RIGHT FIELD FOG

(Note: I wrote most of the bios awhile ago before finishing the whole thing today, so the stats are not current. This will be the only one of these previews where that’s a problem.)

WAREHAM GATEMEN
Manager: Cooper Farris
2008 Record: 17-26

On paper, in April, there wasn’t a more talented roster in the league last summer than Wareham’s.

But in the Cape league, those are important caveats. Come June, the Gatemen team that took the field looked much different than the one that was expected to take the field.

Every year, teams get hit by roster changes. Sometimes it’s injuries, sometimes it’s the pro draft, sometimes it’s Team USA. Wareham in 2008 got hit harder than most. By my count, 10 players who were on the original roster never made it to Wareham. And they weren’t just any 10. The list included stud pitchers Mike Minor, Andy Oliver and Kendal Volz, talented returnee Josh Phegley and highly-touted freshmen Derek Dietrich and Rick Hague.

A team with those guys as key cogs might have competed for a Cape League championship.

Without them, it was a struggle.

The Gatemen had some great individual performances in 2008. Brandon Workman emerged as the league’s most overpowering starter, and he was joined in a strong rotation by Max Perlman, Dallas Keuchel and Robby Broach, who were among the most consistent starters around. Ryan Pineda was great at the plate, emerging as one of the league’s best freshmen. Raynor Campbell also had a fantastic season.

But those performances never added up to sustained success. The Gatemen had some good stretches but ended up finishing last in the West, with the worst record in the league.

It was the second year in a row that saw the Gatemen fight through an uneven season.

As they try to change things this summer, it looks like they’ve opted for a little more in the way of stability. The Gatemen have nine players slated to return, which is among the most in the league. From that group, I’d guess that only Workman is a Team USA risk, and he wasn’t included in the first two rounds of invites.

Some of the others could get a nod, but the majority of them seem to be just below that highest level of prospect. For the Gatemen, that’s not a bad thing. If you can field a lineup full of good players with Cape League experience, you’ll be in good shape.

If you can sprinkle in a few more talented players, you might in for something special, and that’s the kind of team the Gatemen could have. In players like Alex Dickerson, Ryan LaMarre, Taylor Jungmann, and George Springer, the Gatemen have exactly the right ingredients for the sprinkling. Add in Derek Dietrich, who has been invited to Team USA for a second straight year but could opt out, and you’ve got even more potential.

And the best news of all? So far, Dietrich is the only player on the roster who’s been invited to Team USA.

Stability, indeed.

Roster Rundown
Returning Players: 9
Juniors: 1
Sophomores: 15
Freshmen: 12

Notable

• Assuming he makes it to Wareham, Brandon Workman will be one of the must-watch players this summer. The way things have been going, he’ll have something to prove, too. After a strong start to the spring season that included a no-hitter, Workman has hit some rough patches, with his ERA rising from the 1.50 range up over 3.00. He’s still having a great season, but he’ll be looking for more consistency when the summer rolls around.
• Last year, I had heard that Georgia Tech star Derek Dietrich was seriously considering declining Team USA’s offer and heading to Wareham. In the end, he stuck with USA, but if the seed was planted last year, it’s not a stretch to think it would blossom this year. Several top players opted for the Cape over Team USA last year, and it wouldn’t shock me to see it happen again, especially with a guy like Dietrich who’s already had the national team experience.
• In Ryan LaMarre and Alex Dickerson, the Gatemen are getting what’s likely to be two-thirds of the All-Big 10 outfield. Through May 12, La Marre, a sophomore from Michigan, was hitting .347 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI. Dickerson, a freshman from Indiana, was hitting .373 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI. That’s serious production.
• Dickerson should be a shoo-in for Big 10 Freshman of the Year, and I think he’ll be in the running for the national prize, too.
• Dickerson is another in a line of Indiana players who have found their way to Wareham, and the Gatemen are happy to keep the line going. Phegley had a fantastic summer two years ago before injury cut it short. If Dickerson can follow the same path, look out.
• The Gatemen have four catchers on their roster, which is an unusually high number. It might have something to do with ASU’s Jordan Swagerty being one of them. A highly-touted two-way freshman, Swagerty has played sparingly in the field this spring, focusing more on pitching.
• Texas pitchers Cole Green and Taylor Jungmann have both been fantastic this spring, with Jungmann currently leading the team in ERA.
• Ryan Pineda is a player who flew under my radar last season, but he really shouldn’t have. He was among the league leaders in extra-base hits as one of the best freshman hitters on the Cape.
• UConn outfielder George Springer currently has 16 home runs, a Husky freshman record. He’s also got a .352 average, which is a lot better than it was when I wrote his bio below. I think we can say that Springer is right on par with Dickerson and LaMarre. You’re not going to see many Cape league teams bringing in that many productive outfielders. In fact, I’m going to say you won’t see any.

