Crosscutter’s Jacob Harper cools off in the dugout between innings against of Mahoning Valley at Muncy Bank Ballpark June 9, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Under the pressure of the Draft League, staying grounded is almost a requirement.

With some of the best competition that one has had to face in their baseball careers, the constant pressures of the day-to-day can become stringent for some. Especially in just a six-team league where players are being rotated in and out on almost a daily basis, to stay level headed may be just as important as out and out talent for success in this league.

From the sample size we have received, it’s clear that Williamsport Crosscuttter catcher Jacob Harper knows how to stay in the right mentality.

The best example of such was in game one of the series vs. Mahoning Valley last Friday, with Williamsport down three in the eighth with the bases loaded, and Harper stepping up to the plate.

“I know that kid didn’t have anything that could beat anybody,” said Harper looking back to that at bat. “After he had just thrown a fastball for a ball, I knew he wasn’t gonna come back with it. It was [just about] seeing that slider up, and hoping to get the barrel on it.

With Harper in the hitters count, he would in fact find the barrel. A rip into left center field that would clear the bases and tie the ball game up.

While Williamsport ultimately lost the game in the new sudden-death format, it became clear who one of the more authentic characters on the squad would be.

Chopping it up during next day’s batting practice, a bemused Harper would stand tall on his mentality heading to the plate. “That’s gotta be the mentality, you gotta walk up there knowing you’re gonna get a hit. You can walk out and go ‘man, this guys got great stuff.'”

“[It’s] just making sure we’re on time with everything and getting that foot down. Really adjusting with that of speed. Coming from collegiate, definitely where I’m coming from, it’s a big step.”

If the Draft League was created for amplifying names that might have been swept under the rug, then nobody represents a better example than Harper. A 6’0 catcher 45 minutes outside of Atlanta in Paulding, Georgia, Harper has spent his collegiate career at Division II Valdosta State, a far cry from the bright lights of the Draft League.

For a catcher batting a cool .283 with three homers for a DII school that finished with a modest 18-12 conference record and a quick 0-2 exit in their regional, one may begin to understand the complacency.

“The speed of pitches is drastically different,” echoed Harper. “You gotta make sure you get the foot down, and get it in the middle of the field.”

Yet for Harper, the perceived indifference has been what fueled his early surge in his Cutters campaign.

Over the first nine games of the season where Harper has appeared, the Georgian posts a 1.252 OPS, .357 average, seven runs batted in and a ridiculous .609 on base percentage, all team highs.

If there is a supposed red carpet in the Draft League suited only for top high school and division one prospects, then Harper hasn’t heard of it.

For the Peach State native, the chip on his shoulder has quickly turned into fuel to perform at a high level.

“Oh for sure [there is a chip.] Coming from DII you’re considered… not DI, so you’re kinda not looked at much. So, coming out here, it’s big. You get an extra fighting chance and motivation to make it.”

While the statistics may not hold up over the course of an entire campaign, Harper’s early contributions highlight what has been a Cutters squad aiming to go on the uptick. Williamsport’s offense has come alive as of late, scoring five or more runs in seven of their last eight fixtures, including eight runs or more in three of their last five.

Newcomers have contributed to this scoring surge, with big names in Stanley Tucker and Colson Lawrence entering the fray over the coarse of the last series.

While the big names in the big schools will always rule the headlines, the guys trying to make a name for themselves always deserve their merits, and nobody deserves to fit that billing more in the beginning of the season than Jacob Harper.