Spring Breakout 2025 Cubs Roster Announced: An Instant Reaction

[Jason Ross]

In 2024, MLB announced their "Spring Breakout" series—a chance to showcase some of the best minor-league talent in the game playing against one another in televised action. Who will represent the Cubs in 2025—and who missed the cut?

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Spring Breakout was an initiative that started last year, as a chance for Major League Baseball to shine a spotlight on its best and brightest young players. Each team will face off in a single game against another, with a roster built entirely from minor-league players. The Cubs were supposed to play the White Sox last year, but the game was (sadly) canceled. This year, the Cubs' Spring Breakout roster will compete against the Dodgers'—mirroring their Opening Day Tokyo Series, in a way—and then take on the Angels' Breakout group a few days later.

The Cubs will once again be putting together an impressive lineup of names. Last year's roster would have seen Owen Caissie, Matt Shaw, Kevin Alcántara and others take the field, and this year, many names will get a chance to make their impression. A full rundown of the Cubs Spring Breakout Roster can be found here, but here is a quick instant reaction to the entire team: 

Players to Watch
First and foremost, Cade Horton is back in action... or at least on the roster. Horton is a name that you could likely put a bit on the "surprise addition" list, due to his return from an injury last year, but I think that makes him especially exciting to see. I want to see the velocity and the movement on the breaking balls. This is probably a good sign when it comes to his availability at the start of the year, and a sign that the Cubs don't plan on leaving him in Arizona for much extended work. He should, in fairly short order, be in Iowa, trying to force the issue at the highest level of the minors. This will be a fun first step. 

Horton will not be the only member of last year's I-Cubs (or this year's) who will be on the Breakout team, though, as James Triantos and Moises Ballesteros will also appear. While neither are universal top-50 prospects, both are guys who will likely see time in Chicago in 2025 (if they aren't traded, of course). Getting to see a few innings of Ballesteros catching is always a bit of a peek behind the curtain on his defense. Triantos is versatile, and his hit tool is very good. Hopefully, he gets a chance to cause a little chaos on the bases.

Beyond some of the Iowa crew, many will get their first chance to see Jaxon Wiggins light up the gun. Capable of hitting the high 90s and scraping triple digits, the 2023 second-round selection out of Arkansas is easily described as a "live arm". Control issues may force the lanky righthander into a role in the bullpen down the road, but he has one of the highest ceilings of any arm in the system. I wrote about Wiggins earlier in the offseason, and I'll admit to being very excited for his 2025.

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Surprise Additions
A few of the Cubs' most recent draft picks will get a chance to showcase their talent against the Dodgers, in third-round pick Ronny Cruz and fourth-round selection Ty Southisene. Both were selected out of high school, so both fit better into the "file them away for a later date and time" category than, say, Triantos and Ballesteros, but both have some fun upside. Cruz has big power potential, and Southisene packs a strong contact ability and a little more pop than expected in a small package.

Riley Martin probably isn't a surprise in the traditional sense—he'll start the year in Iowa and has flashed a really nasty curveball for a few years—but his road is one that I've always found interesting. Martin was a sixth-round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Quincy University. Signed for just a few thousand dollars, Martin was drafted in large part due to his ability to save slot allotments for other picks. He flashed a few interesting qualities, but it would have been hard to expect him to settle in as well as he has. There's a good chance Martin will get a chance to pitch in Chicago in 2025, and it's a great reminder that regardless of your signing bonus, these are all high-level athletes who can break out. 

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Notable Omissions
No Kevin Alcántara immediately stands out. It is true that he made his MLB debut last season, but that isn't an automatic disqualifier; players who still have their rookie status are all eligible to be part of the event. This, coupled with Craig Counsell's recent comments on the outfielder, make you wonder if this means that he's headed to Tokyo with those who are expected to play on Opening Day. That doesn't mean that we should expect him to be on the bench, though. He could simply be one of the handful of players on the taxi squad, there to replace someone in case of emergency and to play in the exhibition games with Japanese teams, rather than to face off with the Dodgers. If he does get a seat on that plane, though, it's a ringing endorsement. 

A few injured players will not make the roster either, in Brandon Birdsell and Owen Caissie. I didn't expect to see either name here as they work back from injuries, but it's still a bit of a letdown to be reminded that each is down for a while. The Cubs have no reason to rush them, and both still have a chance to debut in 2025. 

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The Cubs Breakout Team will take on the Dodgers Breakout Team on Mar. 13, at 8:05 PM CST on the road, and then host the Angels Breakout Team on Mar. 15 at 8:05. The game against the Dodgers will be broadcast through MLB.com, while their home game against the Angels will be on Marquee and MLB.TV. 

Who are you excited to see play in the Breakout Game in 2025? Is there someone you wish made the roster? Let us know in the comments section below.

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[Bertz]

Do we know what's up with Jefferson Rojas?  I haven't heard a peep about him this spring.  I didn't expect to get inundated with Rojas, but I would expect approximately as much Rojas as we've gotten Cristian Hernandez.  Like this game feels like it ought to include him.

[Jason Ross]

18 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Do we know what's up with Jefferson Rojas?  I haven't heard a peep about him this spring.  I didn't expect to get inundated with Rojas, but I would expect approximately as much Rojas as we've gotten Cristian Hernandez.  Like this game feels like it ought to include him.

You know, I hadn't thought about that and you're right, we haven't seen anything on him. I broke my self-imposed Twitter ban (I've kept my account for a few things but really, really try not to use it) and a quick search of my following and everyone doesn't really seem to pull anything up. Something to file away - hopefully something benign and not something like an injury. 

[Bertz]

15 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

You know, I hadn't thought about that and you're right, we haven't seen anything on him. I broke my self-imposed Twitter ban (I've kept my account for a few things but really, really try not to use it) and a quick search of my following and everyone doesn't really seem to pull anything up. Something to file away - hopefully something benign and not something like an injury. 

Same.  I also just went digging through Arizon Phil's writings.  Haven't seen any news on Rojas, just a suggestion that we trade Rojas for Workman so that we have the freedom to option Workman up and down 🙃. 

While I was looking though, I did come across this which ties into something else you wrote:

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The MLB Breakout series will be happening while the Cubs are in Japan, so Matt Shaw and Kevin Alcantara not being on the Cubs breakout roster would seem to indicate that it has already been decided that they will be traveling to Japan (Shaw to play 3B and K. Alcantara on the Taxi Squad).  

 

[Jason Ross]

14 hours ago, Bertz said:

Same.  I also just went digging through Arizon Phil's writings.  Haven't seen any news on Rojas, just a suggestion that we trade Rojas for Workman so that we have the freedom to option Workman up and down 🙃. 

While I was looking though, I did come across this which ties into something else you wrote:

 

Man, AZ Phil is so good for understanding option years, covering Complex League...and then he'll go and suggest the Cubs could move Swanson or Holiday and  Competitive Balance B pick. I wonder if he's just been down at MiLB Camp and the team is working on something specific? He's been someone who's got a great approach but could stand to hit for more power. But this is my copium. 

And yeah, Shaw is another name I should have mentioned! It seems good news for both and always a positive to see how high the team is on these guys.