On Wednesday, Sept. 2, the first-half champion Williamsport Crosscutters will host second-half champion Aberdeen IronBirds in the 2026 MLB Draft League Championship game.
The Crosscutters will compete in their third Draft League title game and host for the second time, having won their first championship in 2024. This year, Williamsport finished the first half 20-7 and went 47-26 across the entire season. The IronBirds finished the second half 27-20 and went 43-34 overall. This will be Aberdeen’s first appearance in the championship game, highlighting the organization’s first year in the MLB Draft League.
First half summary
Entering July 4, two days before the official end of the first half, the Crosscutters held a 1 1/2-game lead over the Trenton Thunder. A win was all that was needed to bring the championship back to Williamsport, and the offense made sure it happened with a 20-9 victory. In the clinching game, outfielder Chris Stanfield led the way with three hits, three runs and five RBI. First baseman Ben Tryon delivered three hits, one home run, four RBI and four runs while outfielder Chancellor Jennings tallied three hits, four RBI and one run.
At the end of the first half, Williamsport led the league as a team in runs (334), hits (441), RBI (304), fewest strikeouts as hitters (371), batting average (.290), on-base percentage (.406) and OPS (.824). On the pitching side, the Crosscutters led in ERA (4.40), fewest hits (336), runs (218), earned runs (194), walks (192), WHIP (1.33) and batting average against (.230).
In the MLB Draft, five Crosscutters from the first half team were selected. In the 12th round with the 357th overall pick, the Texas Rangers selected RHP Jackson Nash, who struck out 17 batters over 14 innings. He was then followed by RHP Dallis Moran, who the St. Louis Cardinals selected with the 474th pick (16th round). Moran led Williamsport in the first half by taking the mound 10 times and earning four saves. RHP Cooper Dossett and 1B Ben Tryon went back-to-back at picks 510 and 511 by the New York Mets and Houston Astros, respectively. In the 19th round, the Tampa Bay Rays selected RHP David Horn Jr. with the 563rd pick. Following the draft, SS Brodey Acres (SFG), RHP Joseph Webb (SEA), RHP Brendan Sweeney (PHI), SS KJ White Jr. (ATH) and LHP Alex Walsh (LAD) were signed as undrafted free agents.
Aberdeen’s first taste of the Draft League had the newcomers finishing with a record of 16-14. Individually, they had several of the league’s top performers. First baseman Collin Priest ranked third in RBI (22) and doubles (9), fourth in extra-base hits (12) and seventh in slugging percentage (.451), OPS (.841) and walks (19). The first baseman also launched the league’s hardest-hit home run at 112.1 mph. Outfielder Chase Williams ranked third in batting average (.329) and fourth in total hits (26), which he combined with the ninth-ranked on-base percentage (.404) and the second-most steals (21). He also ranked eighth in OPS (.834) and 10th in slugging percentage (.430). The IronBirds also featured third baseman Anthony Quigley, who hit the farthest home run of the first half and, at the time, the second-longest home run in league history since 2022.
As a team, the IronBirds walked a league-leading 206 times, which helped them record the second-most stolen bases with 116.
On the pitching side, Aberdeen right-hander Jui-Chieh Lin was the first Draft Leaguer to move on to professional baseball when the Minnesota Twins signed him as an international free agent. He became the fourth player in league history to sign as an international free agent, joining Zack Qin (SDP, Frederick ‘22), Chen-Wei Lin (STL, Frederick ‘23) and Mingxuan Zhang (PIT, Frederick ‘25). He struck out 22 batters over 22 innings (five starts) with an ERA of 2.45, a WHIP of 1.00, and a batting average against of .158. Right-hander Michael Orbegozo led the league with six starts and completed the second most innings (24.2), one out away from tying the lead.
In the draft, two IronBirds were selected and two were signed as undrafted free agents. The first selection was actually a member of the second half due to its overlap as OF Ryan Pruitt was selected in the ninth round by the Houston Astros. In the 15th round, SS Owen Clyne was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies. He led the league with 26 walks in the first half to aid his fourth-best on-base percentage of .452. Signed after the draft were OF Josh Skowronski by the San Diego Padres and LHP Elijah Coston by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Both teams featured standouts selected to the First Half All-Draft League Team. Williamsport third baseman Kyle Schupman took home the batting title for the first half as he hit an even .400 through 26 games, while also playing a stellar third base. Tryon hit his way onto the team before being selected in the draft. He played 27 games with a 15-game hit streak, which was the longest in the amateur portion, and had a Player of the Week honor under his resume as well.
In Aberdeen, Clyne and Lin were selected to the First Half All-Draft League Team along with outfielder Chase Williams, who finished second with 21 stolen bases, fourth with 26 hits and a batting average of .329. Rounding out the group was right-hander Jordan Garza, who was one of three incoming freshmen to be named to the team after striking out 17 across 23.2 innings.
For more on the MLB Draft within the MLB Draft League, see the Draft Recap.
For more on the MLB Draft League All-First Half Team, see the full announcement.
Second half summary
Williamsport’s second half yielded similar results as the first, becoming the first team in MLB Draft League history to finish first at the end of each half. Finishing 27-19, Williamsport tied with this year’s IronBirds for the third-most wins in the second half since the league adopted its current split-season format five years ago.
Leading the Crosscutters is outfielder James McCoy, who finished first in the second half with 10 home runs, 49 RBI, an on-base percentage of .459 (amongst active players), slugging percentage of .640, OPS of 1.099, 62 hits, 16 doubles, 48 runs and 114 total bases. It’s the most RBI, runs, doubles and total bases, and tied for the most home runs all-time in the second half.
