moving on

As much as I like looking back on the summer, it’s about time to look ahead.

(Also, I forgot what I was going to say in the last summer wrap installment.)

Anyway, Cape League teams, of course, were looking ahead a long time ago, and we’re starting to see what they’ve been looking at. I’m a little behind in getting to these, but Bourne, Hyannis and Wareham have all put out early versions of their 2009 rosters.

My first impression: They all look awesome.

But they always all look awesome. So, some second impressions.

Bourne

• Two players with Cape League experience are on the roster, but they don’t bring much experience. Pierre LePage (UConn) came to Bourne in the second half this season and played in 16 games. Tyler Holt (Florida State) played in three games early in the season for Cotuit then didn’t play again.

• Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss) was on the Bourne roster last year, got invited to Team USA, didn’t make Team USA but still didn’t end up in Bourne. He could make a big impact if he makes it to Bourne this year. A 12th-round pick in 2007, Pomeranz struck out 74 in 67 innings for Ole Miss last year.

• I would be surprised if Ryan Lockwood (South Florida) makes it to the Cape. A redshirt sophomore, Lockwood hit .415 last year for the Bulls and is eligible for the 2009 draft. I’ve seen projections that have him going in the first or second round. That said, we saw a lot of guys head to the Cape to gain leverage this summer, so it’s possible Lockwood could do the same.

• Dan Mahoney, a righty from UConn, was named the top pro prospect in the NECBL this summer by PG Crosschecker.

• Ben Klafczynski (Kent State), a 6’3 200-pound outfielder, had a huge freshman season, hitting .339 with 11 home runs. Baseball American named him a Freshman All-American. He hit .270 in the Great Lakes League this summer. Also, that name is not going to be easy to spell.

• Dominic D’Anna (CS Northridge) hit .401 this summer in the MINK (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas) League, and was named the league’s No. 9 prospect. Blake Forsythe (Tennessee), a catcher, was named the 10th best prospect in the Coastal Plain League.

• Four freshmen are on the roster: Taylor Hightower (Ole Miss), Zack MacPhee (Arizona State), Anthony Rendon (Rice) and Austin Stadler (Wake Forest).

• East Carolina pitcher Seth Maness was tabbed by BA as a first-team Freshman All-American last year. Coastal Carolina infielder Scott Woodward was also on that list, and he played for Team USA this summer.

Hyannis

• Like Bourne, not much Cape League experience returning, with Notre Dame’s Ryan Sharpley as the only one who played for the Mets this summer.

• Hyannis went after a lot of juniors for the summer of ’08 but currently have just one junior, Notre Dame’s Eric Maust. Instead, they’ve got seven freshmen.

• Freshman lefty Danny Hultzen (Virginia) will bring a lot of hype with him. He was a 10th-round pick in June, but would have gone a lot higher if not for signability concerns.

• Ryan Duke was Oklahoma’s top pitcher as a freshman, going 7-5 with a 3.57 ERA. Oklahoma teammate Casey Johnson hit .346 last year.

• Infielder Dustin Harrington hit .320 last spring for East Carolina, a program that seems to send more and more players to the Cape every year.

• Wake Forest will be sending two highly-touted freshmen to Hyannis — infielder Shane Kroker and righthander Daniel Marrs.

• Oklahoma freshman Cam Seitzer is the son of former Major Leaguer Kevin Seitzer. I believe Kevin also played in the Cape League.

Wareham

• The Gatemen had a ton of freshmen this summer, so it’s no surprise that they’ve got a long list of returnees. Eleven to be exact, a list that’s headed by pitchers (Texas) and Brandon WorkmanRobby Broach (Tulane), infielder Ryan Pineda (CS Northridge )and outfielders Connor Rowe (Texas) and Brett Eibner (Arkansas). Rising junior pitcher Max Perlman is also back on the roster after a solid summer.

• If Workman, Broach and Perlman all make it back, that’s a heck of a starting point.

• Also back on the roster is highly-touted Georgia Tech shortstop Derek Dietrich, who spent this summer with Team USA. From what I heard, Dietrich was torn between going to Wareham and staying with Team USA. If the decision needs to made again this year, it’ll be interesting to see what Dietrich chooses.

• Again, the Gatemen have a big crop of freshmen, including Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann, Arizona State’s Jordan Swagerty and Zach Wilson and Duke’s Eric Pfisterer. All were drafted in June. Pfisterer went in the 15th round.

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