Unlike previous years that saw the second half season of the MLB Draft League begin after that year’s MLB

Draft, the 2026 schedule has the season start the week before. As a result, athletes that participate in the second half season not only have a heightened opportunity to be picked up by a team, but can even be drafted after just a week into the second half season.

As such, with the MLB Draft taking place this weekend, there may be a scene in which an athlete is taken out of the game because that dream phone call was made that they have been picked up by a professional organization.

It’s a dream that all athletes, including Williamsport Crosscutter outfielder Chris Stanfield, can only relish in. Stanfield has been a cornerstone with the Crosscutters throughout the summer. A member of Williamsport’s opening day roster after a standout career in the illustrious Southeastern Conference with Auburn and LSU, the outfield has dazzled Williamsport fans with elite hitting, speed on the basepaths, and an IQ in the field that makes him an irreplaceable part of the Cutters.

Chris Stanfield of the Crosscutters leads off first base in the first inning against the IronBirds at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“It’s been awesome,” discussed Stanfield on his time so far in Williamsport. “I came at the very beginning, so it’s been great. To meet Coach Kenny and (pitching coach) Happy Macon and the whole staff, (hitting coach Sean Miller) has done a great job with me. It’s been great.”

“The fans are awesome,” continued Stanfield . “Rashan, that whole tradition is awesome. I came out here looking to play hard and look for opportunities at the next level.”

But it was in the dying embers of the first half season when Stanfield’s production went from elite to potentially life changing. With the Cutters in a pennant chase, the outfielder would finish the previous seven games with a ridiculous 15 hits in 26 at bats with four extra base hits, nine runs batted in, and 10 stolen bases while being caught just once. Much thanks to Stanfield’s efforts, the Cutters would take 10 of the last 11 games of the first half to clinch the half title and earn their third trip to the MLB Draft League Championship in September.

“It was a huge weight off our shoulders,” said Stanfield. “Because we wanted to play hard and win for the coaches, staff, and the community because we know how much that championship means. So it was a good feeling of accomplishment.”

But now, as the second half begins and most Cutters fans eye a potential second MLB Draft League title in three years, some, including Stanfield, eye a potential phone call this weekend that signifies being drafted. With only a handful of second half players signing as free agents after the draft, the athletes know that their best shot at continuing their baseball careers lie with being picked up on Draft weekend.

Chris Stanfield and James McCoy of the Crosscutters talk before McCoy’s at bat in the first inning against the IronBirds at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

In spite of that pressure, Stanfield has continued to be a difference maker in the second half. Across the first two games of the second half, Stanfield overcame a slow opening day start by going two for three with two runsbscored, a run batted in, and a pair of walks as the Cutters split their opening series against the Aberdeen Ironbirds on Thursday.

“I won’t lie, it’s just life,” Stanfield admitted. “It’s a part of where I’m at now (in my career,) so it is on my mind a

little. But once I come out here, this is the game I love and that is the time where I put everything to the side and just focus on playing and winning. Of course I want to move on, but when I come to the park, I just focus on the game.”

Williamsport fans that attend this weekend’s games will be an eye witness to the potential drama, with the Cutters hosting the Trenton Thunder in a three game slate beginning Friday. And with rounds 5-20 of the MLB Draft taking place on Sunday, a sudden change in the lineup or in the field could mean one athlete’s dream will continue.

And if one of those athletes happened to be Stanfield, it could not have gone to a player more deserving.