Five Players I’m Excited to See
1. Brandon Workman
2. Derek Dietrich
3. Alex Dickerson
4. Ryan LaMarre
5. George Springer

Pitchers

Jack Armstrong – RHP – 6’7 215 – Vanderbilt – Freshman
Matt Barnes – RHP – 6’4 185 – Connecticut – Freshman
*Zach Brewster – LHP – 6’1 195 – Georgia Tech – Sophomore
David Fischer – RHP – 6’5 175 – Connecticut – Freshman
Cole Green – RHP – 6’1 210 – Texas – Sophomore
Taylor Jungmann – RHP – 6’6 197 – Texas – Freshman
Dean Kiekhefer – LHP – 6’0 165 – Louisville – Sophomore
Blake Monar – LHP – 6’2 198 – Indiana – Freshman
Scott Rembisz – RHP – 6’1 220 – Florida International – Junior
Gabriel Shaw – RHP – 6’1 195 – Louisville – Sophomore
*Josh Slaats – RHP – 6’5 230 – Hawaii – Sophomore
*Brandon Workman – RHP – 6’5 225 – Texas – Sophomore

Jack Armstrong – RHP – 6’7 230
Vanderbilt
Freshman

The son of the former Major League pitcher of the same name, Armstrong hasn’t seen a lot of action for the Commodores this season. He’s thrown only 3.2 innings, all in relief. But it looks like the potential is definitely there. He was a 36th-round pick out of high school.

Matt Barnes – RHP – 6’3 180
Connecticut
Freshman

A freshman out of Bethel, Conn., Barnes is turning in a pretty solid first season in Storrs. In seven appearances (three starts), he’s got a 3.95 ERA, and he’s averaged about a strikeout per inning. He’s picked up three victories. Barnes is part of a trio of Huskies who are slated for Wareham this summer.

Zach Brewster – LHP – 6’1 195
Georgia Tech
Sophomore

Brewster was one of several freshman pitchers who turned in pretty good summers for the Gatemen last year. Brewster tied for the team-lead in appearances with 16, all out of the bullpen. He finished with a 4.68 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 25 innings. For the Yellow Jackets this spring, Brewster has continued in a relief role. So far, he’s made 17 appearances with a 4.15 ERA. Brewster was highly-touted out of high school, but missed most of his freshman year. Definitely a break-out candidate this summer.

David Fischer – RHP – 6’5 175
Connecticut
Freshman

Fischer appears to be the more highly-touted of the UConn freshman pitching duo that’s headed to Wareham. A 44th-round pick out of high school, the lanky right-hander has been great out of the bullpen for the Huskies. In 11 appearances, he’s got a 2.37 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Cole Green – RHP – 6’1 210
Texas
Sophomore

Green is not the most over-powering member of the vaunted Texas pitching staff, but he’s having a fantastic season. Serving as a weekend starter, Green has posted a 3-0 record and a 2.42 ERA. Last summer, he pitched in the Northwoods League and ranked second in the league in ERA.

Taylor Jungmann – RHP – 6’6 197
Texas
Freshman

With the body type, the school, and the summer destination, you could make a comparison between Jungmann and Brandon Workman. If Jungmann can do this summer what Workman did last summer, the Gatemen will be happy. He already has a leg up in that he’s having a better freshman season. Pitching in a swing role, Jungmann has posted a 1.23 ERA, which leads the team. He has struck out 39 in 36.2 innings of work. Out of high school, Jungmann was a 24th-round pick. In the preseason, Baseball America rated him the nation’s ninth-best freshman.

