If you type Stony Brook into the Right Field Fog search box, you get plenty of results, but every single one of them comes from 2010 or later. To be exact, June 11, 2010 was the official beginning. Nick Tropeano was mentioned in the Cotuit season preview.
Turns out that beginning was the beginning of something big.
A year after Tropeano made a name for himself and for Stony Brook, the Seawolves invaded. Travis Jankowski won the 2011 Cape League MVP award, Tyler Johnson was an ace for Orleans and Patrick Cantwell was an all-star for Bourne. William Carmona, Tanner Nivins and Maxx Tissenbaum were also on the Cape, earning their keep as major contributors for their teams.
That’s six players having solid summers. You know who didn’t have that many? Texas. Arizona State. South Carolina. Florida. Virginia.
Powerhouses. And little old Stony Brook had more Cape League success than any of them.
It’s pretty amazing. I don’t remember a mid-major having that much success from that many players. Usually, it’s one or two, maybe three. Not six, and not out of nowhere like this. I don’t know for sure if Tropeano was the first Stony Brook player on the Cape, but even if he wasn’t, it hasn’t been a regular occurrence.
The program’s prominence on the Cape mirrors its rise in college baseball. The team won a school-record 42 games this past spring and won its first America East regular-season title. There’s obviously some talent there, and clearly, the Cape League is part of the plan.
After this summer, I don’t think any Cape League GM’s will complain about that.
For at least the the third year in a row, a team from somewhere other than the Cape League was ranked No. 1 in Perfect Game’s final summer ball rankings. This time, it was the Cal Ripken League’s Bethesda Big Train. The California Collegiate League’s Santa Barbara Foresters ranked second, while Cape League champ Harwich was third. The Northwoods League’s Eau Claire Express were the top team last year and the Coastal Plain’s Forest City Owls were No. 1 in 2009. I can’t find the final 2008 rankings, but I think Harwich was the top team. If that wasn’t the case, then it goes back to ’07, when Y-D was most definitely No. 1.
The rankings are part of some great summer ball postseason coverage over at Perfect Game. The coverage includes a summer All-American team that features Cape Leaguer’s Stephen Piscotty, Matt Duffy, Victor Roache, Travis Jankowski, Dane Phillips, Ryan Eades, Trevor Gott, Konner Wade and Chris Overman. Utah’s Shaun Cooper, who played in the Northwoods League, was named the Summer Player of the Year. Roache was selected as the top rising junior and Eades the top rising sophomore.
Perfect Game also has a list of Team USA’s top prospects. The top four — Deven Marrero, Mark Appel, Kevin Gausman and Ryne Stanek — also spent time on the Cape.
One of the top prospects on that Bethesda team was Mississippi State rising sophomore Hunter Renfroe. A catcher, Renfroe hit .305 with a league-best eight home runs. I would expect to see Renfroe on a Cape League roster for 2012.
Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt takes some time to break down the college winners and losers after the MLB signing deadline. He labels Vanderbilt, North Carolina State, Mississippi, Southern Mississippi and South Carolina the big winners.
I just typed Mississippi so many times.
Finally, it’s being reported that 2011 Chatham standout Dane Phillips is transferring from Oklahoma State to Arkansas. He will try for a waiver that would allow him to be eligible in 2012.