The final week of the first half saw the race for No. 1 and championship host come down to its final day as the Spikes went on a three-game win streak for their first MLB Draft League Championship appearance. A day later, the 2025 MLB Draft marked the halfway point of the fifth MLB Draft League season, transitioning from its collegiate first half into the professional second half. At the end of the two day event, 48 total players from the league were selected, raising the overall total of drafted MLB Draft League players to 233.
MLB Draft
Preview: Since the league’s inception, 185 players that have donned a Draft League uniform have been selected in the MLB Draft. This summer, the league has seen record-breaking velocity, all-around talented catchers, professional-ready prep talent, power/speed combinations and more. Ahead of the draft, we previewed a select group of prospects that had gained momentum by appearing in the MLB Draft League. More>>
Recap: At the end of the draft, 48 players that had put on an MLB Draft League uniform were drafted to an MLB organization, raising the five-year total to 233. In this year’s class, 36 were members of the first half in the 2025 season, including Miguel Sime Jr. (Trenton Thunder) who was this year’s first selection at pick No. 111 by the Washington Nationals in the fourth round. Overall, 2025 saw the second-most players drafted in a year but still had various all-time highs including: pitchers selected (34), players selected by one MLB organization (6) and more that can be found in the 2025 MLB Draft recap. More>>
First Half Standings
(Team, W/L, PCT, GB, STRK)
*State College, 17-12, .586, -, W3, 2-0
Mahoning Valley, 17-13, .567, 0.5, W1, 1-0
West Virginia, 16-13, .552, 1.0, L1, 1-1
Trenton, 15-17, .469, 3.5, L1, 0-2
Frederick, 14-18, .438, 4.5, W1, 2-2
Williamsport, 12-18, .400, 5.5, L11, 0-1
* First Half Champion
Last Week Standings
(Team, W/L, PCT, GB, STRK)
Frederick, 4-1, .800, L1, 1-0
Mahoning Valley, 4-1, .800, W1, 0-0
State College, 3-2, .600, W3, 0-0
West Virginia, 3-2, .600, L1, 0-0
Trenton, 1-4, .200, W1, 0-1
Williamsport, 0-5, .000, L11, 0-0
Players of the Week
Hitter: OF Ben Watson, Mahoning Valley - 5 G, .417/.462/.875 (1.337 OPS), 3 HR, 2 2B, 12 RBI, 9 R, 2 SB
Pitcher: LHP David Shaw, Frederick - 1 GS, 1-0, 5 IP, 7 K, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB
June 4-8: Hitter - C Lance Trippel, FRE. Pitcher - RHP Sam Cozart, WV.
June 10-15: Hitter - C Daniel Stewart, MV. Pitcher - RHP Sam Cozart, WV.
June 17-22: Hitter - 3B Jakob Poturnak, TRN. Pitcher - RHP Roman Kimball, SC.
June 23-29: Hitter - OF Matthew Bardowell, WIL. Pitcher - RHP Merit Jones, WIL
June 30-July 6: Hitter - INF Ryan Rivera, SC. Pitcher - RHP Ryan Calvert, TRN
Tuesday
West Virginia (5) vs Trenton (3): BOX SCORE - The Black Bears opened the week by extending their win streak to three games and taking a share of first place in the standings. Taking an early 3-0 lead in the first two innings, highlighted by an RBI-double from Sam Miller (105 mph exit velocity), the Thunder were able to tie by the fifth inning as a successful steal of second and home started to swing the momentum. West Virginia would put across the go-ahead runs in the seventh with a Tyler Pettorini single and Nico Newhan groundout as lefthanded pitcher Gavin Braunecker’s debut would end with a credited win (3.1 IP, 3 K, 1 H) and Connor Benge (1 IP, 2 K) would earn the save in his first appearance as well.
Frederick (8) @ State College (5): BOX SCORE - The Keys came into State College against a hot Spikes team and were able to ride multi-hit and RBI performances along with a rather dominant start on the mound. After striking out three in four innings on July 1, David Shaw elevated his performance for the Keys in five shutout innings with seven strikeouts, both tying his 2025 bests when combined with the NCAA season at California. At the plate, Anthony Diaz and Shane Lewis led the Frederick charge, each with two hits and two RBI. Diaz would also come around to score once and steal two bases with Lewis slugging a double. The Spikes offense would begin to spark a rally in the eight on the back of Quinn Bentley’s two-run single but Jack Bowery would enter the game to close the eighth and secure his first save, retiring all four batters in a row.
Mahoning Valley (7) vs Williamsport (4): BOX SCORE - After Williamsport scored four in the first, the Scrappers offense was able to fight back through the remaining eight including three runs in the eighth to be half a game back of first. The first to come out of the bullpen for Mahoning Valley, Drew Lafferty went 4.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts on two hits, accounting for more than half of his season’s work in three games. Max Johnson would put the Scrappers on the board with a two-run home run (340 ft, 96.6-mph exit velocity) in the third with a wild pitch bringing them within one. Tied in the eighth, Ben Watson took a middle-in fastball 393 feet for his first home run of the year (102.9-mph exit velocity) to drive in three and bring across the game-winning runs.
