A late add to the schedule turned out to be a great opportunity to check out some prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft…and beyond.
The Cape Cod League and MLB Draft League each put together an All-Star squad to face off against each other Monday afternoon at Citi Field in Queens, a former site of the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series Main Event.
There was a wide variety of arms on display at Monday’s game, but most eyes were focused on MLB Draft League starter Miguel Sime (pronounced see-may), who was set to make his final appearance before the Draft on July 13-14.
ASHMORE: The arms from the MLBDL-CCBL game
Miguel Sime, RHP, MLBDL — Prep Country Day HS (NY)
2025 MLB DRAFT RANKING: 132
Not surprisingly, Sime threw the fastest eight pitches recorded at the game, topping out at 100.2 mph with a fastball he used on 13 of the 15 pitches he threw over one inning of work as the game’s starter. He generated up to 19 IVB with up to 17 VBreak and 12 HBreak on the four-seamer. Also offering a changeup and a curveball, the LSU commit only used the latter, throwing it twice at 81-83 MPH.
Sime struggled with command of the heater on occasion, walking a batter, but said he’s made significant strides in the development of all of his pitches, particularly the secondary stuff, when speaking to media, including FSS Plus, after the game.
“It’s definitely on the right path, including how I threw it this spring,” he said. “The improvements have been major, honestly. I developed feel for the changeup and the curveball. If you see two videos of two different outings from last summer to this spring, it looks like two different pitchers. It’s a testimony to all the hard work.”
Shane Van Dam, RHP, MLBDL — North Carolina State
2025 MLB DRAFT RANKING: 389
Van Dam is a big, big riser on Doyle’s board, jumping up 141 spots from the last update. The Cranford, NJ native didn’t return to action until late in the college season after a UCL injury cost him most of the year at NC State. Now pitching with Mahoning Valley in the Draft League, the 6-foot-6, 198-pound righty followed Sime and used a four-seam-sinker-curveball mix throughout his outing.
He sat between 93-95 mph with the heater, while also implementing the curveball (77-79 mph) well over a scoreless frame in which he allowed two hits.
Jacob Mayers, RHP, MLBDL — LSU
2025 MLB DRAFT BOARD RANKING: 448
Mayers is currently at LSU, where he helped the Tigers win a national championship, including an appearance against Arkansas in the College World Series. A 6-foot-5, 220-pound righty, Mayers threw just eight pitches on Monday in a late-game look, issuing one walk on five pitches before recording two quick outs.
His 23 IVB on his four-seamer, which sat 96-97, was a game-best. He also flashed a cutter.
Sam Cozart, RHP, MLBDL — Wesleyan Christian Academy
2025 MLB DRAFT BOARD RANKING: 552
Wesleyan Christian Academy’s Sam Cozart pitches for West Virginia in the MLB Draft League and was another intriguing arm that got an all-too-short look on Monday, facing just two batters.
The big 6-foot-8, 245-pound righty managed to work in a four-seamer, sinker, slider, and curveball in just an eight-pitch relief appearance, getting up to 92 with the sinker.
Committed to Texas, he was consistent with a slider that had a spin rate between 2281-2303 and did flip one curveball with a 2546 spin rate and 58 VBreak, good for a top-10 mark at the event.
Patrick Galle, RHP, CCBL — Mississippi
Galle is a 2025 draft-eligible arm currently at Ole Miss, and one who brought the heat with a fastball that got up to 99 MPH Monday, behind only Sime on the velo charts.
The 6-foot-2, 215 spectacle-wearing righty only got to throw four innings over six outings in his freshman year, and then provided evaluators with a mixed bag at Citi Field, allowing a run on a hit and two walks while recording both of his outs via strikeout.
It was mostly hard stuff; he flashed a mainly fastball-cutter mix with a few sliders (84-85) thrown in.
Tyler Dietz, RHP, MLBDL — Florida Tech
Following his transfer from South Florida, Dietz has struggled with results despite significant arm talent. He got the fastball up to 99 mph Monday, behind only Sime and Galle.
Using a sinker-slider-changeup-cutter mix, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound righty perhaps opened some eyes with a two-strikeout inning in which he didn’t allow a baserunner.
Kaden Echeman, RHP, CCBL — Northern Kentucky (Kentucky)
You can’t talk about this game without speaking on Echeman, who will be transferring from Northern Kentucky to Kentucky for the 2026 season if he goes undrafted/unsigned. After the performance he put on in front of a healthy amount of scouts sitting behind home plate in Queens, that may prove to be an unlikely scenario.
Echeman struck out the side in order on 13 pitches, and the Falmouth righty used an impressive mix to do so, flashing a four-seamer, cutter, curveball, and slider in his outing, one that relied heavily on natural movement. He was up to 93.1 on the heater that produced IVB numbers over 20, but popped most with the curve, generating two of the top five Vbreak numbers (64, 66) of the event with it.
“I was excited, first time in a big league ballpark,” he said. “Being able to perform in front of everybody, is was pretty cool. Not too nervous, I chew a lot of gum when I pitch, so it eases that away, but coming into this, you know how big of an event it is with all the scouts in attendance and facing off against some of the best players in the country. Adrenalin is going to a little bit, but preparation, it does wonders when you prepare to actually be able to perform.”
Nate Taylor, RHP, CCBL — Georgia
Taylor is a 2027 draft-eligible arm who shined as a freshman at Georgia this year, but is currently in the transfer portal. A 6-foot-2, 213-pound righty, the Chatham arm got the start for the Cape Cod squad and performed well in his lone inning of work, allowing one hit while striking out one. He sat 91-93 with his fastball and also flashed a changeup and curveball.
For the Bulldogs, Taylor put up a 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 innings with two walks and 17 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .107 batting average, and also struck out 10 batters over four frames in his Cape Cod League debut earlier this year. He was considered one of the top college prospects to watch for the ’27 Draft, per Joe Doyle’s rankings from 2024.
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 11 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,200 games covered in his career.
An avid card collector and sim racer, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son William, and their beloved dog, Bailey, and cat, Smokey.
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