Dean Kiekhefer – LHP – 6’0 165
Louisville
Sophomore

Kiekhefer is another player who was on the Wareham roster last year but didn’t make it. His absence was injury-related. This spring for the Cardinals, Kiekhefer has struggled a bit, posting a 6.27 ERA in eight appearances. He does have 31 strikeouts in 33 innings.

Blake Monar – LHP – 6’2 198
Indiana
Freshman

Monar brought some hype with him to Bloomington after getting picked in the 26th round of the draft by the Yankees. His ERA is up there (5.02) in his first season, but he is third on the team with 43 strikeouts. Some of what I’ve read indicates Monar expected to go higher in the draft, and would have signed if that happened. Sounds like the Hoosiers were thrilled to get him on campus.

Scott Rembisz – RHP – 6’1 220
Florida International
Junior

A junior-college All-American last year, Rembisz has been lights-out as the Friday starter for Florida International this spring. In eight starts, he’s got a 5-0 record with a 2.84 ERA. In 57 innings, he has struck out 50 and walked only nine. He’ll be draft-eligible this year.

Gabriel Shaw – RHP – 6’1 195
Louisville
Sophomore

Shaw will join his teammate Kiekhefer in Wareham this summer. So far this spring, Shaw has worked exclusively out of the bullpen and has been one of the Cards’ most reliable relievers. In a team-high 14 appearances, he’s got a 3.49 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.

Josh Slaats – RHP – 6’5 230
Hawaii
Sophomore

Slaats had an ERA over seven in his freshman season with the Warriors, and his ERA was high with Wareham, too. But he also struck out 26 in 17.1 innings and walked only nine for the Gatemen while pitching out of the bullpen. This year, Slaats has posted a 4.32 ERA for Hawaii with 17 strikeouts in 16.2 innings.

Brandon Workman – RHP – 6’5 225
Texas
Sophomore

In the end, his ERA ballooned a bit, but Workman was still the most over-powering pitcher on the Cape last summer. He ended up leading the league with 67 strikeouts in 55 innings of work. He finished with a 3.44 ERA, and was tabbed by Baseball America as the league’s fifth-best prospect. This spring, the former third-round pick has had some ups and downs. He delivered a no-hitter early in the season but has had some rough outings lately. He still has a 2.76 ERA.

Position Players

Tyler Albright – C – 6’2 210 – Harvard – Sophomore
Chris Hannick – C – 5’11 190 – Cal State Northridge – Sophomore
*Cole Leonida – C – 6’2 210 – Georgia Tech – Sophomore
Jordan Swagerty – C – 6’1 170 – Arizona State – Freshman
Derek Dietrich – IF – 6’1 195 – Georgia Tech – Sophomore
*Jake Lemmerman – IF – 6’2 185 – Duke – Sophomore
Eric Pfisterer – IF – 6’3 220 – Duke – Freshman
*Ryan Pineda – IF – 5’11 185 – Cal State Northridge – Sophomore
Zach Wilson – IF – 6’1 195 – Arizona State – Freshman
*Shea Vucinich – IF – 6’0 185 – Washington State – Sophomore
Alex Dickerson – OF – 6’3 210 – Indiana – Freshman
*Brett Eibner – OF/RHP – 6’3 205 – Arkansas – Sophomore
Ryan LaMarre – OF – 6’2 205 – Michigan – Sophomore
Jarrod McKinney – OF – 5’11 205 – Arkansas – Freshman
*Connor Rowe – OF – 5’11 180 – Texas – Sophomore
George Springer – OF – 6’2 200 – Connecticut – Freshman

Tyler Albright – C – 6’2 210
Harvard
Sophomore

Albright, a California native, grabbed the starting catcher job for the Crimson this spring and has turned in a .243 batting average to go with a home run and 10 RBI. Albright was a starter for part of his freshman season and surged at the end of the year.

Chris Hannick – C – 5’11 190
Cal State Northridge
Sophomore

Hannick has been Northridge’s starting catcher for most of the season and has posted some solid numbers. He’s got a .260 average with three home runs and 14 RBI.

Cole Leonida – C – 6’2 210
Georgia Tech
Sophomore

Leonida is stuck behind senior Jason Haniger on Tech’s depth chart, but he’s seen time in 16 games this year and has posted a .262 batting average. Leonida has a reputation as a strong defensive catcher. Last summer for the Gatemen, he hit .202.

