Florida with young players and prospects excelling in the Birds’ Grapefruit League games - helping the club to an 11-2 record.

The O’s farm will have another chance to shine, this one on national television on March 14 at 7:05 p.m. when MLB Network televises their Spring Breakout game in Bradenton against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The first annual four-day event, from March 14-17 in Florida and Arizona, features teams playing each other in seven-inning games featuring each organization’s top prospects.

The O’s have a roster of 24 for that game featuring 16 of their top 30 prospects via MLBPipeline.com, seven of their top 10 and three that get top 100 recognition.

They are infielder Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, catcher Samuel Basallo ranked as the O’s No. 2 prospect and No. 17 in the MLBPipeline top 100 and infielder Coby Mayo, rated as the O’s No. 4 and No. 30 in the top 100.

The games overall will feature 71 of the current top 100 prospects and six games will be shown live via MLB Network.

Here is the O’s roster and each player’s top 30 team ranking:

Pitchers

Cade Povich – No. 10
Trace Bright – No. 17
Keagan Gillies
Nolan Hoffman
Yaqui Rivera
Kade Strowd

Catchers

Samuel Basallo – No. 2
Creed Willems – No. 30
Silas Ardoin
Connor Pavolony

Infielders

Jackson Holliday – No. 1
Coby Mayo – No. 4
Connor Norby – No. 7
Max Wagner – No. 15
Leandro Arias – No. 16
Frederick Bencosme – No. 28
Billy Cook

Outfielders

Enrique Bradfield Jr. – No. 6
Dylan Beavers – No. 8
Jud Fabian – No. 13
Braylin Tavera – No. 14
Thomas Sosa – No. 23
John Rhodes – No. 24
Matthew Etzel

Gillies is a top reliever on the Baltimore farm, who last year between Single-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie went 5-1 with a 2.43 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and a 13.50 K rate.

Ranked as the club’s No. 30 prospect by Baseball America, this morning in an interview at Twin Lakes Park, he talked about the pride the farm players have in the O’s system being ranked No. 1 among all 30 big league clubs.

“It’s incredible,” he said. “It’s awesome coming in every day and having the best of the best around us. The competition level increases, and you get better off of that. We face our highly talented hitters. It really prepares us and gets us ready for a new season," he said.