Sorry for the lack of posts lately. March Madness got its hooks into me and wouldn’t let go.
Let’s play catch-up. Several new players have shown up on rosters. A few of the notables:
All Star Game officially at Fenway
For the second year in a row, the Cape League All Star Game will be held at Fenway Park in Boston.
It was assumed that the game would be back there, based on schedules. The league made it official this week. The game will be played Wednesday, July 28.
The Red Sox will include the game on their pocket schedules, which is pretty cool. That’s bound to help attendance.
Good weather would also help. Here’s hoping.
Farewell, Mets (Apparently)
The Cape Cod Times is reporting that the Hyannis Mets will change their name to the Harbor Hawks.
It’s the third name change in the league since Major League Baseball announced merchandising restrictions last year for teams that share a name with a Major League club.
The Bourne Braves, Harwich Mariners and Y-D Red Sox continue to stick with their names.
2010 Spotlight: Trevor Bauer
Trevor Bauer was not the most heralded freshman on the UCLA pitching staff last year. But through the season, it became clear that there was only one reason for that: Gerrit Cole had a lot of hype.
It certainly wasn’t because Bauer’s abilities were lacking.
The 6’1 righty went 9-3 with a 2.99 ERA and was a consensus Freshman All-American. The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper named him the National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, over Cole. He ended up pitching with Team USA over the summer; he was originally headed for Yarmouth-Dennis.
This summer, Bauer is again on the Y-D roster. If he makes it to the Cape, he’ll likely be arriving as one of the league’s top two or three pitchers.
So far this spring, Bauer has teamed with Cole and Cape League alum Rob Rasmussen to give UCLA one of the most impressive weekend rotations in the country. Bauer is 3-0 with a 2.38 ERA. In 22.2 innings, he has struck out 38 and walked only six. Opponents are hitting .165 against him.
His most recent start may have been his best. Pitching against traditional SEC heavyweight Mississippi State on Saturday, Bauer struck out a career-high 15 and allowed two runs on just three hits in eight innings of work. He earned the victory, which moved UCLA to 12-0.
Bauer is doing all of this a year ahead of his classmates. He skipped his senior year of high school to enroll early at UCLA. Baseball-wise, it was a good move. Baseball Beginnings, in a bit of hyperbole, dubs him Tim Lincecum Jr.
Here’s hoping we get to see him on the Cape this summer.
One to Watch: Auburn at Arizona State
By my count, Arizona State is one of four 12-0 teams in the country right now, along with Florida State, Louisville and LSU.
The No. 3 Sun Devils, who feature a load of 2010 Cape Leaguers, will face their toughest series yet this weekend when they host Auburn. They did get some tough competition at last week’s Coca Cola Classic but this will be their first series that really takes it up a notch.
I think the question is this: will the Sun Devils rise along with the competition.
Zack MacPhee, Riccio Torrez, Drew Maggi (pictured) and Zach Wilson are all 2010 Cape Leaguers and they’ve all pounded the pitching they’ve seen so far. MacPhee (Bourne) is hitting .564 with a homer, seven triples and 16 RBI, Wilson (Wareham) is at .421, Torrez (Orleans) is at .385 and Maggi (Orleans) is hitting .348. Together, that crew has done the bulk of the damage for the Sun Devils, who are hitting .372 as a team and averaging more than 10 runs per game.
The Sun Devils have been without ace Josh Spence, but the rest of their pitchers have picked up the slack. Freshman Brady Rodgers (Cotuit) has a 1.10 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 16 innings. Jordan Swagerty (Wareham) has three saves. Seth Blair, who played for Cotuit in 2008 and 2009, has a 3.38 ERA.
Auburn comes to the desert with a 9-2 record. Brian Fletcher, who played for Falmouth in 2008 and 2009, has been an absolute star so far. He’s hitting .467 and he’s tied for second in the league with six home runs and 24 RBI. Hunter Morris (Falmouth ’09) has also hit well, with a .423 average and two homers. As for the 2010 Cape Leaguers, Creede Simpson (Bourne) is hitting .413, and pitcher Garrett Bush (Bourne) has made one appearance.
Friday, 9:30 p.m.
Live Stats
Saturday, 9:30 p.m.
Live Stats
Sunday, 4 p.m.
Live Stats
2010 Cape Leaguers
Arizona State
Riccio Torrez
Drew Maggi
Jordan Swagerty
Zach Wilson
Zack MacPhee
Brady Rodgers
Jeff Lusardi
Mitchell Lambson
Deven Marrero
Johnny Ruettiger
Auburn
Casey McElroy
Creede Simpson
Garrett Bush
One to Watch: Florida at Miami
Every week, I could pick a Florida series for this little feature. The Gators have 13 players with tickets to the Cape this summer. That’s more players than any other school — by a lot — and more players than any other school sent to the Cape last year.
