10-07-2025
3 New England baseball players to watch during the MLB Draft Combine
The fifth annual MLB Draft Combine got underway on Tuesday, June 17 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Spanning five days, the combine gives draft eligible high school and college baseball players an opportunity to further showcase their talents to major league scouts.
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This year, 322 baseball players made the trip to Arizona to participate indifferent actives from on-field workouts to strength and conditioning showcases.
On Tuesday, the combine began with on-field workouts then transitioned to the Combine High School game at 9 p.m Eastern Time. Both were live streamed on
Wednesday's workouts will also be able to be streamed, beginning at 12 p.m. Eastern and going until 8 p.m.
Helping out with some of the instructions are former MLB players like CC Sabathia, Michael Bourn, and Brad Penny.
The participants came from all across the country and all different levels of competition. Three of the participants may be familiar faces to college baseball fans in New England.
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The first is left-handed pitcher Caleb Leys. The Rhode Island native is coming off his junior season with the Maine Black Bears. After a slow start to his career and a medical redshirt year in 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, Leys dominated for the Black Bears this season.
Across 67 innings, Leys posted a 2.69 ERA for Maine, striking out 74 batters. His best outing of the year came against NJIT in March when he struck out 12 batters and allowed just one earned run over seven innings.
Another name to keep an eye out for is Mason Estrada. Also a pitcher, Estrada did his work with the MIT Engineers this season.
Hailing from Louisiana, the right handed sophomore was lethal in his first season appearing for MIT. Estrada made 10 starts and struck out 66 batters on the year.
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The righty also finished with a 2.21 ERA and a .154 batting average against. If he is not drafted this year or declines to sign with a team that takes him, Estrada is set to transfer to one of the top programs in the country in Tennessee next year.
The lone position player of this trio is Northeastern University outfielder Cam Maldonado. Named a freshman All-American in 2023, the Wolcott, Connecticut native only got better over the course of his Huskies career.
The 6′3 centerfielder swiped at least 29 bags in each of his three seasons with Northeastern, and finished slashing .329/.440/.595. His efforts as a junior, including 17 doubles and 15 homers, earned him Northeastern All-Region First Team honors.
Coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament, Maldonado entered the combine as the 189th ranked prospect in this year's draft according to MLB Pipeline.
Maldonado is the only one of the three New England representatives to crack the top 200 prospects list.
Read the original article on MassLive.
