FLUSHING, N.Y. – On Monday, June 30, the MLB Draft League came out on top, 10-6, in the first ever matchup against the Cape Cod Baseball League at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.
The Draft League had a roster stacked of power arms, including a triple-digit prep righthander, while the Cape offered potential top round prospects for the 2025, ‘26 and ‘27 drafts. At the end of nine innings several individuals stood out in the boxscore, as well as others who made some gains with their draft value.
DRAFT LEAGUE
Offensively, the Draft League was led by five hitters, each of whom plated two RBIs. Harrison Didawick accounted for both of his in one swing with a majestic shot 391 feet that left the barrel at 98 mph and a 33 degree launch angle. His fourth-inning blast brought the Draft League within one at 3-2. Dawson Willis drove in a pair of runs with a bloop single and a bases loaded walk. Aaron Graeber punched two home with an eight inning bases-loaded single the other way to left field. Khi Holiday drove home a run on a groundout to tie the game at three in the fifth, then followed with another RBI on a blooper to center field that tied the score at four in the seventh. And Sam Parker drove home two with a long infield single up the middle during the Draft League’s five-run eighth.
The pitching was also strong for the league with Miguel Sime, Shane Van Dam, Tyler Dietz, Jacob Mayers and Ryan Ure all throwing scoreless innings. Among those, Dietz did it the easiest with a pair of punchouts and no hits allowed, while Mayer and Ure both faced the minimum.
Boston Smith continued to impress both at the plate and behind it. His quick-release, on-the-money throw, caught speedster Josiah Ragsdale stealing in the top of the eighth inning. The throw came with a 1.90 POP time at a velocity of 77.6 mph.
As good as Smith’s throw, the game’s best belonged to his teammate Evin Sullivan who released a 82.2 mph bullet on a throw to second base on a steal in the third inning.
Smith also recorded the top exit velocity for the Draft League on a fair ball in play with a 106.1-mph single. Jakob Poturnak was second with a 102.0 groundout, Parker was third with a 101.9-mph single and Taeg Gollert 100.5 on a double.
Smith slugged 26 home runs for Wright State, including three in their regional at Vanderbilt. And he’s also added a pair in 12 games for Williamsport this summer. His combination of power and steady defense behind the plate is sure to attract top ten round consideration.
Eighteen-year-old Sime had a tough assignment with starting the first matchup all-time between the two leagues, and he did it nearly flawlessly, allowing just one base runner via a two-out walk before retiring the next batter on an easy groundout. Sime recorded the eight highest pitch velocities of the event, reaching a max 100.2 mph and lowest fastball of 98.9. He also showed a hard, low-80s curve with good depth as a second pitch. There’s effort to his delivery and it’s currently more control than command of his stuff, but there’s no doubt Sime’s past four weeks in the Draft League and now this all-star game has raised his draft value. It will be interesting to see where the LSU recruit is selected during day one of the draft on July 13.
Other top pitching velocities included Dietz topping out at 98.6, Mayers (97.6), Aiden Moffett (96.5), Landon O’Donnell (96.3), Ure (94.7), Tristan Peters (94.6), Van Dam (94.5) and Elijah Underhill (93.4). Defensively, Willis made the game’s fastest throw with an 87.2-mph bullet with a first-pitch 6-3 groundout.
The Draft League stars also showed some speed down the line to first base with Tyler Pettorini clocking a game best 4.23 and a 4.29, both out of the lefthanded batters box. Willis ran a 4.30 and Holiday clocked a 4.34, both from the right. Willis also led all runners on both clubs with a top speed of 30.5 feet/second. Pettorini was second at 30.2 and Holiday third at 29.7.
CAPE COD LEAGUE
It was 2026 draft-eligible Jarren Advincula’s day to shine at Citi Field. Defensively, he played a flawless second base, handling all three chances that came his way with ease. In the batter’s box, he led the Cape stars with two hits, three RBI and two stolen bases. His first hit was a home run in the fourth when the left-handed hitter launched it to his pull side 378’ with an exit velocity of 97.9 mph. He also recorded an EV of 105.9 mph when he put the first pitch of the game into play for a groundout. Transferring from Cal to Georgia Tech, Advincula is currently regarded as a potential first-round prospect for next summer’s draft.
Ty Dalley led the Cape All-Stars with a top exit velocity of 107.0 mph on a groundout, followed by Advincula’s 105.9. Kade Lewis’s 103.9-mph single was good for third best, Levi Clark flew out with an exit velocity of 103.7 mph, and Henry Ford smoked a pair of singles at 101.5 and 100.1. Ford was the highest rated prospect for the 2025 Draft to play in the game, likely to be a Day 1 pick if the sophomore-eligible doesn't return to college where he will transfer to Tennessee from Virginia.
The top run times down the line to first base for the Cape squad were Advincula at 4.26 seconds and Josiah Ragsdale at 4.40, both from the left side.
Patrick Galle recorded the top velocity for the Cape with a 98.7-mph bolt during his relief appearance in the eight inning. Other top velocities included Tommy O’Rourke (94.5), Nate Taylor (93.4), Mason Davenport (93.3) and Kaden Echeman (93.1).
Taylor impressed with a scoreless first inning, filling the zone with a three pitch mix of a low-90s fastball, mid-70s curve and a swing/miss changeup. The right-hander isn’t eligible for the draft until 2027 and recently entered the transfer portal looking for a new home after just one season at Georgia this spring. Echeman was even better, striking out the side on just 13 pitches. His arsenal of a low-90s riding fastball, 85-mph slider and 80-mph curve missed bats and impressed the 50+ scouts in attendance. His extension of 6-foot-8 out front further added to the hitter’s challenge of squaring up the baseball. The Northern Kentucky righthander was another who opened some eyes and likely received a boost to his draft value, and if not he’ll be on the move to Lexington to play for the Wildcats next season. Douglas Bauer also pitched one scoreless inning with two strikeouts. The 6-foot-4 righthander from Ohio State relied on a 91-93 mph fastball and 85-87 cutter to miss bats.
For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague and @draftleaguedata on X, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.
