Former Harwich Mariner D.J. Lemahieu is one of eight Cape League alumni set for their first MLB All-Star Game.
The Cape Cod Baseball League has 15 alumni in the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, six more than it had last year. As top prospects continue to take the bigs by storm, that all-star number is a sign that there’s a new wave of Cape Cod talent in the majors, too.
Eight of the Cape’s All-Stars are first-time participants, bolstering the league’s ranks in MLB stardom. Chris Sale and Buster Posey had taken the torch in recent years from the Evan Longorias and Chase Utleys of the world. Now, players like Dallas Keuchel, Kris Bryant, D.J. LeMahieu and Brandon Crawford are joining them. It’s also the first All-Star Game for Yasmani Grandal, Brad Boxberger, Joe Panik and former Cape League MVP A.J. Pollock.
Keuchel, who had a 3.20 ERA for Wareham in 2007 and a 2.63 ERA in 2008, will start on the mound for the American League. The Houston Astro is 11-4 with a 2.23 ERA and 114 strikeouts on the year.
Todd Frazier is making his second All-Star appearance, but you could put the former Chatham A in the same up-and-coming category. Frazier won the Home Run Derby in style Monday and will represent the hometown Reds in the starting lineup.
Jason Kipnis and Josh Donaldson are also making their second appearances.
While the MLB season is at its halfway point, the Cape League season is about two-third of the way over. As has been the case for a while now, the most lasting team impression continues to belong to the Orleans Firebirds. At 20-8, they have the best record in the league by four games and are playing .714 baseball. If they continue at that pace, they’ll go 31-13, which would be the best mark in the league since a dominant Y-D team went 31-12-1 and won its second consecutive Cape League title.
While the return of Bobby Dalbec and Bryson Brigman from Team USA makes Orleans even stronger, it’s pitching that may really carry the day for the Firebirds. They lead the league in team ERA at 2.08 and starting pitchers Mitchell Jordan, Eric Lauer, Kyle Serrano and Corbin Burnes sure look like the league’s best starting rotation.
Orleans’ Dalbec and Kyle Lewis are tied for the league lead in home runs with five each. Interestingly, that’s not all that rare of a feat at the end of a season. In 2014, Chatham’s Chris Shaw ranked first and teammate A.J. Murray was tied for second. In 2013, Falmouth’s Casey Gillaspie led the way and Rhys Hoskins was tied for second.
Cape leaderboards are often populated by guys who get off to quick starts, even when they slow down a little. It’s always easy to miss those who have heated up more recently, like Y-D’s Tommy Edman and Falmouth’s Heath Quinn. Edman, a star in the NECBL last year, was hitting .208 a week into the Cape season but has seen his average rise steadily upward. He’s now batting .325, good for fifth in the league. And the bat is just a bonus – he has made only one error while playing mostly second base for the Red Sox. Quinn, who was at .23 after a week, is now hitting .317 with seven extra-base hits.
Wareham’s Andrew Calica is approaching the minimum number of plate appearances per team game to qualify for the league batting average leaderboard. If he stays anywhere near his current pace, he’ll take that list by storm. Since making his debut June 23 — two weeks into the season — Calica is hitting .469 in 15 games and has delivered nine multi-hit games.
Stat-line that I haven’t had a chance to focus on anywhere else: Harwich’s Cavan Biggio has reached base in 20 of the 22 games he’s played. He has a .420 on-base percentage.
Also very good at getting on base? Chatham’s Will Craig, who has a .390 on-base percentage despite a .208 average. He has drawn a league-best 20 walks.
Virginia Tech must have had one heck of a bullpen this spring. Hokies Luke Scherzer and Aaron McGarity rank first and third in the league in saves, while teammate Kit Scheetz leads the league in appearances and has a 2.46 ERA for Orleans.