Wednesday
Mahoning Valley (11) vs Williamsport (3): BOX SCORE - Ben Watson continued to swing the bat well with his second home run (373 ft, 100.1-mph exit velocity) in as many games to highlight a 2-for-4 day with a double, plus three RBI and runs. A three-run shot in the first, it gave the Scrappers a 4-2 lead after the Crosscutters scored on a throwing error. From the two-spot for Mahoning Valley, Max Hartman continued a strong July with two hits, two RBI and three stolen bases with two of them being for third base. With the win, Mitch Dye went six innings with as many strikeouts on two hits and two earned runs. For the Crosscutters, Max Mandler contributed the most on offense with two hits, an RBI, a run and two stolen bases as he starts his second stint in Williamsport three for his last seven.
Trenton (6) @ West Virginia (1): BOX SCORE - It was another day that saw Trenton’s Aaron Whitley keep running with his eighth multi-steal game and fourth with three this summer. On the mound, Luke Delongchamp worked six innings for the win with three strikeouts but surrendered the lone West Virginia run on Tyler Pettorini’s second home run of the summer (353 ft, 98.1 mph). In the seventh inning, Aiden Weaver retired the side in order with three strikeouts leading to Colin Bosley-Smith earning the two-inning save on no hits and two strikeouts.
Frederick (11) @ State College (4): BOX SCORE - The Keys’ offense was led by the duo of Dawson Willis and Trey Lipsey for their second straight win to open the week. It was near impossible to keep Willis off the bases with a 4-for-5 day with a double, RBI, two runs and a stolen base as Lipsey reached base four times (two hits and walks), with three runs and two stolen bases. After the Spikes scored their four runs on three hits through the first three innings, Frederick’s Paul Panduro (4 IP, 3 K) and Andrew Williams (2 IP, 4 K) kept State College hitless through the remainder of the game.
Thursday
West Virginia (14) vs Trenton (0): BOX SCORE - In pursuit of the first half championship, the Black Bears dominated from the beginning behind a trio of pitchers and four batters having multi-RBI games. Scott Rienguette’s start for West Virginia saw three batters reach base over four innings as the Canadian right-hander struck out five to tie his summer best. Three instances of a Judah Morris plate appearance resulted in runs with a groundout in the first for the initial run, his third home run of the season (419 ft, 108-mph exit velocity) to drive in two in the sixth, and a bases loaded walk in the seventh. Along with Morris, Connor Hicks, Sam Miller and Bryan Arendt each recorded two RBI. After Reinguette, Miguel Galvez and Joe Steeber held the Thunder to two hits with Galvez working two innings with a strikeout and Steeber securing the three-inning save with six strikeouts. Steeber ended the night by retiring the side all on strikeouts.
State College (4) vs Frederick (2): BOX SCORE - The Spikes stayed half a game within first place after a five-strikeout performance from Dayne Pengelly. Getting out to a 3-0 lead, the Keys sparked a small rally in the sixth on a Dawson Willis triple and Anthony Diaz sac fly to put them within one. However, Pengelly’s relief of Carter Holjes (2 IP, 4 K), Andrew D’Alessio and Landon O’Donnell (SV, 1 IP, 3 K) shut it down allowing five total baserunners, only one reaching third.
Mahoning Valley (10) vs Williamsport (9): BOX SCORE - The Scrappers kept their lead in the standings with a walk-off victory after entering the ninth down a run. Matthew Bardowell accounted for five of the Crosscutters’ nine runs with three runs scored and two RBI to round out his 3-for-4 day with a double. The first tally of the game came from Williamsport’s Jack Lausch, a two-sport athlete as the quarterback for Northwestern, who homered to right center (405 ft, 99.7-mph exit velocity) to drive in two runs. Responsible for the second most runs, Patrick Roche delivered a bases-clearing double to score three in the fifth and the becoming the game-tying run in the ninth. Roche’s run would be part of the Scrappers’ winning play as Max Hartman’s ground ball was misplayed to score not only the Mahoning Valley first baseman, but Trey Fenderson as well for the walk-off win.
Friday
State College (6) vs Williamsport (4): BOX SCORE - The Spikes moved into first place by half a game to give them an opportunity to clinch on Saturday. Bobby Olsen struck out a summer-high seven over sixth and a third, only surrendering three runs for State College. Matthew Evans led the Spikes’ offense from the nine-spot with three hits, a double, RBI, two runs, his first being the team’s first of the game, and two stolen bases. The shortstop even made highlight reel plays in the field with an over-the-shoulder grab with his back to the infield. Williamsport’s Max Mandler extended his impressive week with his second consecutive three-hit game, adding a run and stolen base to the box score.
