Since opening day of the second half of the season, 32 undrafted free agents have been signed from the league’s six teams. Just nine have been position players and here’s another half dozen positional candidates to fill out rosters in affiliated baseball.
After an abbreviated season with the University of Miami (Fla.), Max Galvin had been one of the Aberdeen IronBirds’ leading run-producers just half a game back in the standings. The left-handed left fielder has collected eight multi-hit performances in 20 games with half of them featuring at least on RBI, 15 total that places second on the team. Leading Aberdeen in second-half home runs with three, Galvin has demonstrated easy power to the pull-side and middle of the field (38.1%, 42.9%) with an average exit velocity of 85.2 mph and max of 104.8. The 23-year-old has been selective at the plate with a lower zone-swing rate of 58.7% but rarely whiffs (15.5% z-whiff) and has been hard to retire with an 18.6% put away rate and K rate of 15.7%.
The top of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ lineup has been one of the most productive with defending Player of the Week, Jayden Hylton at the top of the order and Maddox Mihalakis being the half’s home run and RBI leader. However, leading the pack just as much is second baseman Cooper Vance, who hits behind the two in the three-spot. He hits for better average than Mihalakis (.352 vs .349) and 10 of his 18 RBIs that tie for fourth in the league have been scored by Hylton and Mihalakis. The ball might not particularly be hit with the most power (81.3 mph avg EV, 17% hard-hit rate), but when put in play has the chance to produce via a .460 BABIP and .415 wOBA. He can be a pest in the box averaging over four pitches seen in a plate appearance with a low put away rate of 12.9%. He’s played second base, shortstop and third base with most of his time spent on the right side of the infield, featuring the most success, converting all 42 chances in 96 innings.
Not only has State College’s Justin Journette, presented all-time power to the league via a 467-foot home run, but the 22-year-old has performed just as strong as he did in the first half. Hitting .274 in 21 games before July 8, the Norfolk State all-time home run leader has been hitting .380 through 14 since, going from a .770 OPS to 1.151. That OPS ranks fourth in the league as his nine extra-base hits have helped him carry a .720 slugging percentage that ranks second. Just one of two players to have slugs over .700. The ability to find quality contact for Journette has resulted in a barrel rate of 28.9% in the second half, averaging 91.8 mph in exit velocity while putting the ball in the air at a 63.2% clip. A free swinger throughout the entire summer, when he puts the ball in play he makes an impact via his .415 wOBA. In the professional portion, Journette has joined elite history via his hit tool with a five-hit night on Friday, July 31. Amongst the 14 players to tally five hits in a game since 2022, Journette is the only one to also record five RBI.
Trenton’s Louis Percival checks the box as a catcher with feel to hit and the 6-foot, 190-pound Siena graduate is still 22-years-old. It’s hit over power and the hit tool has been present through his first 18 games, batting .339 with an on-base percentage of .479, led by his 13 walks to 12 strikeouts. It’s a good approach with minimal chase and elite contact rates on the fastball with a 96.6% contact rate on the pitch in-zone. Percival utilizes the entire field to spray line drives and groundballs, giving him one of the better offensive profiles amongst second half catchers.
One of the league’s most impactful hitters in the second half, West Virginia’s Ben Barrett has used a combination of hit and power to help carry the offense in Morgantown. The right-handed hitter has a presence in the box at 6-foot-4, 221-pounds but there’s actually more hit than power as he’s collected multiple hits in 11 of 21 second half games, including three hits in four of those. There’s consistent contact and hard contact with an in-zone contact rate of 87.4%, hard hit rate of 39% and max exit velocity of 107 mph. He’s been tapping into his power over the past week with his first MLB Draft League home run and also added a triple and double. Some added loft to the swing should see the first baseman’s power numbers continue climbing. Adding to his value, Barrett has also made four second half starts for the Black Bears and sports a 3.63 ERA across 17.1 innings.
Flexing his muscle in the second half with home runs on three consecutive nights, Williamsport’s Matthew Williams is one of the league’s true power bats at the moment. A graduate of Division II Millersville University, Williams sits third in the second half with four home runs and carries the pro side’s best slugging percentage so far at .780, along with a .341 average over 13 games. The right-handed hitting first baseman has been finding the barrel with ease (31% barrel rate) and the ball jumps off his bat, generating an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph and peak of 107.2 mph on his home run Saturday night. Beyond the power and hitting abilities, Williams has some patience in the box with a .491 on-base percentage and 10 walks to his 13 strikeouts. The ability to hit for power and average, as well as get on base, make him one of the more intriguing offensive profiles in the league right now.
For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague and @draftleaguedata on X, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.
