Is it a still a preview when the games have already started? I’ll go with yes.
Some storylines I’m watching as the 2011 season gets going:
Elite Eight
For the second year in a row, eight of the league’s 10 teams will make the playoffs. I’m still not sure how I feel about that, but it does make for a very interesting postseason. Under the old four-team format, 2010 champ Cotuit wouldn’t have even made the playoffs.
Stars on the Rise
The draft class of 2011 was lauded as one of the strongest in recent memory. For Cape League purposes last summer, that meant that rosters were full of guys with long track records, guys who were already stars. This summer is a little different. The 2012 draft doesn’t seem to have the established stars — but that doesn’t mean that stars won’t emerge. A lot of them will be emerging on the Cape.
Small Time
If I were picking the players I’m most excited to see, Adam Brett Walker and Victor Roache would probably be at the top of the list. But they’re not from where you’d think — Walker is from Jacksonville and Roache from Georgia Southern. The Cape League always has mid-major guys making a splash. The splash may just be bigger this year.
Swinging the Bats
College baseball changed dramatically this season with its new regulations on bats. Offense was down significantly, with home run numbers cut in half. Essentially the new bats were designed to perform more like woods. This summer, I’ll be very interested to see if the transition to wood goes more smoothly for Cape League hitters, now that the difference between spring bats and summer bats isn’t so big.
Arms Race
Between Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen and many more, this year’s draft class had a lot of big-time arms. And few of them played on the Cape, continuing a trend that saw top-flight arms either pitching for Team USA or taking summers off. For 2012, though, there’s a different feel. There are some very good arms out there, but, as noted above, the stars haven’t really established themselves. I think that makes it more likely that the best sophomores in the country will be on the Cape. Right now, some of them are slated to be, like Mark Appel, Kurt Heyer and Michael Wacha.
Feeling a Draft
Players getting drafted in June and then coming to the Cape isn’t a new concept. But I do think it’s happened a little more often the past few years. Or at least, it seems like those players have had a bigger impact. Last year, Anthony Ranaudo came to the Cap to prove to the Red Sox that he was in good shape. Third-round pick Austin Wood had a great summer for Cotuit. We’ll see if anyone follows the same path this year; there are certainly some candidates.
Fenway Again
For the third year in a row, the Cape League All-Star Game will be played at Fenway Park. Clearly, the league likes having it there. I’ll be curious to see if it can grow into an event that the general public is interested in.
The New Team USA Question
Last year, Team USA trials were at a different time than usual and a number of players came to the Cape first before leaving for USA. Things have changed again this year — there are no trials, and the team’s schedule is unusually light this summer. Right now, Team USA is slated to be done on July 8. So players theoretically could came to the Cape after that.