Jordan Swagerty – C – 6’1 170
Arizona State
Freshman

Rated by Baseball America as the 22nd best freshman in the nation, Swagerty hasn’t made a huge splash with the Sun Devils — maybe because he’s trying to make two splashes. A hitter and a pitcher, Swagerty has made 15 appearances on the mound and has posted a 5.09 ERA. At the plate where it’s tough to crack the ASU lineup, he’s gotten 32 at-bats and has hit just .156. We’ll see if he gets his feet under him this summer.

Derek Dietrich – IF – 6’1 195
Georgia Tech
Sophomore

One of the top unsigned picks in the 2007 draft, Dietrich parlayed a great freshman campaign at Tech into a spot with Team USA last summer. Fullerton’s Christian Colon ended up pushing Dietrich out of the spot as the team’s regular shortstop. Dietrich still played in most of the games, but only hit .259. I don’t know if that’ll make him look for another path this summer, but if he makes it to Wareham, he’ll be an asset for the Gatemen. So far this year, he’s hitting .339 with four home runs.

Jake Lemmerman – IF – 6’2 185
Duke
Sophomore

Lemmerman played for the Gatemen and was a valuable part of the infield. Though he hit only .208, he saw time at three different spots, proving to be the utility man the Gatemen desperately needed. For Duke this spring, Lemmerman has hit .279 with eight extra-base hits.

Eric Pfisterer – IF – 6’3 220
Duke
Freshman

One of the more highly-touted recruits to make it to the Duke campus, Pfisterer was a 15th-round pick out of high school last year. An infielder and a pitcher, Pfisterer has pulled double-duty this year, with a little more success at the plate. He has hit .318 in 15 games. On the mound, he has made 10 appearances and has posted a 4.85 ERA.

Ryan Pineda – IF – 5’11 185
Cal State Northridge
Sophomore

Pineda wasn’t on Wareham’s initial roster last year, but he was as big a part of the team as anybody by the end of the season. A second baseman, Pineda finished the summer with a .273 average, three home runs, 18 RBI and 16 extra-base hits. Those numbers didn’t put him on any leaderboards, but they did put him firmly in the league’s best freshmen conversation. This spring, Pineda has hit .308 with a team-high eight home runs and 32 RBI.

Zach Wilson – IF – 6’1 195
Arizona State
Freshman

Another highly-touted ASU freshman (rated 18th by BA), Wilson has had a little better go of it than Swagerty so far. In 26 games, he has hit .298, though he doesn’t yet have a home run. A third-baseman, Wilson was a 26th round pick out of high school.

Shea Vucinich – IF – 6’0 185
Washington State
Sophomore

Vucinich was a non-roster invitee to Wareham last year, but when Team USA raided the Gatemen roster, Vucinich got an opportunity and ran with it. He ended up hitting .239 while seeing action in 33 games. For the Cougars this spring, Vucinich is hitting .259 with four home runs.

Alex Dickerson – OF – 6’3 210
Indiana
Freshman

Dickerson was initially listed as a non-roster invitee on the Wareham roster, but he has moved over to the actual roster now. Good move. Dickerson has been one of the top freshman hitters in the country this year. Through 34 games, he has a .388 average with 11 home runs, 10 doubles and 40 RBI. That’s the best production in the Big 10 and about as good as anyone in the country. Dickerson was a 48th-round pick out of high school.

Brett Eibner – OF/RHP – 6’3 205
Arkansas
Sophomore

Eibner was one of the highest unsigned picks in the 2007 draft, and he made some waves as a freshman at Arkansas last year, hitting .298 with 10 home runs. He’s a two-way player but last summer in Wareham, he spent nearly all of his time focusing on hitting, making just one appearance on the mound. This year, though, Eibner has had more success with Arkansas as a pitcher. He’s made eight starts and he has posted a 3.51 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. At the plate, he’s got a .241 average with six home runs.

