Stripers Alums Mejia, Waddell Selected to Braves' Spring Breakout Roster
Major League Baseball announced today the rosters for its 2025 Spring Breakout, the second-annual Spring Training showcase of top prospects from all 30 big-league organizations. The Atlanta Braves' 24-player roster for their March 16 Spring Breakout game includes a pair of Gwinnett Stripers alums, pitcher Ian Mejia and infielder Luke
Major League Baseball announced today the rosters for its 2025 Spring Breakout, the second-annual Spring Training showcase of top prospects from all 30 big-league organizations.
The Atlanta Braves' 24-player roster for their March 16 Spring Breakout game includes a pair of Gwinnett Stripers alums, pitcher Ian Mejia and infielder Luke Waddell.
Ian Mejia (2024)
Atlanta's 11th-round pick in 2022 out of New Mexico State, Mejia made one start for the Stripers last season, his Triple-A debut on May 23 vs. Jacksonville (loss, 1.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 HR, 3 BB, 1 SO).
Despite that rocky first impression in Gwinnett, the 25-year-old enjoyed breakout success as he went 8-7 with a 3.47 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2.33 BAA, and 10 quality starts over 24 games (23 starts) with Double-A Mississippi. He led the entire Braves organization in complete games (3) and shutouts (3), and tossed a 7.0-inning no-hitter for the M-Braves on May 17 vs. Biloxi.
Mejia enters 2025 ranked the Braves' No. 25 prospect by MLB.com.
🚨 NO-HITTER ALERT 🚨
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 18, 2024
Ian Mejia delivers a dominant 11-K showing to notch the 7-inning milestone for the @mbraves, their 5th no-no in franchise history 🎉 pic.twitter.com/2zjXW2BHtO
Luke Waddell (2023-24)
Atlanta's fifth-round pick in 2021 out of Georgia Tech, Waddell has combined to bat .232 (118-for-508, 23 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 73 R, 65 RBI, 15 SB) over 140 games spanning two seasons with the Stripers.
The 26-year-old spent all of 2024 with Gwinnett, earning the club's "Fan Favorite Player" award after hitting .235 (95-for-404, 21 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 57 R, 55 RBI, 12 SB) in 111 games. He led the club in triples and finished tied for the team lead in RBIs. Waddell also proved to be a versatile defender, seeing time at shortstop (84 games), second base (19 games), and third base (11 games).
This is the second Spring Breakout selection for Waddell, who was on the Braves' inaugural roster in 2024.
🚨 WADDELL WALK-OFF 🚨 pic.twitter.com/NDnk7wS93Q
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) June 30, 2024
The Braves' 2024 Spring Breakout roster featured six players who went on to spend time in Gwinnett that season, including pitchers Domingo Gonzalez (3-2, 3.41 ERA, 2 saves in 24 games), Patrick Halligan (0-0, 6.75 ERA in 4 games), and Hayden Harris (1-3, 7.36 ERA, 2 saves in 22 games), catcher Drake Baldwin (.298, 12 homers, 55 RBIs, .891 OPS in 72 games), and infielders Nacho Alvarez Jr. (.297, 10 homers, 42 RBIs, 10 steals, .861 OPS in 64 games) and Waddell.
The Braves host the prospects of the Detroit Tigers in the 2025 Spring Breakout game on Sunday, March 16. First pitch at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida is set for 4:05 p.m. The game will air live on MLB.TV, MLB.com, and the MLB App.