NEW YORK -- Over the past two seasons, Jarren Advincula has proven he can hit at the highest level of wood-bat summer ball, the Cape Cod League. On Monday, he showed he can perform with the lumber in New York City too.
The Cotuit second baseman hit a three-run homer and finished 2-for-3 out of the Cape Cod League All-Star leadoff spot in a 10-6 loss to their MLB Draft League counterparts at Citi Field.
Monday’s exhibition pitted All-Star squads from two of the most famous wood-bat summer leagues in the country. The Cape Cod League is often filled with some of baseball's top collegiate prospects and boasts an impressive list of alumni that includes recent award winners like Aaron Judge, Chris Sale and Paul Skenes. The MLB Draft League began in 2021 as a means of giving Draft-eligible prospects one last chance to improve their stock with games across the Northeast ahead of the 20-round process in July. The circuit switches to an independent professional format in the second half.
The All-Star Game played at the home of the Mets gave players from both leagues the opportunity to show off in front of scouts and measure themselves up to the best the other loop has to offer in 2025.
Here are some of the most notable performers from the contest:
Jarren Advincula, 2B, Cape Cod League (Cotuit/Georgia Tech)
Advincula won the Cape batting title with a .392 average as a rising sophomore last summer and has juggled a return to Cotuit with a transfer from Cal to Georgia Tech this time around. His natural bat-to-ball skills made him an easy pick to lead off for the Cape, and his big highlight came in the fourth inning when he got out in front of a first-pitch fastball from fellow lefty Carter Wilcox and sent it 378 feet down the line in right field for a three-run shot. The homer had an exit velocity of 97.9 mph.
The second baseman added a sharp single up the middle in the sixth, reached two more times after getting hit by two pitches and stole two bases. He was removed from the game after being hit in the helmet in the eighth but said he was OK in a postgame interview.
A potential first-round pick next year after hitting .334 in his two seasons with Cal, Advincula said it’s been tougher to find a groove this summer but he thought Monday was a sign of what he can do with his transfer news behind him.
“It’s kind of hard to get in that rhythm when you’re in the portal,” he said. “You play two games. You go on a visit. Two games. Visit. So it’s nice to settle down. I want to thank Georgia Tech for everything.”
Harrison Didawick, LF, MLB Draft League (State College/Virginia)
The victorious MLB Draft League squad picked up 10 hits from 10 different batters, but none was louder than Didawick’s home run in the fourth. The left-handed slugger jumped on a 2-1 pitch from southpaw sidearmer Adam Arther and sent it 391 feet out to right-center with an exit velo of 98 mph for a two-run shot. It was the longest hit ball measured by Statcast on the night.
That power was much needed for the Virginia Cavalier. Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 125 prospect in last year’s Draft class, Didawick went unselected and returned to Charlottesville, only to have his homer total fall from 23 to six and his slugging percentage from .642 to .384. The 22-year-old hadn’t gone yard in his first 15 games for State College this summer but finally connected Monday.
“I'm just trying to be on top of the fastball and everything else will work out,” Didawick said. “But I'm really just trying to play loose and have fun, and I think that really is gonna help me in the future.”
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Miguel Sime, RHP, MLB Draft League (Trenton/Poly Prep)
A New York City native whose home is a 25-minute drive from Citi Field, Sime got to feel comfortable as the MLB Draft League starter in what was just his third outing on the circuit. As is typical of his profile, he exceeded triple digits twice and had the game’s eight highest pitch velocities, ranging from 98.9 to 100.2 mph. He also sprinkled in two low-80s curveballs, eliciting a swing-and-miss on one of them.
Results were a little more mixed than the pure stuff alone indicates. Sime threw seven of his 15 pitches for strikes, including two for whiffs, and showed a tendency to miss high on his location with the heater. He worked around a two-out walk and drew three groundouts in his scoreless frame. But for scouts hoping to see gas from MLB Pipeline's No. 86 Draft prospect in 2025, they got their money’s worth even in a short span.
“It’s kind of like the cherry on top,” Sime said. “The velo is there late in the season after spring, after a couple starts in Draft League. I’ve come here to finish it off. The velo is strong, and I’m staying comfortable throughout.”
Kaden Echeman, RHP, Cape Cod League (Falmouth/Kentucky)
After striking out 169 batters over 125 innings in his last two seasons at Northern Kentucky, Echeman has already announced he’s staying in state and moving to the SEC with a transfer to Kentucky next season. That is, if he makes it to Lexington at all, and the All-Star Game performance may have helped his chances of switching plans again.
The 22-year-old right-hander was the only pitcher to strike out the side, setting down three batters in the second as the first arm out of the Cape bullpen. His five whiffs on seven swings over only 13 pitches were the most elicited by any pitcher in the exhibition.
Echeman only sat 91-93 mph with his fastball but registered induced vertical break measurements from 16-22 inches, giving the heater plenty of ride to help it play above that velo. He also worked in an effective upper-70s curveball and folded in both a slider and a cutter for different looks.
With that riding fastball and around 6.8 feet of extension, Echeman, who has a 2.25 ERA and 19 K’s in 12 innings for Falmouth in the Cape regular season, might make some pitching departments want to get their hands on him in July.
“Walking is probably my least favorite thing to do in the world,” he said. “Just attack. I want to be in the zone as much as I can. All these guys, all the scouts and fans, have seen my stuff for so long. They come and scout me every game. They know what I have. It's all about execution when it comes to events like these.”
Henry Ford, OF, Cape Cod League (Chatham/Tennessee)
At No. 73 on MLB Pipeline's board, Ford was the highest-ranked 2025 Draft prospect on either side and didn’t disappoint. He finished 2-for-4 as the Cape League’s starting right fielder with both singles registering exit velocities above 100 mph. In fact, he was the only player with a pair of triple-digit EVs. Ford registered bat speeds of 75 mph on two of his balls in play, meeting exactly the MLB standard for a "fast swing."
Set to transfer from UVA to Tennessee if he doesn’t go in the Draft, Ford hit .362/.420/.575 with 11 homers and only 30 strikeouts in 50 games this spring, earning All-ACC Second Team honors.
His below-average speed and fringy arm strength lead some scouts to believe he’s headed to first base long term, but Ford helped his case to stay on the grass with a strong, accurate throw to nail Sam Parker at home on a bounce in the sixth.