Ryan LeMarre – OF – 6’2 205
Michigan
Sophomore

Of all the hitters on the Wareham roster, LeMarre has been the most impressive so far. He’s also been one of the best in the nation. The sophomore is hitting .385 with nine home runs and 43 RBI. He’s also got 19 extra-base hits and a .483 on-base percentage. LeMarre played in the Northwoods League last year, and thought he only hit .237, he flashed some power with four home runs and 13 extra-base hits.

Jarrod McKinney – OF – 5’11 205
Arkansas
Freshman

A speedy outfielder who’s seeing some time as a freshman, McKinney has yet to make his mark. In 15 games, he has hit .148.

Connor Rowe – OF – 5’11 180
Texas
Sophomore

Rowe didn’t see a ton of action as a freshman, but he’s taken on a bigger role this year. Playing in 31 games, he’s got a .241 average with four home runs. Rowe played in 40 games last summer for the Gatemen and though he only hit .220, he was all over the boxscores. He finished with two home runs, 12 extra-base hits and 10 steals.

George Springer – OF – 6’2 200
Connecticut
Freshman

Springer played at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut last year and was picked in the 48th round of the June draft. He’s made a huge splash with the Huskies this year, hitting .301 with a team-best 10 home runs 33 RBI. He’s got 20 extra-base hits, which also leads the team. Baseball America described him as a five-tool talent last year, so he’s definitely one to watch.

We are 60 days away, so it’s about time I get this thing in gear.

I am currently working on the early look features, with rundowns of each team and bios of every player. Wareham should be up within the week.

A few other things to share:

1. I am now burning the blogging candle at both ends, or something like that. Last year, I decided I wanted to start a college baseball blog. I fired one up, called it Omaha Sky and made one post in three months. I was about ready to chalk it up as a failed endeavor when I got the itch again while digging my car out of the eighth or ninth snow storm, and thinking, “Hey, they’re playing baseball somewhere.” So I got it going again. It’s been a bit of an adventure. Keeping tabs on 300 teams is a lot harder than keeping tabs on 10 teams, and every once in a while, I freak out, miss a few days and become terrified of looking at scores to see what I missed. Neuroses aside, it’s up and running. If you’re a college baseball fan — and most of you have at least a passing interest — then you should check it out. It’s getting about seven hits a day, so I could use a few friends over there. The address is omahasky.blogspot.com.

2. On a related note, I promise not to let Omaha Sky interfere with Right Field Fog.

3. I’m not sure about this whole All Star Game at Fenway Park business. I tend to liken it to a high school state championship game getting played at a big venue. It’s cool for the players and it’s something different, but at the end of the day, the place is 90 percent empty and the game feels more small-time than it would if it was in a home gym.

It’s not exactly the same scenario with the Cape League going to Fenway, but it stirs a similar feeling for me. The players will love it, and it’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But the place will also be empty — even an enormous all-star game crowd of 10,000 wouldn’t come close to filling it up — and the atmosphere will be different. There’s something quintessentially Cape League about the all-star game, and I fear having it at Fenway will take away a lot of that charm.

But while I’m not sold on it, I commend the league for taking the chance. Ideally, I think it would be perfect to have a Cape League vs Team USA game (or even NECBL) at Fenway, with the all-star game still on the Cape. That’s kind of the best of both worlds. But I guess you have to start somewhere.

You know what never gets old? Talking about how much talent is on the Cape. I seriously don’t get tired of it. You can point to so many things, and you don’t really even need to make the case, because everyone agrees. But still, I’m all about tooting the Cape League’s horn.

Today’s Exhibit: Baseball America’s Preseason All-America Teams

There are a total of 48 players on the three teams. Thirty-four of them have played in the Cape League.

The list includes stars from last summer like Grant Green, A.J. Pollock and Chris Dominguez, as well as standouts from the year before like Kyle Gibson, Josh Phegley, and Ryan Jackson.

Also, in a nod to just how much a big summer on the Cape can set the stage for a big year, several players who emerged last summer find themselves on the list. The names include Ben Tootle, Marc Krauss, Ben Paulsen, Dallas Poulk and Tim Wheeler.

All in all, the Cape League will certainly leave a stamp on the college baseball landscape this spring.

I just noticed that Brewster’s roster is out so it’s about that time for a quick look. At first glance, the Whitecaps don’t seem to have quite as many of the real hyped-up players as some of the other teams in the league. Come June, though, that probably won’t mean anything. New manager Tom Myers has a solid team on his hands.

