notebook: a few all-star thoughts

I talked below about the selection of players like Ryan Perry, guys who haven’t put up great numbers, but still draw the attention. With the goal to get those players in the all-star game — and with only a limited number of spots available — it’s hard to begrudge any of the coaches’ picks. But I am still going to.

So, a few noteworthy all-star snubs, listed by team:

Brett Basham – Catcher – Bourne
It’s a small sample size (only 16 games) but Basham (Mississippi) has hit .300 for the Braves, a better average than any catcher in the West division.

Brian Pruitt – Outfield – Bourne
Pruitt (Stetson) was among the league leaders in average but it’s dipped lately to .266. Still, he has eight extra-base hits and is third in the league in RBI with 23.

Mitch Harris – Pitcher – Bourne
In six starts, Harris (Navy) has a 2.79 ERA with 24 strikeouts, 10 walks and a WHIP of 1.00.

Rick Zagone – Pitcher – Bourne
Zagone (Missouri) is 2-1 as a starter with a 2.32 ERA, 23 strikeouts and eight walks in 31 innings.

D.J. Mitchell – Pitcher – Bourne
Just like his rotation-mates Harris and Zagone, Mitchell (Clemson) has put up solid numbers, with a 1.91 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 33 innings. His 20 walks don’t help the cause, though.

Ryan Babineau – Catcher – Brewster
Y-D put two catchers on the all-star team, though only one (Buster Posey) plays there regularly. Jason Castro earned the starting nod despite playing only eight games at the spot. Castro has to be in the lineup somewhere, and Babineau (UCLA) was the loser in the deal. With a .270 average, eight extra-base hits, and a .329 OBP he deserves to be there.

Andrew Crisp – Infield/Outfield – Chatham
Crisp(South Carolina) has played all over the field for Chatham, and though he hasn’t shown much power, he’s hitting .303.

Addison Johnson – Outfield – Chatham
Johnson, a freshman from Clemson, has been in the leadoff spot from day one and has done a nice job. He’s hitting .276 with seven steals.

Kyle Seager – Second Base – Chatham
Seager (North Carolina) arrived late after the College World Series but has been solid, hitting .288 with an OBP of .400, making him one of the best at a thin position. The solution for the all-star team was to move other infielders to second base (shortstop Cole Figueroa starts for the East while third baseman Kevin Hoef goes for the West).

Charles Brewer – Pitcher – Chatham
Brewer (UCLA) has been one of the best freshman pitchers on the Cape, posting 2.51 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.

Kevin Couture – Pitcher – Chatham
Couture (USC) has been lights out in a setup role for the A’s posting a 1.09 ERA with 21 strikeouts and six walks in 24.2 innings.

Tom Milone – Pitcher – Chatham
A sophomore lefty, Milone (USC) has been impressive of late. On Saturday — after not making the all-star cut — he tossed a complete-game shutout, dropping his ERA to 3.12. He has a league-best four wins and has struck out 36 against just six walks in 40.1 innings.

Tony Delmonico – Second Base – Cotuit
Like Seager, Delmonico (Florida St.) has been near the top of a thin crop of second baseman but apparently not solid enough to get a spot. He’s hit .300 with eight extra-base hits and 17 RBI.

Caleb Joseph – Catcher – Cotuit
Joseph (Lipscomb) has bounced from Falmouth to Cotuit but has still managed to hit .273, better than teammate Robert Stock, who made the all-star team as the backup catcher.

Ryne White – Infield/Outfield – Cotuit
White (Purdue) led the league in hitting at various points but has cooled off and dipped to .301. His five extra-base hits and seven RBI hurt him.

David Adams – Second Base – Falmouth
The more second basemen I write about, the more it bothers me that the coaches picked non-second basemen to start. Adams (Virginia) has been solid throughout and very good of late. His average sits at .293 and his OBP is .392. He also has 13 RBI. I know a lot of his Falmouth teammates made the squad, but Adams deserves it as much as any of them.

Erik Bird – Pitcher – Falmouth
Bird (Nebraska) has been better across the board than his bullpen mate Luke Burnett but Burnett gets the call, and I think that’s because he’s 6’8″. Bird is 6’1″but has a 3.12 ERA and has struck out 11 while walking none.

J.T Wise – Third Base – Harwich
Wise (LSU) has only played in 18 games but has hit .293 with a .348 OBP.

Dan Hudson – Pitcher – Harwich
This is someone I thought would be in the game because of his prospect status, but like I say, I don’t necessarily know what I’m talking about. Hudson (Old Dominion) doesn’t have a great ERA (3.51) but he has struck out 43 in 33.1 innings.

