The amateur portion of the MLB Draft League came to a conclusion July 12 before a three-day break for the draft. Resuming on July 16, the professional portion began with several hitters standing out in the short week of games.
Judah Morris suited up just once this week, but it was a big day for the 6-foot-3, 245-pound first baseman from West Virginia. He homered twice with a 419 foot blast to center (105.7 mph EV) and went the opposite way for his second. Morris also collected another base hit in four at-bats. He’s always intrigued with his plus-plus raw power (max EV 113 mph with a 105 EV90) that has led the Draft League across both halves. More importantly, he gets to his power during the game with 19 home runs for Illinois State this past spring and five in 95 at-bats this summer for the Black Bears. Defensively, he’s also played an errorless first base in 150 chances at first, to go with his .294 batting average with nine doubles, 26 RBI and just a 16% strikeout rate. Although he is 23 years old, an affiliated contract is likely to be tendered soon.
State College’s Cole Caruso has also been scorched earth at the plate. The 22-year-old third baseman from Michigan is aggressive in the batter’s box with plus raw power produced from a 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame. He’s currently batting .421 with nine RBI through his first four games for the Spikes. What stands out beyond that, is that he’s recorded an RBI in each game, only once not being at least two. The continuation of Caruso’s 2025 featured a spring season where the righthanded hitter batted .284 with 11 home runs for the Wolverines.
Another State College hitter who’s excelling in the box is outfielder Dan Tauken from Murray State. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound lefthanded hitter initially impressed at the MVC Tournament in May and he continued to rake all the way to the CWS for the Racers. Ironically, his EVs in the Draft League with wood bats exceed those at Murray State where he maxed at 105.6 mph this spring. Currently batting .313 with a max EV of 106.31 mph, and an eye-catching 105.9 EV90, he has homered once with six RBI in four games. Tauken has Defensively, he shows average range with sure hands in left field and can make fearless catches against the wall like he did during Day 3 of the MVC Tournament.
Frederick shortstop Cam Hassert has taken bat-to-ball, producing a .500 average with five XBHs in his first 18 at-bats over his first four games for the Keys. His first two games set the tone, debuting with a triple, RBI and run that was followed up the next day with three doubles on four hits with just as many RBI and three runs. Cooling off in his third game where he only collected one hit, the Sunday two-game finale witnessed his first home run with the Keys, ending the week with a 1.468 OPS and .944 SLG. The 6-foot-2, 185 pound lefthanded hitter produced a .333 average six home runs and 18 stolen bases for Loyola Marymount this spring.
Also from Frederick, outfielder Cam Pittman has begun his Draft League season finding the barrel. With hits in three of five games, all have been multi-hit performances with an extra base (two doubles, one triple). The 5-foot-10 lefthanded hitter from Virginia Tech is batting .280 with a .440 SLG. His max EV is just 100.3 so far, but he doesn’t miss the fastball and is currently producing a 100% contact rate on in-zone heaters. He’s also been flawless in 12 chances on defense, rotating between all three outfield positions but spending most of his time in center.
Back for more after winning the first half championship in 2024, Jackson Mayo has been responsible for 10 of Williamsport’s runs in four games. After a two-hit performance on Thursday, he drove in four runs on three doubles with exit velocities of 89.9, 95.1 and 102.6 mph. Overall, he’s displayed quality bat-to-ball skills with an 84.6% Zone-Contact rate, lining the ball a third of the time with a 30.8% Hard-Hit rate.
Coming off of a 40-steal season for St. John’s, Jackson Tucker has been able to show off his speed tool for Trenton whenever he reaches with an open base in front of him. Most notably, his second game saw him accomplish five steals of second base. With hits in four of five games, the centerfielder has reached via a base-knock one third of the time while patrolling the outfield comfortably.
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.
