After the 2025 MLB Draft League season, alumni have taken advantage of the offseason and advanced into Minor League Baseball with 11 players signed to contracts as well as nine coaches and on-field support staff joining teams. All-time, the MLB Draft League has seen 415 total players move onto the affiliated level as either a draft pick or free agent.

Players

Luke House, RHP, Cleveland Guardians - State College Spikes: Signed Oct. 8 by the Guardians, House was a pillar for the Spikes across both halves of the 2025 season where he was the starting pitcher in the first-half championship-clinching game. Making 11 total appearances, the right-hander out of Ouachita Baptist’s 10 starts was a share of the league most, finishing fourth in strikeouts (57), innings pitched (52 1/3) and ninth in WHIP (1.38). House was also named to the Draft League’s first All-First Half Team with the second-best ERA amongst qualified starters of 2.11 across four starts.

Brad Rudis, RHP, Minnesota Twins - Williamsport Crosscutters: Also appearing in both halves, the Texas A&M graduate took advantage of his opportunity in the second half when he transitioned from reliever to starter. In the professional half, Rudis earned recognition on the league’s first All-Second Half Team and was named Pitcher of the Week for Aug. 4-10. Overall, the right-hander broke the Crosscutters’ MLB Draft League strikeout record with 69, surpassing Cincinnati Reds MiLB FA signee Zachary Murray’s total of 64 in 2024. Rudis signed with the Twins on Oct. 30.

Ian Francis, C, Cincinnati Reds - Mahoning Valley Scrappers: A second half addition, Francis signed with the Reds on Nov. 5. In 32 games, the Youngstown, Ohio native slashed .265/.385/.343 with a .728 OPS. Francis opened up his Draft League tenure by going 5-for-8 with a double, run and two RBI in his first two games.

MT Morrissey, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies - Trenton Thunder: Morrissey’s summer with the Draft League consisted of eight starts with 38 strikeouts before signing with the Phillies on Dec. 18. The right-hander finished with the fourth-most innings in the second half with 45 2/3, highlighted by an eight-inning start Aug. 4 in West Virginia, throwing 122 pitches and earning the win on five strikeouts and one earned run. The NJIT graduate also finished ninth in the half in WHIP with a 1.12.

Judah Morris, 1B, Athletics - West Virginia Black Bears: Born and raised in Sacramento, Calif., the 2025 MLB Draft League home run leader signed with the Athletics on Jan. 9. Appearing in both halves of the 2025 season, Morris was named to the All-First Half Team - leading the first in OPS (.862) and second in home runs (3), doubles (9), slugging (.462) and extra base hits (12). In the second half, he finished second in home runs again with five and seventh in RBI with 28. Overall, Morris ranks second all-time in RBI with 49, third in doubles with 16 and fourth in home runs with eight.

Jack O’Dowd, INF, Colorado Rockies - West Virginia Black Bears (2024): Appearing in both halves of the 2024 season, O’Dowd signed with the Rockies on Jan. 8. After 62 games with the Black Bears and adding the ability to play catcher to his infield versatility, the Texas graduate ranks third all-time in hits (75), third in doubles (16), seventh in RBI (40) and eighth in runs (39).

Mingxuan “Jonathan” Zhang, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates - Frederick Keys: From Beijing, China, Zhang signed with the Pirates at the opening of the international free agent signing period. Making two appearances with the Keys, the right-hander was the third Draft League alumni to sign as an international free agent, joining fellow former Keys Zack Qin (San Diego Padres, 2022) and Chen-Wei Lin (St. Louis Cardinals’ No. 20 prospect, 2023).

Michael Gemma, RHP, Chicago White Sox - West Virginia Black Bears (2024): Appearing in three second half games in 2024, Gemma went on to join the White Sox on Jan. 14. The Massachusetts native pitched two total innings, striking out four and allowing just one hit during his short Draft League stint. The right-hander’s signing came shortly after throwing in front of pro scouts at a training facility’s pro day.

Trey Cooper, RHP, Chicago White Sox - West Virginia Black Bears - Before joining the White Sox organization Jan. 27, Cooper made a pair of starts in the final week of the 2025 season for West Virginia. The Liberty University graduate quickly announced his presence, striking out 10 over five innings in his debut for the Black Bears. Cooper followed it up on the final day of the season with seven innings of work, allowing just two earned runs while striking out six.

Grant Manning, RHP, Washington Nationals - Mahoning Valley Scrappers: A mainstay in the Scrappers second half bullpen, Manning signed a deal with the Nationals on Feb. 2. The Virginia Tech graduate appeared in 14 games with 15 2/3 innings pitched, picking up three saves, 19 strikeouts and pitched to a 3.45 ERA. Manning’s 14 appearances were the most amongst any Scrappers pitcher in 2025.

