I did a version of this article last year around “Who to Watch in Spring Breakout.” I decided to go a level deeper and give one player per team I am excited to watch. The further I got into this, the more I realize this was becoming essentially the list of guys I might already own, or plan to own at some point this year in my Bowman portfolio. I also landed on some common themes: DSL players making their stateside debut; 2025 Bowman Draft guys that we will likely see near the top once the current crop of top prospects graduate, or a few 2026 Bowman guys that need to start making noise to gain more attention. This is a good list to bookmark, and see who out of this list is in the top 30 this time next year, if not already contributing at the MLB level.

🟠 AL East

Baltimore Orioles | Wehiwa Aloy | BAL #7 📅 Red Sox at Orioles | Friday, March 20 | MASN No Bowman yet

Aloy won the 2025 Golden Spikes Award, the most decorated amateur player in college baseball last year, and is still just BAL #7 with no Bowman card yet. March 20 against the Red Sox is the first real national exposure moment.

The Rays did their typical thing this offseason: traded from depth, accumulated talent, and emerged with one of the most loaded Spring Breakout pools in the sport. Gillen is deep in that outfield group alongside Jacob Melton, Aidan Smith, and Brendan Summerhill, but he’s the name that makes the most sense to own at the MLB Pipeline #65 slot. The 2024 Bowman Draft auto at ~$32 is one of the better values on this list for a top-100 bat with Tampa’s developmental engine behind him.

Five of Boston’s top eight Spring Breakout prospects are pitchers, which tells you how arm-heavy this pool is. Eyanson is in that group without much national exposure yet. The Red Sox have one of the better pitching development tracks in the game, and his Bowman Draft auto at under $18 reflects where he is right now, not where that pipeline tends to take arms.

Lagrange already has the viral moment on his resume. He struck out Aaron Judge on a 102 mph fastball in a sim game earlier this spring. He profiles as a high-leverage arm with a fastball that averages 98 and touches 102, and his command is the development question. The 2025 Bowman Chrome auto at ~$90 reflects legitimate buzz around a pitcher with closer-level stuff.

Toronto Blue Jays | Juan Sanchez | TOR #7 📅 Blue Jays at Phillies | Saturday, March 21 | MLBN / Amazon No Bowman yet

JoJo Parker and Arjun Nimmala are getting all the Jays prospect attention, and Sanchez quietly sits at #7 in their system without a Bowman card to his name yet. No card, no national profile. That combination is the early-collector sweet spot.

🔵 AL Central

The White Sox rebuild has generated more top draft picks than any organization in baseball over the past three years, and Carlson is part of that haul. At #73 overall with a $50 Bowman Draft auto, he sits just below the names that get constant coverage, which is usually where the hobby catches up later rather than earlier. The Dodgers are the headliners March 21, but Carlson is the name White Sox fans should be focused on.

Rodriguez is making his stateside debut on the biggest stage of the Spring Breakout (Tigers vs. Pirates, March 20, Peacock) and the raw power from his DSL run is the reason scouts have been watching him. McGonigle and Clark absorb all the Tiger prospect conversation, which has kept Rodriguez’s $43 Bowman Chrome auto flat. March 20 is the first real test of whether the tools are real at this level.

The Twins’ top talent (Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, Emmanuel Rodriguez) has been getting the coverage, but Young is the athlete in this pool I want to watch. He was one of the better pure athletes in the 2025 draft class, and the Twins have a real track record of turning that kind of profile into polished contributors. His $20 Bowman Draft auto is the lowest price on this entire list for someone with legitimate upside in a strong organization.

Cleveland Guardians | Jace LaViolette | CLE #9 📅 Guardians at Angels | Thursday, March 19 | MLB App No Bowman yet

LaViolette was drafted in the first round last July while dealing with a hand injury that required two separate surgeries. Seven months out from that second surgery, Spring Breakout at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 19 could literally be his professional debut. That’s the biggest pro debut story of this entire showcase: a first-round bat, two surgeries in between, first live professional game action. No Bowman yet, and no track record yet. March 19 starts building both.

