It’s always fun to look back at Cape League championship teams for perspective on how much talent they had.
The draft provides an annual opportunity to do so, and after this year’s installment, it certainly checks out that the Brewster Whitecaps won the title last summer.
Three former Whitecaps were selected in the first round of the draft. Gavin Cross went ninth to the Royals, Zach Neto went 13th to the Angels and Spencer Jones was selected 25th by the Yankees.
No other team had three first-rounders. Orleans was next on the list with two – Jace Jung and Chase DeLauter.
Cross had a short stint in Brewster before heading out to join Team USA, but Neto and Jones were stalwarts. Neto left for a few weeks with an injury but came back in time for the playoffs, a rare move for a Cape Leaguer. He hit a home run in the title series decider. Jones went 3-for-5 with two RBI in the clincher, capping a terrific summer.
Later in the draft, Whitecaps alums Dale Stanavich, Chris McElvain and Chad Castillo were also selected.
End of the streak
The selection of high schooler Jackson Holliday with the top pick ended the Cape League’s streak of four straight years with an alumnus going as the number one overall selection. The top of the draft was heavy on high schoolers in general. Former Y-D shortstop Brooks Lee was the first Cape Leaguer off the board as he went eighth overall.
In total, 197 Cape Leaguers were picked in the draft.
The mid-season move
The draft’s new home in the month of July has added some new wrinkles for the Cape League. It opened up the door for players like Cam Collier to play in the league, but the bigger impact now is the likely departure of some standout performers. Among the current Cape Leaguers drafted were Hyannis ace Brody McCullough, Brewster standout Brian Fitzpatrick, Cotuit’s Ryan Ritter and Brooks Baldwin, and Wareham slugger Hogan Windish.
Historic night
Bourne’s Matt Shaw (Maryland) hit for the cyle on Sunday, becoming the first player to do so in at least a decade. Shaw went 4-for-5 in a win over Hyannis. He actually struck out in his first at-bat of the game, but started rolling soon after. He homered in the third inning, singled in the fifth and tripled in the seventh. With one more at-bat in the ninth, he doubled.
The big night continued a terrific summer for Shaw, who finds himself sitting atop the league’s batting average leaderboard with a .368 mark.
Top of the heap
Hyannis has overtaken Cotuit in the West standings, though the Kettleers are hanging close. After Wednesday’s slate, the Harbor Hawks have a one-point edge in the top spot. They also own the best record in the league.
Speedy pickup
Cotuit has lost some key guys along the way this season, but on Wednesday, the Kettleers made a big addition. Vanderbilt speedster Enrique Bradfield, Jr., made his long-awaited Cape League debut and went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Bradfield, Jr., stole 46 bases for Vanderbilt this spring.
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