The second half of the Draft League season came to a close this past Thursday with West Virginia defeating State College for the championship.

Currently three prospects from the second half of the Draft League’s 2025 season have had their contracts purchased with affiliated clubs – Colton Cosper, Griffin Green and Jake Hunter. Cosper recently posted a scoreless inning in his Triple-A debut. Their signings are in addition to the 37 draft picks and 28 additional undrafted free agent signings that took place after the draft from players in the league’s first half of 2025.

Here are several more highly-regarded prospects from the second half who have demonstrated qualities and performances to earn affiliated opportunities.

Connor Maryniak, SS, Trenton - Half of the league’s managers noted that Maryniak was one of the most likely Draft League talents who will develop into a big league talent. Lauded for his work ethic and makeup, the Thunder’s 6-foot-1, 200-pound shortstop never stopped hitting from Day 1 in the league. The right-handed hitter finished the season with a .331 batting average, a 105.1 max exit velocity and 31 batted balls over 95+ mph. He did produce just 12 XBH in 163 at-bats, much due to a flat swing path (3.7 degree average LA), but it helped him put bat-to-ball with a 13.1% Z-Whiff against all pitches (above average) and dwindled down further to just 7.7% against in-zone fastballs. Defensively, Maryniak committed only four errors in 177 chances for a .977 FLD%.

Jackson Mayo, OF, Williamsport - The 22-year-old outfielder was the most well-rounded prospect in the league, combining speed, power, hit ability and strong defense. A four-year starter at South Florida, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-handed hitter stroked 13 doubles, three home runs and stole 24 bases. He also finished second in the league across both halves .357 batting average and posted a max EV of 109.1 mph. Mayo used all fields and found the sweet spot on one-third of the balls that he put in play (43 of 131). He also managed the zone well with an impressive chase rate of just 12.3%. Defensively, Mayo played three games in center field and 38 games in left with no errors in 68 chances.

Alex Ungar, OF, West Virginia - Another in the league who combined power and speed, Ungar was a highlight film of sorts. In the same game, he stole home and hit a home run. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-handed hitter finished the season with 13 doubles, four home runs and 24 stolen bases while batting .312 with a .412 OBP. He loved the fastball, slugging .679 against the pitch with a 42.9% hard-hit rate. Against all pitches, he found the sweet spot for a max EV of 107.1 mph and a 90th percentile EV of 105 mph. He’s an above-average defender with time split between right field and center field, committing three errors in 70 chances.

Cole Cheatham, LHP, Mahoning Valley - The recently turned 22-year-old left-hander struck out 25 in 18 2/3 innings. A gaudy Z-Whiff of 30.2% on his low-90s sinker is a rarity and its shape was excellent, averaging 6.7” IVB / -15.8” HB. Cheatham also pounded the zone with a firm changeup (65.9% strike rate) that boasts a 36.8% Z-whiff, as well as a quality 80-mph sweeping slider at 2550+ rpm with 16” HB. It’s another bat-misser with a 50% Whiff rate. Overall, the lefthander combines the dirty stuff that scouts look for, as well as the deeper dive analytics that organizations also seek. His floor is that of a left-on-left specialist, but with three effective pitches there’s some ceiling to his ultimate big league role.

Cameron LeJeune, RHP, West Virginia - Whereas most pitchers hit a bump in the road at some point in the season, the former Virginia Tech Hokie was nearly perfect throughout the second half. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander did not allow an earned run until his 12th appearance. He finished the season allowing only two, good for a 0.43 ERA in 27 innings. He struck out 30 and walked just nine. LeJeune is a strike-thrower with a 71.4% strike rate overall on his five pitches that include a fastball, slider, curve, changeup and cutter. His mix is led by a mid-2300 rpm fastball that was up to 96 mph, averaged 91.8 mph and had an elite strike rate of 71.8%. His next best offering is a slider with an even better strike rate of 75% – MLB average is 60.6%. Lejeune’s slider averaged 85.3 mph and although it could use more horizontal break, it does spin into late, sharp depth at times. If that dominant two-pitch arsenal wasn’t enough, he also had success with an 86-88 mph cutter that spun near 2500 rpm and had a current movement profile of 4” VB / -2.4” HB. If he’s able to increase the separation between his two benders, specifically increasing the vertical break of his cutter into the 8-10” range and lowering the vertical on his slider…look out.

Wes Burton, RHP, West Virginia - Upon reviewing the raw statistics for Burton’s season, the word domination comes to mind. The 24-year-old struck out 30 in just 11 2/3 innings, while posting a 1.54 ERA in 13 appearances. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound right-hander attacked with a two pitch arsenal that included a low-90s fastball and low-80s changeup. Both pitches played up due to an outlier extension of more than seven feet. Burton’s four-seamer was a high-rider that averaged 20.4” IVB with a near perfect combination of HB (5.3”). The arm speed on his change-of-pace is identical to his fastball, but he’ll need to improve the pace of throwing it for a strike (57.6%), however, it played in the zone with a whiff rate of 41.7%. Burton is another Draft League arm who is plug-n-play for affiliated baseball.

The second half league champion Black Bears had a trio of next level hitting prospects in Jace Rinehart, Drew Collins and Judah Morris. Rinehart seemed to be in a special place all season. The versatile defender saw time at catcher, first base, third base and both outfield corners. At the plate, he set an MLB Draft League record 21 consecutive games with a hit (41-for-80) before finishing at an overall league-leading .391 batting average. His season max EV of 109.1 ranked in the top five and he batted .430 against off speed pitches.

Collins, an outfielder, can also square it up with a max EV of 107.2 mph. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-handed hitter batted .315 and stole 21 bases, good for fifth in the second half and seventh overall. We’ve previously written about Morris and his ability to hit the baseball hard (110.4 max EV), far (419’ max distance) and often (32.6% hard hit rate). The 6-foot-3, 245-pound power-hitting first baseman added to his resume with three hits in the championship game including a 107.5-mph single and 103.2-mph RBI double.

State College had a pair of next level prospects in infielder T.J. Salvaggio and catcher Jaden Collura. Salvaggio played 30 of his 41 games at shortstop, but also showed an ability to play second and third. He finished the season with a .294 batting average, four home runs, 27 RBI and stole seven bases. Collura was the top hitting catcher in the league, finishing with a .329 average with 25 RBI. Most notably, trailed behind Rinehart with a hitting streak of his own before tying with his 21st straight game on the last day of the regular season. In 278 chances behind the plate, he committed just one error (.996 FLD%), allowed zero passed balls and threw out 17 runners attempting to steal.

Trenton’s utilityman John Schroeder matched Collura by throwing out 17 base runners who attempted to steal, and he also did not commit a passed ball all season. He also made just two errors in 252 chances for a .992 FLD%. Like Rinehart, Schroeder also played at third, first and in the outfield corners. In the batter’s box the 6-foot-1 switch-hitter batted .275 with three home runs and 30 RBI. Schroeder also stole 10 bases.

Frederick’s Cam Hassert began the season taking his bat-to-ball, producing five XBHs in his first 16 at-bats and never stopped connecting. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound lefthanded hitter finished with a .329 batting average, three home runs, 30 RBI and 10 stolen bases. His best bolt was a 103.9 EV, and he found the sweet spot on 46 of his 123 batted balls in play. His ability to hit all types of pitches for consistent, hard contact also stood out. Defensively, Hassert routinely added entries to his highlight reel and made difficult plays in the hole and over the middle almost routine.

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.