Sunday Afternoon Cape League Notes

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it’s hard not to be continually amazed by the power show Harwich is putting on this summer. The Mariners have now hit 30 home runs in 14 games. They’re on pace for 74, which would demolish the Cape Cod Baseball League record of 59. That record was set by Orleans in 1981, when the Cape League used metal bats.

At this point, Harwich has already surpassed the end-of-season, league-leading home run total from 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008. The 2007 Y-D Red Sox, whose 41 home runs are the most in at least the last 12 years, look well within reach for the Mariners.

That Y-D team is kind of a benchmark for offensive talent in recent history. The lineup included Gordon Beckham, Buster Posey, Jason Castro, Colin Cowgill and Grant Green.

Harwich is looking just as fearsome. Thirteen players have hit home runs and six have at least two. When all is said and done, Phillip Ervin and Austin Wilson may be the league’s top two prospects.

We’ll see if Harwich can make it two straight championships, which is just what that 2007 Y-D team did. For now, let’s just enjoy the show.

Ervin’s season requires some perspective too. He has hit more home runs (8) in 14 games than each of the last two Cape League home run kings. He is on pace for 25, which would break the Cape League record of 22 set by Hyannis’ Cory Snyder in 1983, another record that was set with metal bats. The wood bat record is 16. Two other stats that catch my eye in Ervin’s line — he has stolen five bases and has struck out just eight times in 52 at-bats.

If we continue at this rate, it’s going to be a home run-filled not just for Harwich, but for the whole league. Falmouth currently has 17 home runs, Wareham has 15 and Orleans has 14. All of those teams are on pace to do better than the 2007 Y-D Red Sox. When the trend is that pronounced, it makes you wonder what’s going on. I think pitching is down a bit this year, but as Orville from Orleans suggested in a comment last week, the new bats in college baseball may be making a big difference. Some people say those bats perform worse than wood, so the adjustment from metal to wood is no longer a big deal. Beyond those two factors, I think there are just a lot of good power hitters on the Cape this year. We may see more home runs from guys who wouldn’t normally hit them, but I think guys like Ervin and Wilson are legitimate power hitters.

I was sad to hear the news that Trevor Gott is heading home with an injury. Gott was great last year and was off to an even better start this year. If any bullpen can absorb that kind of loss, it might be the Orleans unit. Four Firebird relievers have ERAs under two, led by Elon’s Dylan Clark. He hasn’t allowed a run in 13 innings and has given up only three hits. He has also struck out 13 and walked nobody. The bullpen also includes Dylan Covey and Karsten Whitson, both of whom were first-round picks in the 2010 Major League draft. The Cape League doesn’t see a lot of former first-round picks, let alone two on the same team, let alone two in the same bullpen.

Hyannis lefty Sean Manaea leads the league in strikeouts with 29 in 17.2 innings, and Y-D’s Aaron Blair is just behind him with 25. Like the home run hitters, those two are on a pretty good pace too. Last year’s strikeout leader was Joe Bircher with 48. If they make five more starts, Manaea would be on pace for 77 strikeouts, and Blair would be at 67. No one in the Cape League has struck out 70 since 2005, when Daniel Bard had 82 and Tim Norton had 77. The most since then was Brandon Workman’s 67 in 2008.

The league has a good-looking schedule this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, teams will have home-and-home rivalry games. On Thursday, Orleans visits Harwich again for another marquee match-up. Harwich travels to Orleans next Sunday.