One aspect of the MLB Draft League that sets itself apart from other collegiate summer leagues is its implementation of technology and data. With the help of each team’s data coordinators, prospects of the league have information and analytics available in real-time to help evaluate, scout, develop their tools and game while it's distributed to the 30 Major League teams. As the season begins winding down, here are our picks for Week 10’s Data Darlings:
SS Connor Maryniak, Trenton
Maryniak has been one of the more consistent bats of the second half, getting hits day in and day out. He has 37 hits in just 32 games, eight of which were for extra bases. He owns a .311/.408/.462 slash with nine walks and five stolen bases to go along with it. He has some solid pop, with half of his XBH being the long ball, which he does by having a 12% Barrel% and a 28% Hard-Hit rate. Maryniak has crushed left-handed pitching, with a .438 average and a 1.212 OPS against southpaws. It doesn’t stop there, as he also has a .474 xwOBA, seven hits, one home run, and three walks. He owns a 97-mph average exit velo, a 27% barrel rate, and a 53% hard-hit rate against lefties while having a 14% BB%, 14% K%, only an 18% Whiff% and a 26% Chase%. He is undeniably one of, if not the, best hitters against left-handed pitching. Along with being a hitting machine, the Thunder’s shortstop also plays excellent infield defense. In 205 innings at short, he has only committed two errors, good for a 98% Fielding%, while turning 14 double plays. Maryniak has been one of the better position players of the second half and looks to continue being a key piece for the rest of Trenton’s season.
RHP JJ Almeda, Trenton
Perhaps the most dominant bullpen arm in the entire league has been JJ Almeda. Through 15 games and 20.1 IP, he has yet to allow an earned run. He has also struck out 30 batters to only nine walks while acquiring one win, two holds and two saves. Almeda’s success comes from his high whiff numbers and low exit velos. He has an overall Whiff% of 38.1% and a Hard-Hit rate of only 14%. His arsenal consists of a fastball, changeup, slider and curveball, all of which he throws to great effect. His fastball is his primary pitch and averages 17” IVB, 7” HB and topping out at 91 mph. His slider is his go-to secondary pitch with swing-and-miss quality. It has a 55% Whiff%, 26% in the zone, while also getting a nearly 47% Chase%. It has a short but depthy shape, averaging -2” IVB and -6” HB while sitting in the low 80s. His curveball is very similar to his slider, with just some minor differences, as it sits in the high 70s and averages -7” IVB and -13” HB. Despite the changes in shape, the effectiveness is still apparent, with a 50% Whiff% despite only a 38% Zone%, making it a perfect putaway pitch. His final pitch is his changeup, which he only throws 2% of the time. It plays off of his fastball well, getting about 6” of vertical separation on average. Almeda’s dynamic arsenal has contributed to his success, and likely will going forward.
LHP Michael Quevedo, State College
The Kansas State product has been a solid piece for the first half champs, starting five games so far to the tune of a 1.53 ERA. He has great strikeout stuff, with 40 Ks in over 35 1/3 IP. His arsenal is a simple three-pitch mix consisting of a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. His fastball is his bread and butter, throwing it 62% of the time. It has a ride-run shape and routinely gets above 20” IVB while averaging -16” HB. It sits in the high 80s but gets up to 91 mph, but the most impressive aspect of this pitch is his 19% In-Zone Whiff%, a good mark especially for a fastball. His slider is his second most used pitch, throwing it 26% of the time, but for strikes nearly 70% of the time. It features a sharp cutter shape averaging 6” IVB and 0” HB while topping out at 85 mph. It gets swings-and-misses 46% of the time, a 36% clip in the zone. His changeup is a depthier version of his fastball, averaging 15” IVB and 15” HB while killing spin at only 1900 rpms. Quevedo is great at limiting base hits, only allowing 22 so far against 138 batters faced, which helps contribute to his 83% Out%. His 32% K% to his 9% BB% is also the mark of an effective arm, helped in part by his nearly 30% chase and whiff percentages. High strikeout stuff, along with low base-hit numbers make Quevedo one of State College’s hidden gems ahead of the Championship Game.
RHP Jake Hunter, Frederick
The East Carolina product has had a great Draft League season thus far, 3.02 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 44.2 IP. He has a 31% K% to a 4% BB%, the third best mark in the league. He throws five different pitches: A four-seamer, sinker, changeup, slider and cutter. His fastball is a high-ride, low 90s four-seamer that tops out at 94 mph. Hunter also throws a sinker, but not very often, sitting in the high 80s/low 90s with more depth than his fastball. His slider is his second most-used pitch, averaging -4” IVB and -6” HB while getting whiffs 25% of the time. His cutter is a great supplementary pitch to his fastball, sitting in the upper 80s and getting up to 90 mph, while averaging 9” IVB and -1” HB. His changeup is perhaps his most metrically impressive pitch, sometimes getting down below 0” IVB from an above 6’ release height. It sits in the low 80s, almost a 10-mph difference from his fastball, while averaging 3” IVB, 11” HB, and spinning at only 1500 rpms. His changeup also owns a 49% Whiff% and a 33% Chase%. Hunter is not only a great strikeout pitcher, but he induces ground balls nearly 60% of the time, making things real easy on his defense behind him. He is an all-around arm with a great arsenal, high whiff/chase numbers and high strikeout/low walk numbers.