I am not going to pretend the $5 Bowman Chrome auto isn’t part of the appeal here. Medina is one of the lower-level names that hasn’t gotten any real national look. At $5, this is a pure upside bet on a Spring Breakout performance. I’m comfortable with that.

🟢 AL West

Rodriguez is 18, an OF/2B out of the Dominican Republic, and received the biggest international signing bonus in the Rangers’ 2025 class at $1.1 million. He’s a left-handed contact bat with a quick swing and a mature approach for his age. The DSL numbers were solid, the power is a question, and he’ll likely start 2026 in the Arizona Complex League. His $16 Bowman Chrome auto is a DSL price for a player the Rangers clearly believe in. March 20 is his first real stateside showcase.

Seattle has six Top 100 Prospects and one of the deepest farm systems in baseball, which means Bautista is buried under names with more buzz. Colt Emerson has been the talk of Mariners camp all spring. The March 20 game against the Brewers is one of the most talent-dense matchups of the entire showcase.

Bremner has thrown exactly zero professional pitches. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 Draft is working on a new slider in spring camp, has been in live sim action at Tempe, and has already drawn attention from Angels pitching coach Mike Maddux. He told reporters: “Obviously, I want to get in a game. That’s not entirely up to me, but whatever they tell me I’m going to do.” When a top-five draft arm makes his first professional appearance, his $37 Bowman Draft auto is not going to sit at $37 for long. March 19 is the date to watch.

He’s the No. 2 prospect in their system, and the Astros’ development track record means being #2 in that organization is better than being #1 in most others. The $36 Bowman Draft auto is a fair entry for a prospect in one of the better pipelines in baseball.

Arnold is a fascinating arm. He’s a southpaw who will make his professional debut in 2026 after being drafted and ranking #41 overall. The A’s system is headlined by Leo De Vries, but Arnold is the arm in that pool I want to see most on March 22. The $46 Bowman Draft auto for a Top 50 pitcher about to debut is one of the stronger values in this list.

🔴 NL East

The Braves’ Spring Breakout pool has several pitching names to sort through (Didier Fuentes, Owen Murphy, Briggs McKenzie), but on the position player side, Gil is the name I keep coming back to. The $26 Bowman Chrome auto for an ATL #10 shortstop is the type of patient early position in a top development organization that tends to pay off over a two-year horizon. March 21 at Steinbrenner Field against the Yankees is a big stage.

McLean and Tong are both in big league camp fighting for roster spots, which clears the runway for Pena to be the name Mets fans remember from this showcase. The $56 Bowman Chrome auto is the highest price point among the unranked prospects on this list, which tells you the hobby already has a sense of his upside. The March 19 primetime game against the Rays at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie should be the first real spotlight moment for Pena on a national stage.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 Draft and the youngest first overall selection in history. Willits was called up to big league spring training for the Nationals’ Grapefruit League opener at just 18 years old, hit .300 with a .397 OBP in his first 15 pro games, and his father is former big leaguer Reggie Willits. The baseball bloodlines, the advanced feel, the switch-hitting profile. It’s all there. He’s projected to reach the majors by 2028 on his current trajectory. His $170 Bowman Draft auto reflects legitimate No. 1 overall hype. March 19’s Spring Breakout is another audition.

The Phillies are pitching-rich in their Spring Breakout pool and play two games this year. Escobar is the position player development story developing alongside that group, and March 21 in Clearwater is the bigger of the two stages. PHI #6 at second base with a $30 Bowman Baseball auto in a system that consistently produces contributors is a reasonable position to hold.

Thomas White is out with an oblique strain. Aiva Arquette is recovering from core surgery. That clears the decks for Alderman to lead this group on March 19. The 2023 Bowman Draft auto at ~$18 is one of the older early cards on this list. The price reflects the wait, not the player. Alderman has the tools to make the wait worth it.

🟡 NL Central

There is nothing subtle to say here. Griffin has hit three home runs in six spring training games, set the record as the first teenager in 20 years to do that in a single spring, and is being compared in the same breath as Griffey Jr., Harper, Rodriguez, and Soto as one of the few teenagers with a real shot at an Opening Day roster. The Pirates drafted him 9th overall in 2024 and he hit .333/.415/.527 with 21 homers, 94 RBIs, and 65 stolen bases across three minor league levels last year. His $646 Bowman Draft auto tells the whole story on where the hobby is pricing his ceiling. March 20 against the Tigers is must-watch television.