Josh Zeid – Pitcher – Harwich
Zeid has been a starter and a reliever, posting a 2.14 ERA and 27 strikeouts to just five walks in 33.2 innings.

Joey Gonzales – Outfield – Hyannis
Another guy hurt by a small sample size, Gonzales (UC Riverside) has made a good impression in 16 games. He’s hit .321 with five extra-base hits in 56 at-bats.

Nate Freiman – Infield/Outfield – Orleans
Freiman (Duke) stands 6’7″ and has been one of the better hitters on a team that struggles offensively. He’s .295 with 19 RBI.

Ollie Linton – Outfield – Orleans
Arriving late from the College World Series, Linton (UC Irvine) has turned it on lately and is hitting .298 with eight steals.

Nick Christiani – Pitcher – Orleans
The odd man as far as closers go, Christiani (Georgia Tech) has four saves and a 2.66 ERA.

Pat McAnaney – Pitcher – Orleans
In six starts, McAnaney (Virginia) is 1-2 but has a 2.23 ERA with 31 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 32.1 innings.

Jeremy Bleich – Pitcher – Wareham
Bleich (Stanford) has been as good as he was last year for Wareham, and his numbers stack up against most any starter. He’s 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA and he has struck out 34 and walked only nine in 32.1 innings.

Andy Oliver – Pitcher – Wareham
I’ll be honest here. I don’t know how Oliver (Oklahoma St.) doesn’t make this team. He’s only 1-1 and he’s walked a lot of guys (21 in 37 innings), but he’s also posted a 1.70 ERA and 43 strikeouts while allowing just 16 hits. Those are some of the best numbers in the league, and they’re coming from a freshman.

Terry Doyle – Pitcher – Y-D
Doyle is tied for the league lead in wins and has a 1.91 ERA. He has almost as many walks as strikeouts, which hurts.

Scott Green – Pitcher – Y-D
Green is 6’8″ and has put up good numbers, with a 1.95 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 32.1 innings.

**** Well…that got much longer than I anticipated it would. I guess it isn’t hard to quibble with the selections. Since the list is so long, I’ll whittle it down a bit and give you what I think are the most glaring omissions: Andy Oliver and his 43 strikeouts, Ryan Babineau and his .270 average at the catcher spot, David Adams and his 16 extra-base hits and Brian Pruitt with his 23 RBI.

The Strange Case of Jeremy Farrell

At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Falmouth first baseman Jeremy Farrell (Virginia) has the build of a power hitter and a run producer. So far, he’s certainly producing runs — he’s fifth in the league with 21 RBI.

The amazing thing is how much bang Farrell is getting for his buck. In 29 games, Farrell has hit just .208, with 22 hits in 106 at-bats. So that’s 22 hits and 21 RBI. Some of the hits obviously have brought in more than one run, but in terms of an average, Farrell gets an RBI for almost every hit he gets.

Breaking down Aaron Crow

Here’s a game-by-game look at the numbers put up by Falmouth’s Aaron Crow (Missouri) who’s been the best starter in the league (his first two appearances were out of the bullpen):

• Jun 20 – 1.1 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 K
• Jun 25 – 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 K
• Jun 28 – 6.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 K
• July 5 – 6.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 K
• July 11 – 6.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 6 K
• July 16 – 7.0, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 K

As you can see, Crow has been remarkably consistent.

Quickly

• Wareham’s Dominic de la Osa (Vanderbilt) had a big summer last year, then a big spring and then was a 10th round draft pick of the Tigers. He elected to come to the Cape again, and the decision — at least in terms of how the summer has gone — hasn’t worked out. Through Sunday, de la Osa was hitting .132. If he was looking to gain some bargaining power before the Aug. 15 signing deadline, he hasn’t gotten it. He may end up back at Vanderbilt, needing a big year to stay high on draft boards.
• I went to the fog-shortened Hyannis-Chatham game on Thursday and got to see an unexpectedly good pitching match-up. Chatham had Nathan Moreau listed as its probable starter, but instead handed the ball to Alex White (North Carolina), who made his first start. The 6’3″ freshman righthander impressed me in his five innings. He seems to have a very easy motion and he was throwing hard. He finished with six strikeouts in the 4-3 win. I’ll have some photos up from this game later in the week.
• Chatham’s Allan Dykstra (Wake Forest) is in his second summer on the Cape, and the power hitter really hadn’t shown much ability to hit for average — until this week. On July 15, he was hitting .277. Eight days later (with stats through Sunday), Dykstra has bumped his average to .317 and vaulted himself into the top 10. That’s a 40-point difference, and Dykstra made up a lot of it with a 4-for-4 day on the 16th.

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