While the Draft League consists of mostly college juniors and seniors, it also gives opportunities for exposure to preps, JUCO prospects and international talents. This was never more evident on the pitching side than opening week of the league as one prep righty set a league record for the top velocity ever recorded and another pitched six shutout innings with no walks and six strikeouts while averaging 95 mph with his fastball.

Here’s Five Pitchers to Know from opening week of the Draft League:

Ethan Baiotto, Frederick - A right-hander from Carroll HS (Texas) allowed just one run while picking up three strikeouts during his Sunday debut. With 30 of his 48 pitches thrown for strikes, Baiotto’s only trouble came in the first where he surrendered his lone run off back-to-back hits before ending the inning with a flyout to right. After the first, the Tennessee commit faced seven total batters over the next two innings where the only time an at bat went over five pitches resulted in a strikeout to end the second. Ranked 76th in the Class of 2025 by Prep Baseball, the 6-foot-3 loose-armed hurler filled up the zone with a 89-93 mph sinker with a 82-85 mph slider and rounded out by a low-80s changeup.

Brandon Cain, Frederick - A former center fielder from Oklahoma, Cain got off to a promising start with his conversion to the mound after pitching just one-third of an inning for the Sooners late this spring. For the Keys, the 6-foot right-hander touched 98.2 mph with his fastball while throwing 3.2 innings over two appearances during the opening week. Cain’s first appearance on Thursday, June 5 saw the bulk of his work where he earned the win over 2.1 innings and 43 pitches where the first batter faced resulted in a called strike three on an inside curveball. Appearing three days later for a 31-pitch outing, Cain garnered similar results that included a swinging strikeout at a 95.6 mph fastball below the zone. He’s currently a work-in-progress prospect whose heater is a bit straight and developing secondaries in a 78-80 curve and 82-84 changeup. There’s a lot to like with this uber-athletic right-hander who possesses a quick arm.

Sam Cozart, West Virginia - Fresh off a North Carolina private school state championship, the 6-foot-4 prep righthander from Wesleyan Christian Academy pitched six shutout innings in his Draft League debut, striking out six and walking none, leading to being named as the Opening Pitcher of the Week. His fastball touched 96.3 mph and was holding that velocity through his 73rd pitch of the evening. A high-rider with up to 20” IVB and nearly seven feet of extension out front, the Texas commit can also sink it at 94 (2253 rpm) with 17” of HB. Hitters chased the sinker 50% of the time out of the zone for a 25% whiff rate. Overall he threw the pitch for a strike 83% of the time (25 for 30). His secondaries included an 86-87 mph cutter, 82-84 slider and a lone 82-mph changeup. Overall, Cozart threw 77 pitches, 57 for strikes, good for a 74% strike percentage. Currently ranked No. 88 in the nation by Prep Baseball, Cozart undoubtedly raised his draft value with this performance against college draft-eligibles.

Cannon Pickell, West Virginia - In two appearances the Western Carolina senior pumped it up right away with a maximum 99.2 mph on his four-seamer and averaged 92.4 over 2.2 innings. He excelled at locating his riding heater up in the zone for 60% strike rate while generating a 25% whiff rate. It peaked at 20” IVB and averaged 18.8”. Adding to the difficulty squaring up this pitch was his elite extension out front that averaged 7.1’. Pickell’s first outing of two shutout innings, allowed no hits with a walk and three strikeouts as the three balls put in play had an average exit velocity of 71.5 mph. While getting the loss in his next outing, both runs that scored were unearned. After walking the bases loaded, Pickell fought back and struck out the next two batters swinging until a ground ball went through the infield for an error and drove in the tying and winning runs.

Miguel Sime Jr., Trenton - The 6-foot-4, righthander set a Draft League record with a 100.8 mph fastball with his first pitch before throwing 100.9 eight pitches later during his debut. Ranked 93rd nationally in Prep Baseball’s Class of 2025, he sat on 100 throughout the first inning and averaged 99 mph for the game with 19.5” IVB/8.8” HB of movement. Working many deep counts throughout his 4.1 innings pitch, he only walked one and struck out five on 88 pitches with a strike percentage of 64%. With the high velocity saw issues of the occasional wild pitch and hard contact but Sime Jr. was able to attack the zone and challenge hitters with the high-heat in the zone 32.9% of the time. The difference between his fastball and low-80s curve saw batters whiff at a 50% rate and chase 31% of the time. The LSU recruit from New York state (Poly Prep HS) also showed an 86-87 mph changeup, throwing three of seven for strikes.

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

David Seifert is the current Scouting Director for D1Baseball and the Director of College Scouting for Prep Baseball. Seifert is a former college coach and crosschecker and scout for the Philadelphia Phillies.