…but I’m not sure about you yet.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Apparently, I go into hibernation in November and December.

Time to catch up on a few things.

• The Y-D roster has been out for a little while now. At first glance, it might rival Cotuit’s roster for the best group of freshmen. The most notable names in that bunch are Chase Davidson and Michael Palazzone of Georgia and Brett Mooneyham of Stanford. Other big names include LSU’s star catcher Micah Gibbs, and returnees Josh Rutledge of Alabama and Andy Wilkins of Arkansas.

• It looks there are still four rosters that haven’t come out — Brewster, Chatham, Falmouth and Harwich.

• Brewster announced its new manager last month. It’s Tom Myers, who’s also the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at UC-Santa Barbara. As far as I can tell, he and Harwich’s Steve Englert are the only two Cape League managers who are also D-I assistants. I believe Myers is also the only D-I pitching coach.

• While home for Christmas, I discovered a bunch of old Cape League programs, going back as far as 1994. I thoroughly enjoyed flipping through them and seeing all the familiar names that, back then, were just names I’d never heard before. Also, I wrote in an earlier post about Kevin Seitzer’s son being on the Hyannis roster that I thought Kevin Seitzer was a Cape League alum. I didn’t know for sure, but one of the old Chatham A’s books did confirm it. He played for the A’s, and apparently, the 12-year-old version of me who insisted on keeping every Cape League book I got knew that the 25-year-old version of me would someday need that information.

That’s it for now. I’ll keep an eye out for new rosters and post some thoughts whenever they come out. After that, maybe some college baseball updates, and before we know it, it’ll be time for the early looks at every team. I think that was the best thing I did last year, so I’ll definitely be doing it again. I’ll probably plan on a March start date for those.

Thanks for reading. Happy New Year, people.

Cotuit and Orleans have released their early rosters in the last few days, which means we’ve now gotten a look at half the rosters in the league. Still waiting on Falmouth, Yarmouth-Dennis, Harwich, Chatham and Brewster.

The biggest thing that stands out from these last two: Cotuit’s freshmen. They’ve got some serious talent, rivaling that of Wareham’s freshmen crop last year. Of course, a lot of those freshmen never made it to Wareham, so we’ll see how this plays out.

Some first impressions:

Cotuit

• Kevin Patterson, Seth Blair, Brandon Cumpton and Drew Storen are the returning players. I’d rank Patterson and Blair among the top 10 freshmen in the league this year, and I think, at this point, you could call Patterson the top returning hitter in the league.

• Ricky Hague should be a a familiar name. The Rice shortstop was on Wareham’s roster last year before getting invited to Team USA. Because of an injury, he ended up back home for the summer.

• Over the years, Wareham has had the market cornered on players from the University of Texas, but Cotuit has grabbed a few Longhorns for 2009, and they’re good ones. Chance Ruffin was one of the top freshman pitchers in the nation, while outfielder Cameron Rupp was named the top prospect in the California Collegiate League this summer. Catcher Kevin Keyeswas third on the same list.

• Cotuit had Robbie Shields from Division II Florida Southern this year, and they’ve gone to the well again for pitchers Daniel Tillman and Max Russell. Tillman was PG Crosschecker’s top prospect in the Clark Griffith League this year.

• And now to the freshmen. Righty Gerritt Cole heads to UCLA as the first unsigned first-round pick to go to college in quite some time. So, he’ll also be the first unsigned first-round pick to play on the Cape in quite some time. Vanderbilt righty Sonny Gray was thought of as a first-round talent as well. Fellow Vandy recruit Navery Moore was pegged as the top pitcher in his class before an injury his junior year of high school. UC-Santa Barbara pitcher Chris Joyce was a 10th-round pick and played in the Cal Collegiate League this summer, where he was named the fifth-best prospect. Arkansas 3B/P Zach Cox was a 20th-round pick, but he’s another guy who many thought would go higher.

