The MLB Draft League is a unique opportunity for amateur players to improve their baseball skills in preparation for a career in professional baseball. Created in 2021, the league has an 80-game regular season split in two. The first 35 games operate as a summer collegiate baseball league with players with draft eligibility, while professional players who no longer hold amateur status compete in the final 45 games.
Catcher Chris Reeder played six seasons of Division III college baseball at the College of New Jersey and spent the 2024 MLB Draft League season with the Trenton Thunder, the former Double-A affiliate for the New York Yankees from 2003-20.
Chris Reeder singles on a line drive to send John Taylor home! pic.twitter.com/wPbKsJey7w
— Trenton Thunder⚡ (@TrentonThunder) July 13, 2024
One of Reeder’s teammates on the Thunder this season was Rintaro Sasaki, a 19-year-old Japanese slugger who set an all-time Japanese high school baseball record for home runs with 140 at Hanamaki Higashi High School in Hanamaki, Japan. Sasaki opted to skip the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft and committed to Stanford University to experience school and college baseball in the United States.
Hiroshi Sasaki, Rintaro’s father, is the head coach of the Hanamaki Higashi High School baseball team and has coached notable alums, including Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Houston Astros starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.
Reeder, 24, spoke with World Baseball Network about his experience in the MLB Draft League, being teammates with Sasaki, and what the future holds for his baseball career.
“The level of talent, stadiums, fans, travel, teammates, and everything made it an unbelievable experience,” Reeder told World Baseball Network about the MLB Draft League. “As a little kid, you dream about playing at the highest levels of baseball, and I was blessed with the opportunity to do so with the Trenton Thunder.
Reeder, a New Jersey native, frequently visited Trenton Thunder Ballpark as a child when the Thunder were the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate.
“Growing up, my family and I would attend Thunder games regularly during the summer, being that we lived so close and were Yankee fans, so to be able to play in the stadium I visited so often and to put on the uniform every day was a full circle moment.”
When Reeder’s teammate Sasaki was mentioned, the catcher was quickly impressed with his hitting skills and personality.
“Seeing the videos and articles about Rintaro’s baseball play, the home run records, and everything else, you can see he is one heck of a ballplayer,” said Reeder. “When he joined the team, it was quickly confirmed that he can play with the best of them… Rintaro’s personality was contagious; he was always happy and having fun in the clubhouse or field.”
Reeder realizes that Sasaki’s journey to the United States is not an easy transition and believes all Sasaki needs to do is trust the process.
“With someone like him who has already reached a certain level of hype and publicity, there will naturally be high expectations for him, so one of the best ways to ease all that is to be yourself and play your game,” Reeder said. “He has a great understanding of baseball and how hard it can be, so being yourself, playing the game one pitch at a time, and trusting your process is the advice I would give him.”
Looking at Reeder’s accomplishments, he is most proud of winning MLB Draft League Player of the Week for July 1-7. In 39 games in 2024, he hit .308 with one home run with 16 RBI. The righty struck out just 22 times in 142 plate appearances.
Chris Reeder & Jaden Agassi (@jadenagassi) Earn #MLBDraftLeague Weekly Honors
🔗: https://t.co/hRFJr7kb0F pic.twitter.com/vTKl1j3MQ7
— MLB Draft League (@mlbdraftleague) July 8, 2024
“Personally, this whole experience of playing in the MLB Draft League was a highlight for me,” Reeder said when asked what his most memorable personal accomplishment of the season was. “But if I had to choose one moment on the individual side, it would be winning Player of the Week. In any sport, you are always working to be the best, so to earn an honor in a league with such great players was a key moment for me.”
From July 1-7, Reeder hit .643 (9-for-14) with four runs scored and two RBI in five games. He led all MLB Draft League hitters during his hot streak with a .737 on-base percentage.
As a team, the Trenton Thunder had a successful campaign despite losing in the MLB Draft League title game 5-4 to the Williamsport Crosscutters.
“There were many great moments throughout the summer as the team was very close,” Reeder said. “The key moment for us was making the championship game. As a team, there’s no better feeling to see everything come together and make the season’s final game.”
While Reeder thoroughly enjoyed playing for the Thunder this summer, he’s confident his baseball journey will continue.
“The journey is definitely not finished,” Reeder said. “I’m going to take this off-season to grow and improve in all aspects of my game as I prepare for another summer of playing. I don’t know where I will be team-wise, but I believe there will be another opportunity to continue my playing career.”
While Reeder trains for next season, he will also take time to be a coach and help train players at his alma mater, the College of New Jersey.
Another day, another milestone! 👏🏼👏🏼
Congratulations to @baseballtcnj C Chris Reeder for recording his 150th career hit on Tuesday against Alvernia! (Swipe to see video)#TCNJ #LionPride pic.twitter.com/45NJcpgEhB
— TCNJ Athletics (@tcnjlions) April 10, 2024
“I am grateful enough to have the ability to join the coaching staff at TCNJ, where I played my college baseball,” Reeder told World Baseball Network. “So far, teaching the game and sharing knowledge with the players has been great.”
For now, wherever Reeder plays next is unknown, but what is known is his dedication to baseball. He is the true definition of a hard-working student of the game. The MLB Draft League was chapter one of his baseball expedition.
Photo Credit: Chris Reeder Throws via Trentonian