INF Ethan Ott, Frederick
Ott has been on a tear recently. In his first 14 games in a Keys uniform he’s collected 16 hits, 11 RBI, three walks and a .815 OPS. He is an excellent hitter, with a .302/.362/.453 slash line and six extra base hits. His power is constantly evident, as he has a max exit velocity of 107.3 mph and a 33.3% Hard-Hit rate. Ott also has great plate discipline, with only a 21% Chase% and an 11% In-Zone Whiff%. The lack of swings and misses is the mark of a good batter, and leads to his 78% contact rate. Ott mashes changeups, with a .498 wOBA and a 33% Hard-Hit rate against offspeed pitching. He also only has an 11% Chase% and a 0% Whiff% against the pitch. The Frederick infielder is extremely productive, as he is top five in extra-base hits on the team despite having half of the plate appearances as the rest of the top 10.
LHP Cole Cheatham, Mahoning Valley
Cheatham has been one of the best southpaws in the second half of the Draft League, tossing 12.2 innings over eight games while striking out 17 to seven walks. He throws a fastball, sinker, slider, curveball and a changeup. He is a primary sinker-baller, throwing it 51% of the time, sitting in the low 90s and topping out at 94 mph. It gets great horizontal movement, averaging -16” HB with 6” IVB. His four-seam has a more traditional “fastball” shape, getting more IVB and less HB than his sinker. His changeup is his least used pitch, but he throws it to great effect. It averages 4” of IVB and -15” HB, and thrown for strikes 70% of the time. His breaking balls are the best of his pitches, with high spin rates and big shapes they nicely round out the arsenal. His slider averages -3” IVB and 16” of HB while getting in-zone whiffs 22% of the time and chases 30% of the time. His curveball gets less HB (13”) but more depth (-7” IVB) while generating a 30% In-Zone Whiff%. Much of Cheatham’s success comes from limiting baserunners with his 33% K%, 7.5% BB% and 54% Ground Ball%.
RHP Brad Rudis, Williamsport
The Crosscutters’ righty has been their most solid starter in the second half. With a 3.23 ERA over seven starts and 14 total games in both halves, Rudis has cemented himself as the ace in Williamsport. He has strong strikeout stuff, with a 34% Chase%, 26% Whiff% and a strikeout rate of 34%. He also doesn’t allow hard contact or walks, with a 16% Hard-Hit% and a 4.2% BB%. He does this by throwing a sinker, fastball, changeup, and a sweeper. His sinker is his primary pitch, which usually sits in the low 90s and tops out just south of 93 mph. It averages 9” IVB and 19” HB for a very good sinker shape. He doesn’t throw his fastball often, but when he does it is effective. It has more IVB than his sinker (18” average) and gets whiffs 47% of the time. His changeup is a great offspeed pitch, averaging 2” IVB but it regularly gets below 0” IVB. It also averages 20” of HB while generating in-zone whiffs 21% of the time. His breaking ball, a large and depthy sweeper, is devastating. It averages -16” of HB, which is a big reason why he’s so effective against right-handed hitters. Rudis only allows hard contact to righties 11% of the time, while getting them to whiff 27% of the time and strikeout 28% of the time. His mixed arsenal and good command give him top-of-the rotation talent in Williamsport.
OF Alex Rodgers, West Virginia
Rodgers has had many great moments with the Black Bears so far, but his traditional counting stats may not show it with an expected slash line of .302/.462/.375 (.837 xOPS) along with an expected wOBA of .385. These are all higher marks then what his box scores will show, which is indicative of an unlucky batter. Despite his unlucky results, Rodgers will break out eventually due to his plate discipline and high contact numbers. He has five more walks on the season than strikeouts, and owns the sixth best strikeout rate in the league (10.1%). His high walk/low strikeout numbers are possible due to his 21% Chase rate and 19% Whiff rate. This selectiveness allows him to work longer ABs which not only helps himself get better pitches to hit, but also helps the team work the opposing starter out of a game earlier. Rodgers also has great bat-to-ball numbers, with an 88% In-Zone Contact% and an 81% overall Contact%. This is the mark of a good batter, and is one of the main reasons he won’t be “unlucky” for much longer.
For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague and @draftleaguedata on X, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.