Orleans

• The Cardinals (?) currently have eight players slated to come back, led by Cal-State Fullerton’s Gary Brown, UCLA’s Rob Rasmussen and Loyola-Marymount’s Martin Viramontes, who was an all-star this summer. The list also includes three players who will be juniors: Florida’s Hampton Tignor (who, if he comes to the Cape, would be playing his third summer with Orleans), Nevada’s Shaun Kort and Duke’s Alex Hassan. North Carolina’s Rob Catapano, who pitched for Orleans in ’07 but not ’08, is also on the roster.

• In all, there are 10 juniors on the roster, which is a really high number.

• Long Beach State shortstop Devin Lohman played briefly for Chatham this summer before an injury sent him home. He’s a player to watch.

• Georgia Tech pitcher Deck McGuire is coming off a huge summer. After serving as a mid-week starter his freshman year, he headed to the Coastal Plain League, where he went 7-0 with a 1.28 ERA. He was named the league’s top prospect by Baseball America.

• There are only three freshmen on the roster, but they look three real good ones. Fresno State pitcher Josh Poytress was a 16th-round pick in June, Arizona’s Donnie Roach was a 27th-round pick and Arizona State’s Riccio Torrez went in the 32nd round.

By now, you’ve probably heard that the Chatham Athletics changed their name to the Chatham Anglers as a result of the agreement with Major League Baseball, which would have limited their merchandise opportunities while using the Athletics’ name.

I like the name, and it’s a nice little slap in the face of Major League baseball.

But my question: Are they still just going to be A’s?

Because, if you flip through a Chatham yearbook from any of the past few years, you won’t see a single reference to the Chatham Athletics. They had become the Chatham A’s.

It stands to reason that they could still be the A’s, but that ground hasn’t really been covered in any of the stories I’ve read.

Does anybody know?

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.

I know it’s officially autumn, but I feel that the summer has not been sufficiently wrapped. Two more installments before we can put a bow on it. Here’s the first. The next one will be up sooner rather than later, and then it’ll be on to a few months of randomness before some rosters pop up. Then we can officially start dreaming about next summer.

The 2008 draft was a banner one for the Cape League. Five of the top 10 picks were on the Cape less than a year before, many of them, like Aaron Crow and Jason Castro, emerging then as true stars.

When the 2009 draft rolls around, there may be even more Cape League fingerprints.

But they’re not going to be quite as bold.

It’s early to talk about the draft, and a lot will change between now and then, but some early previews are coming out, with the same names popping up in almost all of them.

They’re familiar names to Cape League fans, but in an interesting revelation about the summer of ’08, they’re not as familiar as names like Crow, Castro, Beckham and Posey.

Take the top 30 prospects list at Breaking Bats. There are 14 college players on the list, and 10 of them played in the Cape League. But only three of them played on the Cape this summer.

Take the mock draft at mymlbdraft.com. Six of the top 10 are former Cape Leaguers, a number that would surpass the 2008 draft. But of those six, only two played on the Cape in 2008, and one of them, Dustin Ackley, played only briefly. That leaves just Grant Green.

I guess the point is that while the Cape League will be as prominent as ever come June, it’s going to feel a little bit different. The current favorite to be the No. 1 pick, Stephen Strasburg, played in the NECBL after his freshman year, then opted for Team USA this summer. Several of the other top pitchers, like Alex White, Andy Oliver and Kyle Gibson all shined on the Cape in 2007, but White sat out the summer of ’08 while Oliver and Gibson pitched for Team USA.

In the prism of looking back at the Cape League summer, this means we were watching a talented crop of players, but a crop that may have been in a different stage than normal. There were more drafted college players than I can ever remember, and at the other end of the spectrum, there was a pretty strong freshman class headed by Brandon Workman and D.J. LeMahieu. In the middle were the sophomores, the ones who will be draft eligible in June. Judging from the way things are shaking out right now, they’re not as strong a class as the one we saw last year. Because one player’s talent level reflects another’s, I always find it tough to guage, but prospect lists and these early looks at the draft seem to reflect the same idea.

Is it some kind of trend? Maybe. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on the summer destinations of some of the league’s top freshmen. If a lot of them end up with Team USA next year, then we may see the trend continue.

But more likely, it was simply the way things went, and while it meant that we didn’t see quite as much of a draft class this summer, that’s not going to matter in June. When those Cape Leaguers get their names called, I’ll be excited, even if they’re not our most recent boys of summer.