Right behind McCoy in the lineup is Aug. 17-23 Player of the Week, first baseman Matthew Williams. He also slugged a league-leading 10 home runs and drove in 42 runs, good for second place behind McCoy. Williams also has the second-highest OPS of 1.064.
The Crosscutters offense also featured outfielder Chris Stanfield, a holdover from the first half, who set an all-time league record with 43 stolen bases.
In Williamsport’s journey, outfielder Owen Prince had his contract purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates halfway through August. Prince appeared in 37 total games across both halves, hitting .282 with a .464 on-base percentage. His .475 OBP in the second half still ranks as the best amongst qualified players.
On the mound, the Crosscutters have seen impressive pitching from both starters and relievers. Right-hander Josh Willitts won two Pitcher of the Week awards while leading the team and the league with a 1.38 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. Willitts also tied for sixth with teammate David Case with 42 strikeouts. Case opened the second half for the Crosscutters as the Pitcher of the Week, striking out seven over six innings in the first game.
In the bullpen, right-hander Matthew Mariano and left-hander Tyler Muscar have been two of the better relievers across the second half. With ERAs of 2.30 and 2.57, respectively, they ranked fourth and fifth across qualified pitchers in the professional half of the summer. Muscar also ranked just behind Willitts with a batting average against of .184 and a WHIP of 1.00. Mariano ranked eighth in WHIP with 1.15.
Another member of the Crosscutters' impressive pitching staff in the second half was holdover Evan Grimes. The southpaw made nine starts in the second half and tied for seventh, holding opponents to a .205 batting average against. He also was awarded Pitcher of the Week for July 27 to Aug. 2 after a nine-strikeout, seven-inning start where he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Williamsport ranked first across the second half in hits (452), batting average (.283) and OPS (.785), and finished second in on-base percentage (.378), runs (296), home runs (30), stolen bases (123), and slugging percentage (.407). The Crosscutters were also first in ERA (4.75), fewest hits allowed (397), fewest runs (231), fewest earned runs (213), WHIP (1.46) and batting average against (.258).
After a third-place 16-14 finish in the first half, Aberdeen quickly announced their presence as a force in the second half, reeling off nine wins in their first 12 games. The hot start included a six-game win streak and, after splitting their first series with the Crosscutters, they proceeded to secure four straight series victories. At the end of the season, Aberdeen finished half a game behind Williamsport at 27-20.
The month of July delivered results similar to their first half, with Aberdeen going 11-9 and dropping six of their final eight games to even out their early dominance. But the IronBirds offense came alive in August, leading the league with 181 runs across 26 games, including double-digit runs on eight occasions.
The offensive outburst helped lead Aberdeen to a 16-10 record in August, propelling them back towards the top of the standings as they battled the Crosscutters for the best record in the second half until the final day.
The IronBirds ' second-half blueprint consisted of contact and speed. They led the league with 130 stolen bases and had the fewest strikeouts by a wide margin, 19 fewer than the next best team.
Leading the charge was outfielder Isaiah Parido, who earned Player of the Week honors for Aug. 11-16. Parido led the IronBirds with 26 stolen bases, 39 RBI and 53 hits. He hit for a .333 average, which ranked top-five in the second half among players with more than 20 games played. Trailing just behind Parido in offensive production was Max Galvin, leading the team in extra-base hits with six home runs, three triples and 14 doubles. An impressive 30 walks to 22 strikeouts exemplify his patience in the box.
Other notables in the contact department are Patrick McCullough, who hit .297 in the second half, including a .359 average in August. McCullough struck out just 17 times in 42 second-half games. Helping the team lead the second half in stolen bases was leadoff man Jacoby Radcliffe, who swiped 21 bases and came around to score 30 times in 36 games. Jevin Relaford also swiped 22 bags and scored 37 times in his 44 games.
On the pitching side, it was Aberdeen’s bullpen that excelled the most in the second half, with four relievers posting an ERA of 3.58 or better. Jake Geis was the go-to high-leverage arm in the bullpen, going 4-for-4 in save opportunities with a 2.61 ERA, .153 batting average against and 27 strikeouts across 20.2 innings and 14 appearances. Roman Harrison surpassed Geis with five saves, posting a 3.20 ERA with 25 strikeouts over 25.1 innings.
Jacob Faulkner joined Aberdeen’s bullpen in late July and quickly provided value as a multi-inning option. The right-hander pitched to a 3.45 ERA over 10 appearances and 15.2 innings. Ryder Edwards’ 28.2 innings led Aberdeen’s bullpen, as well as his strikeout rate of 29% that saw him strike out 38 batters and walk just 11. Edwards also had seven multi-inning scoreless appearances and a 3.45 ERA.
Starting pitchers
Tasked with taking the mound first in the 2026 MLB Draft League Championship will be Bobby Helt for the Crosscutters and Josh Milleville for the IronBirds.
Helt returns to the Draft League after appearing in the first half of 2025 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Making seven appearances, four of them starts, the right-hander entered the last day of the regular season with the second-best ERA behind Willitts at 1.42. He is also fourth in WHIP at 1.03.
In 25.1 innings, the Ohio native has struck out 32 batters with as many as eight in one game on two occasions. His eight-strikeout nights occurred during his first and final starts of the regular season on Aug. 9 and Aug. 27.
Aberdeen’s Milleville enters the championship as one of their top arms. In August, he fully transitioned from the bullpen to the rotation, carrying a 2.35 ERA with four wins and one loss.
Twice, Milleville completed seven innings. The first time was Aug. 15, when he struck out five while surrendering just one run on one hit. The next time was during his most recent start on Aug. 27, when he struck out two batters and allowed just two earned runs.
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