Over the past two Springs, Major League Baseball has really done a great job letting the top prospects across baseball show what they are made of in the Spring Breakout where all 30 MLB teams put together a roster of their best prospects to take the field. Teams get one game, televised live on MLB.com, and some on MLB Network, against another team’s top prospects in the MLB Spring Training stadium. This past March, the Miami Marlins prospects hosted the St. Louis Cardinals prospects at the home of the Marlins, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The Marlins plated three runs in the fourth inning, but gave up one in the sixth and two in the eighth and headed to the ninth inning tied 3-3.
The Marlins gave the ball to their fifth round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Grant Shepardson, who they selected out of Mountain Vista HS here in Colorado. This was going to be the very first time Shepardson threw a baseball in a game as a professional. Like many high school players, he did not debut in his draft year, so this was his pro debut, on a nationally streamed feed through the Major League Baseball site (and later replayed on MLB Network), in the ninth inning of a tie ballgame, on a MLB Spring Training stadium mound. His first batter faced Jonathan Mejia of the Cardinals, he got caught looking for a strikeout. Next up was Yordalin Pena who foul tipped a ball into the catcher’s glove for strike three, before Jose Suarez froze on a backdoor slider for strike three. Yup, he faced three batters and struck them all out in his professional debut. About the experience, Shepardson said “I hadn’t thrown in a game since last May, so that was exciting in itself…It was awesome, after that outing it kinda set the tone for the rest of the spring and I was able to build on top of that really well.”
This wasn’t where most expected Shepardson to be just 18 months ago. He was not a player who was heavily recruited by the top schools but he had a great senior winter and spring that led to him getting drafted. He was planning on attending the University of San Francisco, where he would join his brother, Blake, on the pitching staff for the Dons in 2025.
In July, during the MLB Draft, he and his family were sitting on the couch watching the tv, phone with the ringer on waiting for a call. He didn’t get the call on day one, so the stress of the draft extended another day. His phone rang early on day two of the draft with the news he was going to be selected by the Miami Marlins, a team he hadn’t really had many conversations with, but one he felt he had a really good connection with in his somewhat limited interactions. That wasn’t the end of the draft for the Shepardson family though, Blake was eligible for the draft too who, after two good years at Regis had a career year for San Francisco after transferring there, had some teams interested.
Blake didn’t hear his name on day two, but on day three of the draft, a day where draft picks come in fast and trying to keep up can be tough, the fourth pick of the day belonged to the Chicago White Sox, and they selected Blake. How did the Shepardsons find out? They saw his name pop up on the draft tracker before he got the call, which goes to show just how quickly the day moves. When talking about the draft experience Grant said, “It was so cool! It was just a really come full circle moment to see the hard work throughout the years and all the sacrifices we made to make it happen, it was really cool to watch and I can’t thank my parents enough for helping us get into that position. The best part was seeing them and how proud they were of us.”
Not only did they go from planning on being college teammates to suddenly both professional baseball players, Grant and Blake became the first ever brothers to be drafted and signed in the MLB draft in the same draft from the state of Colorado. Blake is currently assigned to the White Sox Single-A affiliate Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, where he is throwing out of their bullpen. Grant is not on a full season roster, yet, instead getting work at the Marlins facilities in Extended Spring Training until he gets the call to make his regular season professional debut.
Shaun Kernahan is the founder and lead writer of Three Quarter Slot, where he blends scouting precision with a storyteller’s eye for the human side of the game. Based in Parker, Colorado, he has covered baseball prospects at every level since 2013, delivering in-depth evaluations, draft analysis, and developmental insight. Over the years, he has built Three Quarter Slot into a trusted home for thoughtful prospect coverage, detailed scouting reports, and a grounded look at how talent evolves
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