A separate word on Jhostynxon Garcia (#6 / MLB #85 / $33 Bowman Baseball): he also homered in the same spring training game as Griffin’s third homer against the Cardinals. Garcia came over from Boston in the Johan Oviedo trade, brings massive raw power, and is fighting for a roster spot himself. I am rooting for him to get regular at-bats in 2026 and deliver.

Lewis is ranked as a potential 2026 breakout candidate with a high power ceiling, and the $38 Bowman Draft auto for a mid-70s MLB-ranked prospect reflects that the hobby hasn’t fully caught up to the upside yet. March 19 in Scottsdale against the Giants is a good early look.

The Brewers play in two Spring Breakout games, including one of the deepest talent matchups of the event against the Mariners on March 20. Burke gets two appearances to make an impression, and his $19 Bowman Draft auto is a low-cost entry on a first baseman whose power stroke finally showed up in Double-A last year.

The Cardinals have six Top 100 Prospects in their preliminary pool, and Rodriguez sits at #55 overall. The $79 Bowman Chrome auto prices in a legitimate top-60 prospect in one of the more consistently productive development organizations in baseball. The March 19 afternoon game against Washington is a sleeper showcase of the first day.

The Cubs don’t always generate the national noise their system deserves, and Conrad is a good example of that. He’s #3 in the organization with a $46 Bowman Draft auto, and the March 21 late showcase at Sloan Park is the last big spotlight of the weekend. The Cubs have turned that ranking into a big league contributor more often than not.

🟣 NL West

Waldschmidt is the D-backs’ No. 1 prospect at #66 overall, and the $50 Bowman Draft auto feels discounted for a system leader on a team still in the contention window. Arizona graduated some top names recently, which means Waldschmidt is now carrying that No. 1 billing with the spotlight all to himself.

The Dodgers have four outfield Top 100 Prospects in their pool, which means Sirota is batting fourth in terms of attention behind De Paula (#15), Hope (#27), and Quintero (#30). He was acquired from the Reds in the Gavin Lux trade and had a strong professional debut. At $41 and MLB #64, he is the cheapest card among those four Dodgers outfield names by a wide margin, and they’re all playing in the same lineup March 21. That pricing gap is the opportunity.

The Giants’ big Spring Breakout story is Luis Hernandez making one of the most anticipated pro debuts in the showcase’s short history. But Level is the name in that pool I want to watch. He’s SF #4 at $25, March 19 in Scottsdale is the first real extended look at him nationally, and the Giants have earned the benefit of the doubt on how they develop players at this ranking.

San Diego Padres | Kruz Schoolcraft | SD #1 📅 Padres at Cubs | Saturday, March 21 | Marquee No Bowman yet

Schoolcraft is the club’s 2025 first-round pick and enters Spring Breakout as San Diego’s top prospect. That’s a real change from previous years when Merrill, King, and others absorbed all the national attention. The Padres traded away significant prospect capital to stay competitive, which means Schoolcraft is stepping into the spotlight earlier than the original plan. No Bowman yet. March 21 at Sloan Park is where the hobby starts learning his name.

Colorado Rockies | Ethan Holliday | COL #1 / MLB #19 📅 Rockies at Diamondbacks | Saturday, March 21 | MLB App No Bowman yet

Holliday needs to start showing signs of life in the pros. The pedigree is generational. Son of Matt Holliday, top-five draft pick. But his first 18 professional games showed a 39% strikeout rate. No Bowman yet. Whoever buys first is betting on the ceiling before that strikeout rate gets resolved. Spring Breakout against Arizona is the first data point of the 2026 season. Either it starts to answer the question, or it extends it.

Final rosters are announced March 18. Some players listed here are subject to last-minute changes based on big league camp decisions.

📅 All 16 games stream live and blackout-free on MLB.TV, MLB.com and the MLB App. Eight games air live on MLB Network, including Tigers/Pirates on Peacock.

2026 Spring Breakout: One Prospect Per Team to Watch