The 2010 Cape Cod League Baseball season begins tonight, as long as it doesn’t rain.
Sounds kind of like last year, huh? Hopefully this season will be a little brighter.
With just a little time before the first pitch, here are some storylines I’m watching as the season gets underway:
Playoffs?
The Cape League post-season is usually pretty wide open. Between the general parity among the teams and the fact that rosters start changing after the all-star game, a lot can be said for a team that gets hot.
This year, a lot of teams will have that chance.
Eight of the 10 teams in the league will make the playoffs. I don’t love the change, because it takes some emphasis off the regular season, but it’s certainly going to be interesting. I’d say that this year’s playoffs will be the most wide open in the history of the league. Anybody who’s in could win.
The Team USA Question
Team USA is a constant topic in summer baseball, but there’s a new wrinkle this year that could have a big impact on the Cape League. Team USA trials are usually held in early June, around the same time as the Cape League season starts. This year, they don’t begin until July 6, three weeks after the Cape.
As a result, Team USA invitees have the chance to come to the Cape first then go to tryouts. Whether that happens will probably depend on the individual player, but I would expect at least a few of them to do so. USA invitee Matt Barnes is scheduled to start the opener for Wareham.
I talked to one GM who’s hoping his USA invitees will come to the Cape and that, just maybe, they’ll like it enough to stay. That’s a possibility, too.
Whatever happens, it’s clear that the Cape might have a little more talent than it’s had in quite a while. We’ll just have to see how long that talent sticks around.
The Class of 2011
The college crop for the 2010 draft wasn’t particularly strong. That’s what everyone said and you needed only to look at the number of Cape Leaguers drafted to get an indication of that. The number was six, and it was down significantly from past years.
The college class for the 2011 draft is expected to be stronger, and the Cape will mark the starting line for many of the top prospects. If Anthony Rendon comes to the Cape before Team USA trials, it’ll be the first time the consensus top prospect played on the Cape in a few years.
Power Surge
The strength of the 2011 draft class is reflected in the numbers. Last year, three players on Cape League rosters hit 20 home runs or more in their college seasons. This year, that number is 10, and only two of the 10 have been invited to Team USA. Along similar lines, four players hit over .400 last year. This season, it’s eight, and three of them had 20 or more home runs.
Getting Offensive
All those numbers — and one other factor — make me think it’s going to be another offensive-heavy year on the Cape. The other factor? The power arms are once again missing. Three of the top arms in the sophomore class are Taylor Jungmann, Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer. None of them are on Cape League rosters. Danny Hultzen, Matt Purke and Sonny Gray are, but their teams are still alive in the college postseason and they’ve been invited to Team USA.
For a variety of reasons, the dominant arms haven’t been on the Cape since Aaron Crow dominated for Falmouth in 2007. Whether it’s Team USA or a need for time off, that’s just the way it’s been in recent years. It looks like that will continue.
Making Their Mark
Two of the guys who put up the most impressive numbers this spring are coming from schools that aren’t exactly Cape League pipelines. Cotuit’s Paul Hoilman plays for East Tennessee State and heads into the season as one of the Cape leaders in average, home runs and RBI. He was a first-team All-American. On the mound, Joe Holtmeyer comes to the Cape from Division II Nebraska at Omaha. He had 30 more strikeouts than any other Cape Leaguer this spring.
Bloodlines
Every year, there’s usually one or two sons or brothers of Major Leaguers in the Cape League. This year, the number is way up. I count six who have fathers who played in the majors, and three with brothers in the bigs. There’s also Cotuit’s Mike Yastrzemski, who’s the grandson of Carl.
Eight out of ten making the playoffs may be good for the fans but I can’t imagine if fires up the players very much. Hopefully a lot of scouts will be around to keep them motivated.