This time last year, with only a little bit of professional baseball under his belt, it was already looking like former Chatham Angler Kris Bryant would be the next Major League star with Cape League roots.
With a full year in the books, Bryant did nothing to change that belief – in fact, he only enhanced it.
The Cubs prospect was named USA Today’s Minor League Player of the Year after he dominated at Double A Tennessee and Triple A Iowa this season. Bryant slashed .325/.438/.661 and hit a minors-best 43 home runs.
Cape League fans will recall that Bryant didn’t set the world on fire in Chatham, hitting .223 with three homers in the summer after his freshman year at San Diego. From there, though, he pretty much did set the world fire at every stop, whether at San Diego or in the Cubs system that he rocketed through.
Bryant is expected to make his Chicago debut next year.
- Cranston, R.I., native John Razzino had a cup of coffee with the Cape League champion Y-D Red Sox at the beginning of the summer, and though he wasn’t around for the championship, he got one of his own. Playing in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, the Franklin Pierce standout helped lead the Amsterdam Mohawks to the league title. Razzino hit .370 with five home runs and stole 23 bases. He was named a second-team Summer All-American by Perfect Game.
- Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline checks in with a look at the Cape’s top pitching prospects from this summer. As he did on Baseball America’s list, Walker Buehler leads the way.
- Prospect Insider offers up its rankings, as well, with Wareham’s Kyle Cody at the top.
- Kudos to the Cape League’s video squad for a fun year and, especially, for a very fun moment after the Cape League championship. Y-D’s Josh Lester once won the Little League World Series and was the subject of a tearful post-game interview. Gabby Lucivero and Lester recreated it after Y-D won the Cape League title.
- The Salisbury Post caught up with Catawba’s T.J. Wharton after he helped Y-D to the title.
- Wesleyan’s student paper chatted with Nick Cooney and Gavin Pittore after their summers on the Cape.
- Stadium Journey, which grades and reviews stadiums across the country, put together a ranking of Cape League fields. Hyannis’ McKeon Park holds the top spot, followed by Chatham’s Veterans Field.