Six Former Red Wings Named to Nationals' Spring Breakout Roster

The Washington Nationals put six former Rochester Red Wings on their 40-player Spring Breakout roster, giving the International League affiliate a notable presence in one of Minor League Baseball's most visible prospect showcases of the spring.

Riley Cornelio, Erick Mejia, Yohandy Morales, Christian Franklin, Phillip Glasser, and Andrew Pinckney all made the cut. Cornelio and Mejia are right-handed pitchers, while Morales joins the roster at infield and Franklin, Glasser, and Pinckney fill three of the outfield spots. The Nationals announced the full 40-player roster, and the Rochester contingent represents a significant chunk of the players with upper-level affiliate experience.

The roster is headlined by two former first-round picks who have not spent time in Rochester: infielder Seaver King, selected in 2019, and infielder Eli Willits, the organization's 2025 first-round choice. Both are among the highest-profile names in a Nationals system that Baseball America currently ranks 19th among all 30 Major League farm systems. That ranking puts Washington squarely in the middle tier of organizations, but Spring Breakout selection signals the league views their pipeline as worth watching nationally.

The third annual MLB Spring Breakout pairs the Nationals against the St. Louis Cardinals in a prospect showcase designed to put minor leaguers on a national stage. The game goes Thursday, March 19, at 4:30 p.m. at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, and streams free on the MLB App and mlb.com.

For Rochester fans tracking where the Red Wings' pipeline feeds, this is a useful snapshot. Spring Breakout rosters tend to reflect genuine organizational investment: these are players the Nationals want evaluated in a competitive, visible setting with scouts and cameras watching. Getting six former Red Wings onto that 40-man list is a reasonable indicator of how much talent has moved through Rochester over the past few seasons. The Cardinals matchup on the 19th will give all of them a chance to make a case for accelerated timelines.