Youth is both the future and the present tonight. After seeing Cam Schlittler—a key 25-year-old pitcher for their current rotation—toss a strong outing against the Tigers this afternoon, the Yankees are back on the field for this Spring Breakout Game, facing the Braves. The Baby Bombers lineup will be led by shortstop George Lombard Jr., who faced his fair share of struggles this spring training, hitting a disappointing .179, but remains one of the more exciting names in the Yankees system and the organization’s top prospect by most public outlets.
A young pitcher who earned a late-season call-up to Double-A, Kyle Carr will start the game against Owen Murphy, both coming off promising but very limited appearances in spring. The third-round pick from New York’s 2023 draft class out of a California junior college, the 23-year-old Carr is the Yankees’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline an dhas thrown four innings in camp, allowing one run, striking out, and walking a pair. Both of these teams have done a good job in recent years in bringing up and relying on young starters to help playoff contenders, thus thrusting this evening’s spotlight on Carr and 22-year-old Atlanta righty Owen Murphy, their first-round pick from 2022 (20th overall).
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Joining Lombard in the Yankees’ starting nine are third baseman Core Jackson (No. 12 overall in the Yankees’ system), left fielder Jace Avina (No. 20), first baseman Coby Morales, center fielder Garrett Martin, second baseman Kaeden Kent (No. 13), DH Eric Genther, right fielder Brando Mayea (the 20-year-old top name from the 2023 IFA class), and catcher Ediel Rivera.
Available off the bench are catcher Engelth Urena, infielders Roderick Arias (a former top prospect), Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, Dexters Peralta, and Enmanuel Tejeda, and outfielders Wilson Rodriguez (No. 18), Willy Montero, and Kyle West. Active out in the bullpen are lefty Pico Kohn (No. 10) and right-handers Harrison Cohen (No. 27, who recently appeared in the World Baseball Classic for Team Israel), Jack Cebert (No. 25), Eric Reyzelman (No. 28), Tony Rossi (No. 30), Ben Grable, and Chris Kean.
A quirky detail that only a baseball fiend would notice is that three of the five Spring Breakout games on the schedule today feature classic World Series matchups of the past. On top of this Yankees-Braves duel, the Phillies beat the Jays 5-4 later, and the Dodgers and White Sox will meet up to wrap up the evening.
How to watch
Location: George M. Steinbrenner Field — Tampa, FL
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First pitch: 6:35 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES Network| Gray TV
Radio broadcast: none
Online stream: Gotham Sports App
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