Editor’s Note: This story originally reported the score and outcome of the game incorrectly, stating that the Cape Cod League defeated the MLB Draft League 10-6. It has been corrected to reflect that the MLB Draft League beat the Cape Cod League by a score of 10-6.
The MLB Draft League defeated the Cape Cod Baseball League 10-6 in the Inaugural All-Star Game at Citi Field in Flushing, New York, on June 30.
📍 Citi Field – Flushing, NY
Pumped to be on-site at the first-ever exhibition game between the @OfficialCCBL & @mlbdraftleague!
25 of the best ‘25 Cape League players are here to take on the Draft League’s best at 4:05 PM.
Check out @OfficialCCBL for content all day long! pic.twitter.com/ieJlZIl5pn
— Ryan Martin (@RyanMartinPxP) June 30, 2025
The game remained scoreless through three innings, with both teams showcasing good pitching. The MLB Draft League gave the start to Dominican right-handed pitcher Miguel Sime Jr., who was born in Queens, around 25 minutes from Citi Field. Sime Jr., 18, had friends and family on hand, and they watched him fire bullets at over 100 mph. He threw a scoreless inning with no strikeouts.
Sime Jr. is currently playing with the Trenton Thunder in the MLB Draft League, and he will not throw again for them with the MLB Draft 12 days away. Sime Jr. is the 86th-ranked draft prospect on MLB Pipeline.com and has committed to the 2025 College Baseball Champions, LSU. He is also the top-ranked New York pitcher in the Perfect Game rankings out of Poly Prep Country Day in Brooklyn.
Another pitcher who impressed was right-handed pitcher Kaden Echeman. He is currently playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Falmouth Commodores.
Echeman, 22, pitched for Northern Kentucky the last three seasons and has struck out 217 batters in 186 2/3 innings in his career. He will transfer to Kentucky for the 2026 season, and he was the only player in the game to strike out the side.
The offense woke up in the fourth with one loud home run on each side. The Cape Cod Baseball League’s left-handed hitting second baseman Jarren Advincula launched a three-run home run into the second deck in right field to give the Cape Cod Baseball League a 3-0 lead.
Advincula, 20, has played two seasons for California and is playing for the Cape League’s Cotuit Kettlers this summer. He had six home runs, 33 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and a slash line of .342/.410/.506 in 237 at-bats for the Golden Bears last season.
The MLB Draft League responded with a two-run home run from left-handed hitting left fielder Harrison Didawick that was hit to right center field. Didawick, 22, is currently playing for the State College Spikes. He has also played three seasons at Virginia and had a breakout season in 2024 with 23 home runs, 68 RBI, and a slash line of .292/.414/.642 in 240 at-bats.
In the bottom of the fifth, MLB Draft League center fielder Khi Holiday had an RBI ground out to tie the game 3-3. Holiday, 22, is playing for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers this summer and played at Southern Indiana this past season, hitting two home runs and netting 35 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, and a slash line of .341/.454/.416 in 271 at-bats for Southern Indiana. Holiday also drove in a run later in the game with an RBI single in the seventh.
Cape Cod Baseball League left-fielder AJ Soldra put them back in front in the sixth with a sacrifice fly. He is currently playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and spent this past season at Seton Hall. Soldra, 21, had four home runs, 28 RBI, 15 stolen bases, and a slash line of .330/.426/.513 in 218 at-bats with Seton Hall.
The back-and-forth action continued in the bottom of the seventh, when shortstop Dawson Willis had an RBI single to give the MLB Draft League a 5-4 lead. At Oklahoma in 2025, Willis, 21, had six home runs, 40 RBI, 18 stolen bases, and a slash line of .232/.315/.372 in 207 at-bats. Playing for Frederick this summer, he also drove in another run in the eighth with a walk.
The #MLBDraftLeague add 5️⃣ runs in the bottom of the eighth to extend the lead to 10-4 highlighted by 2-run singles by Aaron Graeber (@TrentonThunder) and Sam Parker (@FrederickKeys)!@graeber_aaron | @sam_parker44 pic.twitter.com/c87JslvsKp
— MLB Draft League (@mlbdraftleague) June 30, 2025
The MLB Draft League put the game away in the eighth with a two-run single from right fielder Aaron Graeber, a Newjersey-native who is playing for the Trenton Thunder this summer and has played his past two seasons at Delaware, after transferring from Rowan’s junior college program. Graeber had a strong season for Delaware, winning first-team All-CAA. He led Delaware in home runs (14), RBI (52), batting average (.351), and hits (79).
The five-run eighth was capped with a two-run single from London-born Sam Parker, who is playing for the Fredrick Keys this summer. He has one home run, nine RBI, and an OPS of .738 in 66 at-bats.
In the ninth, the Cap Code Baseball League scored two runs with two RBI singles from catcher Weber Neels and shortstop Jaxon Willits. Neels, 22, is a right-handed hitter playing with the Bourne Braves this summer and has played his last three seasons with Minnesota. In 2025, he had 15 home runs, 38 RBI, and an OPS of 1.029 in 169 at-bats for the Golden Gophers.
Willits, 20, is a switch-hitter currently playing for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. He has spent his last two seasons with Oklahoma, and his career numbers are 19 home runs, 87 RBI, 15 stolen bases, and a slash line of .286/.394/.490 in 412 at-bats.
This event was a unique mix of high school and collegiate talent that had a family-friendly atmosphere at Citi Field. Several of the players will be selected in the MLB Draft, but some of them might not turn pro and honor their commitments to their universities.
Interview with two-way Gainesville high school star @MerrittCaden before the @mlbdraftleague vs. @OfficialCCBL exhibition
Merritt is committed to Costal Carolina and is also currently playing in the MLB Draft
League with @frederickkeys pic.twitter.com/hTBNDqFAqt— World Baseball Network (@WorldBaseball_) June 30, 2025
The MLB Draft will begin on July 13 in Atlanta, Georgia, at 6 p.m. EDT, and day two of the draft will be at 11:30 EDT on July 14.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
Photo: Citi Field in New York hosted a June 30 All-Star Game between players from the Cape Cod Baseball League and the MLB Draft League. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