Frederick (5*) vs Trenton (5) Sudden Death Extra Inning. BOX SCORE - Deja vu struck in Frederick as the Keys won their second sudden death extra inning game via a walk-off hit from Truitt Madonna. The Thunder and Keys exchanged blows in the second with Trenton executing a first and third steal that was followed by a bottom half dominated by Frederick’s Dawson Willis. The Oklahoma shortstop reached base on a hard-hit single, stole second and then third before coming in to score on a Lance Trippel single. Willis would set a trend in stolen bases for the game with a total of three by the walk-off and 13 combined between both teams. Overall the game was a tight contest as the Thunder would then score two runs, for Frederick to follow up with two and tie on two occasions to lead into a tie game at the end of nine. Madonna would then send one to the wall for the walk-off hit as the Keys tied the most sudden death extra inning wins this summer with two.
West Virginia (10) vs Mahoning Valley (7): BOX SCORE - The Scrappers had an opportunity to clinch the first half championship and Garrett Peters looked as if he was going to do it himself as he worked six perfect innings. Towards the end of his start, the offense behind him was clicking as Ben Watson’s third home run of the week gave Mahoning Valley a 3-0 lead in the fifth with three more scoring in the sixth and their last in the seventh. After breaking the perfect game and no-hitter to start the seventh, West Virginia would put up a seven-run inning to tie and take the lead in the eighth to tie the Spikes for first and pushing Mahoning Valley to half a game back.
Saturday
Frederick (10) vs Trenton (4): BOX SCORE - Offensive production from three of the 10 longest tenured Keys this season helped close out the first half with a win. The Thunder would get out to their 4-0 lead through the top of the sixth to support Brian Young’s league debut of 4.1 shutout-innings. However, Walter Urbon and Trey Lipsey would bring the Keys within one on singles in the bottom half of the inning, then tying in the seventh on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Dawson Willis and three scoring on a sac fly by Urbon. Willis would come through again for the final touch, taking the league lead in home runs with his fourth of the season (376 ft, 98.6-mph exit velocity) to drive in three.
State College (8) vs Williamsport (3): BOX SCORE - The Spikes were able to clinch the first half championship with their win and West Virginia loss behind nine strikeouts from Luke House and a home run from Harrison Didawick. The Crosscutters were able to apply pressure early, leading 3-0 through three and six strikeouts from Merit Jones, but Didawick’s home run (367 ft, 100.7-mph exit velocity) began State College’s offense production. Dylan LaPointe would start a five-run fifth with a two-run pinch-hit single to take the lead 4-3, followed by Quinn Bentley and Cole Pladson each driving in runs in the next two at bats to put the game out of reach. With the win, the Spikes will appear in the MLB Draft League Championship on Sept. 4 for the first time since the league’s inception in 2021.
Mahoning Valley (18) @ West Virginia (7): BOX SCORE - The Scrappers bounced back from Friday’s loss with a 20-hit game and capitalization on five errors and 11 walks. From the jump, Mahoning Valley played in control with 14 runs through the first four innings. Carson Garner ended as the league’s top-hitter of the night at 4-for-5 with three doubles, three RBI, five runs, three stolen bases and two walks. Despite his impressive day, Garner finished third on the team in RBIs for the game as Seth Farni drove in five and Carson Hornung drove in four. For West Virginia, Tyler Cerny wrapped up an impressive first half as he slugged his first home run of the summer in the eighth at 375 feet with an exit velocity of 97.1 mph.
Latest News
Data Darlings: Before the end of the first half, pitchers have increased their sample size to definitively set themselves apart ahead of the MLB Draft while hitters have showcased advanced power and consistent bat-to-ball skills as Week 5’s Data Darlings. More>>
Prospect Report: Coming off a week that began with the exhibition against the Cape Cod Baseball League, pitching prospects were able to boost their stock with larger sample sizes that are highlighted in the latest Prospect Report. More>>
Alumni Report: Former MLB Draft League players have been busy in the Minor Leagues with two heading to the MLB All-Star Futures Game, three players earning Player/Pitcher of the Month honors and three players promoted to Triple-A. The Alumni report provided update on these eight players and 19 others off to a strong start in July. More>>
Home Games and Promotions
Frederick: SAT (6 p.m. Olivia Rubini Post-Game Concert); SUN (3 p.m. Giveaway Sponsored by the Common Market) West Virginia.
Mahoning Valley: WED (7:05 p.m. Omni Fiber Kozie Giveaway); THUR (6:35 p.m. Financial Wellness Night & Post-Game Drone Show); FRI (7:05 p.m. Post-Game Fireworks) vs. Frederick.
State College: WED (6:35 p.m. Glizzy & Wine Wednesday); THUR (6:35 p.m. Thirsty Thursday); FRI (6:35 p.m. Star Wars Night) vs. West Virginia.
Trenton: SAT (6 p.m. Faith & Family Night); SUN (5 p.m. Italian Heritage Celebration - Drawstring Bag Giveaway) vs. State College.
West Virginia: None.
Williamsport: WED (6:35 p.m. Free Hot Dog Night); THUR (6:35 p.m. Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act); FRI (6:35 pm. Wrestling Night with Mr. USA Tony Atlas) vs. Trenton; SAT (6:35 p.m. Post-Game Fireworks); SUN (4:05 p.m. Baseball Bingo) vs. Mahoning Valley.
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Media Guide
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