Summer, and the inevitable heat waves, are here, which means baseball season is now in full swing in Vero Beach, Fla. Last week, the annual Breakthrough Series Invitational 17u Tournament returned for another fierce weekend of competition. The host team, The Program, also known as the Breakthrough Series Team, took home the trophy for a second consecutive year.
The invitational, played at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex, is only in its third year of play, but has quickly gained recognition as an elite high school baseball tournament that consistently showcases top prospects.
One of these standout prospects, 16-year-old Mason Sims, is a new face to The Program and the MLB Development system entirely. Sims’ first-ever MLB Develops event was at last week’s Breakthrough Series development camp, where he earned his official invitation to play on The Program at this year’s invitational.
Sims, a right-handed pitcher in the class of 2027, quickly made his mark at his first tournament with his new team. In just a few innings of work, he displayed a fastball that reached the low 90s and a curveball that broke batters’ lines of sight on more than one occasion.
Impressive feats for one of the youngest players at the tournament, sure, but for the Corona, Calif. native, he was just doing what he loves.
“My main thing is just to have fun,” Sims said. “You can’t go in there and be scared, you need to go in there and think, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna dominate this.’ So that’s my mindset.”
But before Sims could step foot on the mound at the invitational, he had to introduce himself to his teammates at the Breakthrough Series camp, filled with multiple Division 1 commits and possible future MLB Draft picks.
“I was a little nervous coming here, because I didn’t know a lot of people, but Murph for sure introduced me to the team, and it was just really cool,” he said.
“Murph” is a reference to Anthony Murphy, a fellow California native and high school teammate of Sims’ on the nationally ranked Corona Varsity Men's baseball team. Murphy is a familiar face in the Breakthrough Series program and at the invitational, where he won co-MVP last year.
“The first time I heard about [MLB Develops] was actually through Murphy,” Sims said. “He went there two years ago for the first time, and I thought it was really cool. They flew out a bunch of kids from all over the country, and he told me it was just a great experience.”
Murphy, a standout player in his own right, reminded Sims of the one simple fact that would help him get through the possible nerves that come with competing in high-level tournaments.
“I just told him to be yourself,” Murphy said. “Everyone likes to be themselves, they’re all excited, and they all like to play the game.”
And Sims came to play indeed -- in his sole outing at the invitational, he pitched four hitless innings with six strikeouts, earning high praise from his Corona teammate.
“His outing was electric, to be honest,” Murphy said. “It's exciting to see him, but in the outfield, he doesn't give us a lot of action, which is a blessing and a curse.”
On top of being a peer recruiter for the MLB Develops program, Murphy is also one of three players on The Program committed to play at LSU, in addition to fellow outfielder Nate Davis and first baseman Dylan Minnatee, all in the class of 2026.
And that’s just LSU. Other members of The Program are committed to play at Texas Christian University, Texas Tech, University of Miami and the University of Missouri, to name a few.
The Program went undefeated in five games during the tournament, ultimately claiming their second Breakthrough Series Invitational win in as many years.
The coaches for The Program saw an improvement in the competition level at the tournament, a positive sign for its future renditions.
“Each year, it’s better teams, more intense,” said Lou Collier, an eight-year MLB veteran and head coach of The Program. “I hope we can do one in the spring, summer and fall. It gives our team a chance to come home, get our work in, and go out and compete, so I think it's great.”
In the heat of competition, it might be easy to forget the core pillar of the invitational and the entire MLB Develops program: To train and develop players into the best version of themselves, regardless of the overall outcome.
“I felt good whether we won or lost, because I’ve seen the progress,” Collier said. “It’s translating to the game, those guys are becoming students of the game, and now you’re seeing the best of them.”
The Breakthrough Series Invitational is the leadoff event for an entire “Summer of Development” filled with tournaments and showcases for the MLB Develops program and its players, all hoping to make a name for themselves and reach the next level.