Detroit Tigers top prospects in Spring Breakout game: What we learned

The Detroit Tigers' prospects won, 6-3, on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves' prospects in the 2025 Spring Breakout game at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida.

It's the second year of the Spring Breakout showcase games.

The Spring Breakout is a four-day event that all 30 MLB teams participate in during spring training at Grapefruit League and Cactus League stadiums.

Here are six takeaways from the Spring Breakout game:

All but one from top-100 list

The Tigers boast the No. 1 farm system in baseball with six players on the top-100 prospects list, according to MLB Pipeline: right-hander Jackson Jobe (No. 5), center fielder Max Clark (No. 6), infielder Kevin McGonigle (No. 28), shortstop Bryce Rainer (No. 52), catcher Thayron Liranzo (No. 81) and Josue Briceño (No. 94).

Of those six players, five participated in the Spring Breakout game, with only Jobe sitting out because he is competing for a spot in the MLB starting rotation with less than two weeks until Opening Day.

Here's how the five top 100 prospects performed on offense, all getting three plate appearances: Clark, 20, went 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI on a sacrifice fly; McGonigle, 20, went 1-for-3 with one single; Rainer, 19, went 2-for-3 with two singles and three RBIs; Liranzo, 21, went 1-for-3 with one double and two strikeouts; Briceño, 20, went 1-for-1 with one single and two walks.

It's worth noting Briceño started at first base, while Clark started in center field, McGonigle at third base, Rainer at shortstop and Liranzo at catcher. Briceño hasn't played catcher in an official game since May 12, 2024.

First look at Bryce Rainer

The Tigers selected Rainer — often compared to five-time All-Star Corey Seager — with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, but he hadn't played in an official game until the Spring Breakout showcase.

Rainer looks like a future star, standing tall with a smooth, effortless swing.

Detroit Tigers prospect Bryce Rainer watches practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland on Friday, Feb. 20, 2025.

In his first plate appearance, Rainer swung at a middle-middle first-pitch 94 mph fastball, but he grounded out to third base to end the second inning. He showed impressive speed as he hustled down the line, making it a close play. Although Rainer held his arms out to indicate he thought he was safe, first-base umpire Kelvis Velez called him out.

It was a taste of Rainer's athleticism.

Rainer, a left-handed hitter, collected singles in his next two plate appearances, hitting a fly ball that carried to the warning track in left field in the fourth and a line drive over the shortstop into shallow left-center field in the fifth. The left fielder should've caught the fly ball to the warning track, but he took a bad route, lost his balance and stumbled into the wall. Meanwhile, the line drive came off a 96 mph fastball with an easy swing, producing an elite 114 mph exit velocity.

19 years old. First pro action.

Bryce Rainer has 3 RBIs and a pair of hits today 🔥 pic.twitter.com/So08bw18F8
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 16, 2025

The Tigers expect Rainer to stick at shortstop.

Max Clark shows instincts in center

Clark — the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft — is expected to start this season in High-A West Michigan, which is where he finished last season. He put his plate discipline, bat-to-ball skills, speed and defense on display, including a highlight-reel play in the third inning that showed his instincts in center field.

On a flare single, Clark charged the ball, fielded it cleanly with his glove, transferred to his hand and threw a bullet to second baseman Franyerber Montilla. The lead runner considered advancing to third, then jammed on the brakes and retreated to second base. The throw from Clark to Montilla beat the runner back to the bag, ending the third inning.

got 'em@maxxclarkk13 pic.twitter.com/u3wlLaBhlf
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 16, 2025

Aside from defense, Clark hit a double — which should've been a single and an error on the left fielder — in the third inning and a sacrifice fly on a full-count in the fourth. He also flied out to left field on two pitches in the first.

The Tigers expect Clark to develop into an MLB center fielder, though he could be forced to a corner spot if Parker Meadows is still around when he debuts.

Kevin McGonigle at third base

The Tigers think McGonigle — the No. 37 overall pick in the 2023 draft — is going to stick at shortstop, but he started at third base in the Spring Breakout game, even though he's never played there during his two seasons in the minor leagues. It's even more interesting because McGonigle also played one inning at third March 9 in an MLB spring training game.

Maybe the reps at third base have less to do with McGonigle and more to do with the Tigers.

Detroit Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle practices during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland on Friday, Feb. 20, 2025.

If the Tigers — neglecting third base for the past three years — still have an opening there heading into 2026 Opening Day, with Javier Báez locked in at shortstop and Colt Keith sliding back to second base, wouldn't they want to play McGonigle at the hot corner? That seems like a real possibility.

In the third inning, McGonigle sprinted toward the third-base line and drifted into the outfield grass to field a grounder that bounced twice. He planted his back foot and fired a one-hop laser to Briceño at first, who scooped it cleanly. The runner beat it by half a step, but McGonigle left no doubt about his arm strength — an above-average arm fit for third base.

Everyone knows McGonigle is going to hit.

The only unknown is where he'll play defensively. Third base could be the answer, especially if he moves quickly throughout the minors this year (beginning at High-A West Michigan) and puts himself on the doorstep of his MLB debut by this time next year.

Watch out for Jake Miller

Left-hander Jake Miller — an eighth-round pick in the 2022 draft — isn't ranked among MLB's top 100 prospects, but he ranks as the No. 18 prospect in the Tigers' farm system.

He is an underrated name to monitor moving forward.

Miller, known for his ability to fill up the strike zone, started for the Tigers in the Spring Breakout game, allowing one run on two hits and zero walks with three strikeouts across two innings, throwing 35 pitches.

The 23-year-old retired all three batters on 11 pitches in the first inning, but he needed 24 pitches for five batters in the second inning. His fastball sat around 95 mph in the first inning, with a high of 96 mph, then it dipped to 93 mph by the time he finished the second inning, with a low of 92 mph.

To get his three punchouts, Miller threw an 83 mph slider for a swinging strikeout, a 95 mph fastball for swinging strikeout and a 94 mph fastball for a swinging strikeout.

In 2024, Miller posted a 1.85 ERA with 17 walks and 104 strikeouts across 87⅓ innings in 24 games (three starts), spanning 18 games in Low-A Lakeland, five games in High-A West Michigan and one game in Double-A Erie. He also had three walks and 24 strikeouts over 16⅔ innings in six games (three starts) in the Arizona Fall League, though he had a 9.18 ERA.

The biggest question is whether the Tigers develop Miller as a starter or a reliever, considering he never threw more than five innings or 88 pitches last season. He throws a fastball, two variations of sliders and a changeup.

Another win for Alan Trammell

Tigers legend Alan Trammell improved to 2-0 as a manager in the Spring Breakout showcase. The Hall of Famer spent his entire 20-year MLB career (1977-1996) as the Tigers' shortstop, then spent three seasons (2003-05) as the Tigers' manager, but he is now a special assistant in the Tigers' front office.

Detroit Tigers legend Alan Trammell talks to infielder Colt Keith as they practice fielding on the first base during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.

Trammell, 67, has impacted every homegrown player in the Tigers' organization. Every year, he shows up to spring training and works on the field with the players, from big-league stars to minor-league projects.

He is one of the best people in baseball.

And he's undefeated in Spring Breakout games.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bryce Rainer, Kevin McGonigle: Detroit Tigers top INF prospects shine

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