Two players and one former player from the Thunder’s MLB Draft League roster were selected in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft.

The first Draft League player to come off the board was Thunder flamethrower Miguel Sime Jr., who went in the fourth round (111th overall) to the Washington Nationals.

The product of Poly Prep in New York City and an LSU commit lit up the radar gun during his two appearances for the Thunder, including a Draft League-record 100.9 mph fastball in June. Sime Jr. struck out 11 over 8.2 innings with a whiff percentage of 36.1.

The very next pick was a Thunder alumnus when the Toronto Blue Jays snapped up right-hander Micah Bucknam with pick 113. Bucknam was one of the top-rated Canadian players on the board three years ago when he rolled through Trenton — Bucknam pitched to an 0.53 ERA in 17 innings with 15 strikeouts — but turned the Blue Jays as a 16th rounder to attend LSU.

Bucknam didn’t have the success he was looking for in Baton Rouge — he logged just 16 innings over two season — and transferred to Dallas Baptist. As a starter for DBU, Bucknam went 6-2 with a 4.62 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 62.1 innings and got the Blue Jays to use a fourth-round selection on him.

Picks 111 and 112 come with a slot value of $687.8 thousand and $680.8 thousand, respectively

Right-hander Bryson Dudley out of Texas State went in the seventh round (218th overall) to the Kansas City Royals. Dudley logged seven innings an struck out 13 across two starts for the Thunder. Dudley made 24 appearances in his lone season at Texas State after two years at Blinn College and fanned 53 in 50.1 innings while holding batters to a .185 average.

Other Thunder players to be drafted on Day 2: Noah Edders (RHP, 15th round, 451st overall, Chicago Cubs), Logan Dawson (SS, 16th round, 491st overall, Phillies), Cooper McGrath (RHP, 18th round, 536th overall, San Francisco Giants) and Nick Frusco (LHP, 20th round, 593rd overall, Pittsburgh Pirates).

Dawson, an NJ high school star and Boston College commit, posted a .316 batting average at the plate and a 2.43 ERA on the mound for Eastern High. He played in 16 games for the Thunder.

The Thunder finished fourth in the first half with a 13-15 record. They begin the professional second half portion of the season on Wednesday at Williamsport.

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The Milwaukee Brewers selected Princeton University right-hander Sean Episcope in the fifth round (155th overall).

Episcope is the 54th Princeton player selected in the draft and the highest since David Hale was taken in the third round in 2009.

The third-year sophomore had Tommy John surgery after his senior year of high school and deferred his first season at Princeton to focus on academics. This spring he threw 20 innings on his way to a 3.15 ERA and a 0.55 WHIP before he was shut down due to another arm injury so he could have an internal brace installed.

A Chicago native, Episcope has topped out at 97 with his fastball and caught the attention of scouts with a five-inning, nine-strikeout start against Wake Forest on Feb. 28.

“We are thrilled for Sean,” head coach Scott Bradley said. “In his four starts, he showed why he was one of not just the best prospects in the Northeast but in the country. He showed in his starts vs. Miami, Wake Forest, VCU and Liberty to scouts how good he is. Sean is very worthy of this fifth round selection.”

The Brewers have taken a liking to arms with New Jersey ties. They took Pennington School right-hander Bryce Meccage — their No. 15 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline — in the second round last year and used a supplemental second-round selection (68th overall) on Delsea Regional left-hander Frank Cairone on Sunday.

Originally Published: July 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM EDT