MLB Draft League

Last updated
MLB Draft League
MLB Draft League logo.svg
Classification Collegiate summer (partial)
Independent (partial)
Sport Baseball
Founded2021
DirectorSean Campbell [1]
No. of teams6
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion		 West Virginia Black Bears (2025)
Most titles West Virginia Black Bears (3)
Streaming partnerAWRE Sports [2]
Official website mlbdraftleague.com

The MLB Draft League is a baseball league that began play in 2021. [3] Created by Major League Baseball (MLB) and Prep Baseball Report (PBR), the league operates a split-season format of 80 games with a hybrid amateur–professional structure: for the first half of the season, the league operates as an amateur collegiate summer baseball league to serve as a showcase for top draft-eligible prospects leading up to each July's MLB draft; [3] after a break for the draft, play resumes for the season's remaining games with paid professional players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility. [4]

Contents

History

The league's founding six teams were formerly members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League, Eastern League, and Carolina League before MLB's reorganization of the minors for 2021. [5] [6] In 2021, each team in the league played a 68-game regular season, with an All-Star Break taking place around the MLB draft. [7] The season was expanded to 80 games per team beginning in 2022. [8]

In 2024, MLB announced that the league would be expanded by two teams in the near future and that it would extend its support for the league through 2030. [9]

In August 2025, it was announced that Attain Sports, the owners of the Frederick Keys and numerous Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates, would move the current Keys team to High-A, while the Aberdeen Ironbirds, the then-current High-A affiliate of the Orioles would move to the MLB Draft League in 2026. [10]

Teams

TeamCityStadiumCapacityTenure
Aberdeen IronBirds Aberdeen, Maryland Ripken Stadium 6,3002026–present
Mahoning Valley Scrappers Niles, Ohio 7 17 Credit Union Field at Eastwood 6,0002021–present
State College Spikes University Park, Pennsylvania Lubrano Park 5,5702021–present
Trenton Thunder Trenton, New Jersey Trenton Thunder Ballpark 6,4402021–present
West Virginia Black Bears Granville, West Virginia Kendrick Family Ballpark 3,5002021–present
Williamsport Crosscutters Williamsport, Pennsylvania Journey Bank Ballpark 2,3662021–present
MLB Draft League
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110km
68miles
Red pog.svg
Crosscutters
Red pog.svg
Black Bears
Red pog.svg
Thunder
Red pog.svg
Spikes
Red pog.svg
Scrappers
Red pog.svg
IronBirds
  • Red pog.svg Current team locations

Champions

Team# of ChampionshipsYear(s)
West Virginia Black Bears 32022, 2023, 2025
Williamsport Crosscutters 12024
Trenton Thunder 12021 [a]

Championship games

YearChampionRunner-upScoreRef
2025West Virginia Black BearsState College Spikes12–5 [12]
2024Williamsport CrosscuttersTrenton Thunder5–4 [13]
2023West Virginia Black BearsTrenton Thunder9–4 [14]
2022West Virginia Black BearsWilliamsport Crosscutters10–6 [15]
2021Not held [a]
  1. 1 2 Trenton was awarded the 2021 title for having the best regular season record. [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Sean Campbell taking over as MLB Draft League Executive Director". MLBDraftLeague.com. MLB Draft League. May 29, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  2. ↑ "AWRE Sports announces multi-year agreement with MLB Draft League and Appalachian League as official camera and streaming provider" (Press release). MLB Draft League. April 22, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Reichard, Kevin (November 30, 2020). "Kerrick Jackson is New MLB Draft League President". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ "What is the MLB Draft League". MLBDraftLeague.com. MLB Draft League. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Mahoning Valley Scrappers Retain Affiliation With Major League Baseball in New MLB Draft League". Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Minor League Baseball. November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  6. ↑ Cooper, J.J. (December 9, 2020). "Frederick Becomes Sixth Team To Join MLB Draft League". Baseball America . Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  7. ↑ "MLB to Launch League for Draft Prospects". Major League Baseball. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Crosscutters 2022 Schedule to Feature More Games and New Start Times". OurSports Central (Press release). November 8, 2021.
  9. ↑ "MLB Extends Commitment to Draft League Through 2030 Season" (Press release). Major League Baseball. May 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Attain Sports Announces Reorganization of Baseball Teams, Bringing High-A Affiliate Baseball Back to Frederick and MLB Draft League to Aberdeen Beginning in 2026" (Press release). Frederick Keys. August 1, 2025.
  11. ↑ "MLB Draft League Champions". MLB Draft League. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  12. ↑ Linderman, Lexie (September 5, 2025). "State College Spikes host MLB Draft League championship for first time, but come up short". Centre Daily Times. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Cutters Capture Draft League Title | Williamsport Crosscutters". MLB Draft League. September 5, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  14. ↑ "West Virginia Black Bears Win 2023 MLB Draft League Championship | West Virginia Black Bears". MLB Draft League. September 3, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  15. ↑ "2022 MLB Draft League Champions: The West Virginia Black Bears Defeat the Williamsport Crosscutters 10–6 in Championship Game at Monongalia County Ballpark | MLB Draft League". MLB Draft League. September 7, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
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