Cam Hassert, SS, Rockies - Frederick Keys: One of the MLB Draft League’s most productive second half players, Hassert signed with the Rockies on Feb. 4. The left-handed hitter out of Loyola Marymount played in 43 games for the Keys, slashing .329/.468/.487 (.955 OPS) and leading the second half with 14 doubles. Hassert also led the second half in walks (38) and finished second in extra-base hits (18), total bases (77) and runs scored (38).

Coaches

Tim Battle Jr. - Long Island Ducks Bench Coach (Atlantic League) - State College Spikes Manager 2024-25, Hitting Coach 2023: Battle Jr. was announced as the bench coach for the Long Island Ducks on Nov. 5. A three-year Draft League coach, he started as the Spikes hitting coach in 2023 and then took over as the skipper in 2024, leading State College to be the highest-scoring team with 437 total runs and 377 RBI. In 2025, Battle Jr. guided the Spikes to their first first-half championship with a 17-12 record, clinching on the final day of the half to earn their first MLB Draft League Championship appearance and be the hosts. Under the 40-year-old, nine players from the 2024 and 2025 seasons were selected in the MLB Draft along with three hitters from 2023. Twelve more players from his managerial years would sign as undrafted free agents or sign Minor League deals after the season. In 2023, one player was named as the Hitter of the Week (Zac Vooletich, 8/7-13) and another as the Hitter of the Month (Braedon Blackford, July). In 2024, four were named as either Hitter or Pitcher of the Week and one named as Hitter of the Month (Samuel Benjamin, June). In his final season, four players were given Player of the Week honors with three named to the All-First Half Team and four on the All-Second Half Team.

Quinton McCracken - San Francisco Giants Arizona Complex League - Mahoning Valley Scrappers Manager 2024-25: McCracken joins the Giants’ Arizona Complex League coaching staff after serving as the Scrappers’ manager for the past two seasons. Overall, he led the team to a record of 75-76 with a 2025 best team on-base percentage of .374. Under his guidance, 17 players were selected in the MLB Draft, seven more were signed as undrafted free agents or to Minor League deals and one second half player had their contract purchased in the middle of the season (Tanner Gillis, 2024, Milwaukee Brewers). Under McCracken, 10 players across both seasons were named as either the Hitter or Pitcher of the Week with three named to the 2025 All-First Half Team and three to the All-Second Half Team.

Tony Diaz - Atlanta Braves Major League Coach - Frederick Keys Hitting Coach: After one season with the Keys and the MLB Draft League, Diaz joined the Braves’ coaching staff under their new manager, Walt Weiss. As the hitting coach in Frederick, he helped direct the team to a first half-leading 17 home runs that included the individual leader, Dawson Willis (San Diego UDFA) with four. In the second half, the Keys led the league with 75 doubles that included individual leader Cam Hassert (Colorado Rockies MiLB FA Signing) with 14. Diaz’ second half offense also led the Draft League in walks with 237 where Hassert led players as well with 38. This past season, two Frederick hitters from 2025 were drafted and four were signed as UDFAs or to MiLB deals including Willis and Hassert. Diaz’ hitting coach resume opened the season with a Hitter of the Week as Lance Trippel earned the award for June 4-8 and had three prospects named to the All-First Half Team and one named to the All-Second Half Team.

Jimmy Nelson - St. Lucie Mets Pitching Coach (NYM Single-A) - Frederick Pitching Coach: The seven-year MLB veteran moved onto coaching at the affiliate level after one season in the Draft League with the Keys. In the first half of 2025, Nelson’s pitching staff led the league with 311 strikeouts with four different pitchers striking out at least 20 batters. In the second half, two pitchers from the Keys would have their contracts purchased with Griffin Green’s contract purchased by the Reds and Jake Hunter going to the Twins. Along with the two pitchers, seven were selected in the MLB Draft and two signed as a UDFA or international free agent respectively. Green and Hunter would go on to receive All-Second Half Team honors while Nelson also coached one MLB Draft League Pitcher of the Week with David Shaw earning the award for July 8-12.

On-Field Staff

Jackson Shelton - Miami Marlins Player Development Analytics Fellow - Frederick Keys Data Coordinator

Jackson Gormley - Athletics Minor League Video Assistant (Dominican Republic Complex) - West Virginia Black Bears Data Coordinator 2025 / Remote Data Coordinator 2024

Ryan Murphy - Seattle Mariners Minor League Development Intern - Williamsport Crosscutters Data Coordinator

Bayley Hess - Minnesota Twins Minor League Athletic Trainer (Dominican Republic Complex) - State College Spikes Athletic Trainer

Kesha Garcia - New York Mets Minor League Athletic Trainer (Brooklyn, High-A) - Williamsport Crosscutters Athletic Trainer 2024-25

For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague and @draftleaguedata on X, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.