9 Cutters picked up in draft, free agency, but some standouts return
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The MLB Draft, and its subsequent arms race for free agents, has come to an end.
When the dust settled, five members of the Williamsport Crosscutters' 2026 First Half Champion side (Jackson
Nash, Dallis Moran, Cooper Dossett, Ben Tryon, David Horn Jr.,) had their names called in the draft with an additional four (Brodey Acres, Joseph Webb. Brendan Sweeney, KJ White,) being snagged as undrafted free agents.
This is a rate similar to the rest of the MLB Draft League. With 36 athletes from the 2026 first half season being selected in the draft and another 22 alumni being taken.
And while the invaluable contributions from Williamsport helped lead the Cutters back to the MLB Draft League Championship for the first time in two years, a new crop of players will be tasked with carrying the torch in the proceeding 50 games leading up to September's championship.
But that isn't to say, despite the draft scooping up some memorable talent, that all names are unfamiliar.
As the smoke from the draft gets replaced by smoke from wildfires up north, many athletes from both sides of the diamond are now locked in for a full season of work.
Perhaps the most touted returnees will be the members of the outfield. Of the six listed athletes on the permanent second half roster, four were members of the first half champions with two, Owen Prince and Chris Stanfield, having been a part of the teams' opening day roster.
Prince, who started as a designated hitter role on opening day before becoming a part of a daunting seven-man rotation in the outfield, Prince's appearances were relegated to just half of Williamsport's 30 game first half slate. In spite of that,the five foot nine talisman still produced with a .231 average and 10 runs batted in going into the weekend.
A forward facing member of the first half team, no other athlete has made more appearances of the returnees than Stanfield. With a massive .368 average that's sported by six extra base hits and a .482 on base percentages, while late season free agent pick ups are rare, Stanfield's production may lead to a phone call.
Appearing in Williamsport two weeks into the season, Nick Barone has been a longtime familiar name in Williamsport. A Loyalsock baseball standout, Barone had a similar distinction to Prince in being difficult to break through a loaded outfield roster in the first half. Featuring more regularly as the second half season began, the former state qualifier has been heating up with a 5-16 run at the plate with a pair of runs batted in and a stolen base across the last week.
The final returning outfielder, Port Saint Joe, Florida native James McCoy, follows a similar pattern to the last returning position player Nicholas Romano. Having been picked up as late first half exports when some athletes began their departures from the team, they got to bask in the celebrations of the first half champagne before making a name for themselves in the second half.
On the other side of the diamond, no name will prove to be more familiar than relief pitcher Matthew Mariano. A direct replacement for first half closer Dallis Moran, who turned out to be selected in the draft, Mariano's shutout start in the first half has transitioned to the second half of the year. Going into the weekend, the long arm reliever has a 2-0 record with a 1.42 earned run average with 12 and two thirds of an inning pitched and eight strikeouts.
The other two late exports from the first half, starter Evan Grimes and short arms reliever Luc Lavigueur, each provide valuable experience for a Williamsport team that has gotten off to a lightning start in the second half.
With a share of first place in the Draft League going into the weekend, Williamsport finds themselves in the middle oof a five game road stand with the Cutters hosting the Trenton Thunder before a two game mini series against State College beginning on Monday.