Inside The Red Sox

Watch Red Sox-Braves Spring Breakout Games Right Here On Inside The Red Sox

Get a glimpse of some of the top prospects in Major League Baseball
Scott Neville|
Watch Red Sox-Braves Spring Breakout Games Right Here On Inside The Red Sox
Watch Red Sox-Braves Spring Breakout Games Right Here On Inside The Red Sox

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have mortgaged the future of their franchise on their current group of top prospects, electing to await their development before spending meaningfully in free agency. 

With that in mind, there's no better time to watch the Red Sox and Atlanta Braves take part in the first-ever Spring Breakout exhibition games down Fort Myers, part of a four-day showcase of the best prospects in the game.

Watch the Braves at Red Sox starting at 1:05 p.m. ET for free right here on Inside The Red Sox (no external links or sign-ups required).

Who can we expect to see appear in this game?
The Red Sox's farm system is stacked with position players, four of whom landed in MLB.com's Top-100 prospects. The highly touted quartet of shortstop Marcelo Mayer (MLB's No. 15 prospect), outfielder Roman Anthony (MLB No. 24), catcher Kyle Teel (No. 40) and outfielder/middle infielder Ceddanne Rafaela (MLB No. 78) -- who has a chance to make the Opening Day roster -- will all be in attendance. 

Boston will also send outfielder Miguel Bleis (Red Sox's No. 5 prospect) and second baseman Nick Yorke (No. 8) who once were among the top-100 group as well as some younger rising stars such as 18-year-old shortstops Yoeilin Cespedes (No. 9) -- who some believe could become a blue-chip prospect in the coming years -- and the Red Sox's second-round pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, Nazzan Zanetello (No. 10).

As has been heavily reported and critiqued, Boston's pitching pipeline leaves much to be desired. With that said, only five ranked pitching prospects will be in attendance on Saturday -- right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez (No. 7), newly acquired left-hander Richard Fitts (No. 12), newly acquired right-hander David Sandlin (No. 16), right-hander Hunter Dobbins (No. 27) and right-hander Angel Bastardo (No. 28). The other six pitchers are unranked, though right-hander Luis Guerrero can flash triple digits and has the ceiling of a future high-leverage hurler at the big-league level.

As for the Braves, their crop of prospects is not quite as star-studded. Only ten of their 26-man roster is comprised of top-30 organizational prospects -- compared to the Red Sox's 21.

That's not to say Atlanta has no big names in the game. The Braves will be led by Spencer Schwellenbach, the team's No. 3 prospect. Right behind him will be right-hander Owner Murphy (No. 5).

The position player group will be headlined by shortstop Nacho Alvarez Jr. (No. 6) -- who is not the top prospect in the event but certainly has the best name. Outfielder Luis Guanipa (No. 9) will be a player to watch as well.

More MLB: National League Rising Star In Trade Rumors Reportedly Would Want To Play For Red Sox

Published
Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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