Sometimes in child’s play, or a hacker’s round of golf, a ‘do-over’ is called. It is just what the phrase implies, a second chance to handle a situation differently. It’s not about pretending a first attempt never happened, but rather an opportunity to improve an action the second time around.
For Williamsport Crosscutters manager Kenny Thomas and the team’s entire staff, that ‘do-over’ is underway as the Cutters enter the second half of MLB Draft League play. Thomas, a 34-year collegiate coaching veteran sporting a 1,279-639 record, saw the 2025 Cutters get off to a fast start, at one point sitting atop the standings with a 12-7 record. With several players leaving the team prior to the MLB Draft, fortunes turned sour, and an 11-game losing streak tumbled the team into the league basement as the first half ended.
“Do-over!”
“The second half of the season began last Wednesday, and all teams started with a 0-0 record,” echoed Gabe Sinicropi, the team’s Vice President of Marketing. “The winner of the first half plays the second half winner for the overall league championship. State College won the first half, and we’d like to make it a State College-Williamsport battle for the overall league crown.
“Our players for the second half are all players who are now professionals. These are players who were not drafted and have exhausted their college eligibility. They are looking to sign with a Major League affiliate as non-drafted free agents. Players who played in the league the first half and were not drafted, still have college eligibility remaining and most likely are returning to school in the fall.
“The first half of the MLB Draft League is composed of amateur players who are trying to improve their draft stock in the six or seven weeks leading up to the Major League draft. These players are invited to participate in the league. All of the games played in the Draft League are scouted by all Major League teams every night, either in person and/or virtually.
“Everything that happens on the field, all the data and analytics, is sent to all thirty Major League teams instantaneously. All this information is collected by a machine called ‘Track Man’ that is up on our roof. I guess you could call it Big Brother watching everything that occurs on the field. The MLB teams use this information in conjunction with formulating their plans for the annual player draft.”
During last week’s MLB draft, six Crosscutters heard their name called. This group included: 1B Riley Nelson by Cleveland; C Boston Scott by Washington; and right-handed pitchers Cody Delvecchio by San Francisco; Merit Jones by Minnesota; Denton Biller by Baltimore; and Connor Knox by the Cubs. During the five seasons in the MLB Draft League, 39 Crosscutters players have been drafted.
Also drafted this year was Montoursville native and former Shippensburg pitcher Jaxon Delana, who was chosen in the sixth round by the San Diego Padres.
The players in the second half are paid a weekly salary to play baseball. It is the Crosscutters’ responsibility to pay the salaries 100%. The pay is commensurate with the starting levels of Minor League Baseball at the Class A level.
Team roster size is different in each half, with the first half having more players.
“We have more pitchers on the team because care is taken to not overuse them leading up to the draft,” Sinicropi explained. We might have six or seven more players in the first half than the 27 we carry in the second half.”
The MLB Draft League schedule consists of 80 games divided into two halves, with the first half concluded prior to the MLB Draft. This year, the draft was held July 13-14, with the first half ending July 12. This scheduling creates an unbalanced schedule with 34 games played in the first half and 46 in the second.
“That schedule fluctuates from year to year,” Sinicropi noted.. “The league is still trying to determine what the ‘sweet spot’ is to start the season and still have an 80-game schedule. Eighty games are important from a business perspective, but we don’t want to start too early because some collegiate seasons have not been concluded.”
Of the Crosscutters’ seventeen scheduled first-half games, three were not played due to rainouts. In the Draft League, those games are not rescheduled. Sinicropi reported that Bowman Field attendance for the first half exceeded 1,700 fans per game.
Crosscutters fans will have many opportunities to see the team in action as 11 of their second-half home games will be played between July 23 and August 10. Due to preparations for the annual MLB/Little League Classic game featuring the Seattle Mariners and the New York Mets, and the Little League World Series, August 21 is the only home game on the schedule between August 11 and 28.
The Crosscutters will conclude regular season play with a six-game home stand August 29-September 3, against State College and Mahoning Valley.