Every Florida series will be an interesting one, then. This one will have a little extra.
The fifth-ranked Gators will travel south to take on in-state rival Miami, who’s ranked 10th and has a fair share of Cape Leaguers, too. It’ll be perhaps the biggest non-conference series of the season for either team.
Not to mention, the first real tough test.
The Gators started the season 5-0 before a loss on Tuesday to Florida State. The Hurricanes are 6-1, and when they’ve won, they’ve won big, with 12-1, 18-1 and 15-2 victories to their name.
Two 2010 Cape Leaguers are expected to be in the Gators’ rotation this week. Sophomore left Alex Panteliodis (Orleans) is scheduled to start on Friday. It’ll be the first start of the year for Panteliodis, who had a 2.45 ERA in two relief appearances. On Saturday, freshman Brian Johnson (Falmouth) is expected to get the start. A 27th-round pick out of high school, he’s 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA.
The lone Cape League connection in Miami’s rotation is Eric Erickson, who played for Orleans in 2008 before missing all of last year with an injury. He’ll start Sunday.
At the plate, Florida has been led by Team USA vet Matt den Dekker and ’09 Falmouth Commodore Josh Adams. Three 2010 Cape Leaguers have also had a big hand in the early success. Mike Zunino (Hyannis) is hitting .333, Austin Maddox (Bourne) .308 and Preston Tucker (Orleans) .292. Keep an eye on Maddox, who was rated by Baseball America as the 81st best prospect for last year’s draft. Tucker hit .364 as a freshman last year with 15 homers and 85 RBI.
Miami’s start has been powered by junior-college transfer Chris Pelaez, who leads the ACC with a .650 average. Yasmani Grandal, who played for Brewster in 2008, is hitting .363, while Harold Martinez (Brewster ’09 & ’10) is hitting .320 with three home runs. Freshman Stephen Perez (Chatham) is also off to a strong start, with six stolen bases in seven games.
Friday, 7 p.m.
Live Stats
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Live Stats
Sunday, 3 p.m.
Live Stats
2010 Cape Leaguers
Florida
Nick Maronde
Tyler Thompson
Alex Panteliodis
Austin Maddox
Hudson Randall
Ben McMahan
Michael Zunino
Anthony DeSclafani
Steven Rodriguez
Nolan Fontana
Brian Johnson
Greg Larson
Preston Tucker
Miami
Harold Martinez
Nathan Melendres
Stephen Perez
2010 Spotlight: Steven Proscia
I was doing some Google searches, trying to figure out where Virginia’s Steven Proscia played last summer. Finally, I found out that he didn’t play anywhere. He played all of his first season in Charlottesville with a fractured wrist and sat out the summer. He missed the fall season, too.
Funny thing. I wouldn’t have guessed it.
Proscia had a fantastic freshman season, and these days, he isn’t showing much rust.
Proscia, a 6-2, 215-pound third baseman, is ticketed for Harwich this summer, and don’t be surprised if he’s a star by then. Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt tabbed Proscia as one of three candidates around the country ready for a huge breakout. So far, Proscia is delivering.
In seven games, he’s hitting .400 with two home runs and a team-best 13 RBI. He’s batting clean-up for the second-ranked Cavaliers, and on this talented and veteran team, that really says a lot.
“He’s got great power, and he’s an exciting player, ” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor told Baseball America.
Proscia was a football and baseball standout at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey, and his football-bred toughness caught O’Connor’s attention. The Twins drafted him in the 39th round out of high school, but he stuck with his commitment to Virginia. His first year in Charlottesville marked the first time he’d focused solely on baseball.
The results were impressive. He led ACC freshman with a .333 average and had 10 home runs, 22 doubles and 58 RBI. He had six hits in Virginia’s three College World Series games.
So the stage was set. We’ll see this season if Proscia can continue to steal the show.
Weekend Notes: Hultzen hits stride
Danny Hultzen (Hyannis), pictured, wasn’t overwhelming on the season’s first weekend, gutting through six innings in a win over East Carolina. He allowed two runs, struck out four and walked three.
This weekend, he was overwhelming. Facing Rhode Island on Friday, Hultzen tossed seven shutout innings, striking out 12, walking none and allowing just two hits. He was named ACC Pitcher of the Week.
If Hultzen’s average falls somewhere between those first two starts, he’s going to have a very, very good season.
One to Watch: Dodgertown Classic
Eighteen 2010 Cape Leaguers will be in uniform this weekend when Oklahoma State, USC, UCLA and Vanderbilt gather in Los Angeles for the inaugural Dodgertown Classic.
The real “Dodgertown” part of the event happens Sunday when Vandy plays Oklahoma State and USC takes on UCLA at Dodger Stadium. But all weekend, we’ll have some pretty good match-ups.
In terms of arms, I don’t think it gets much better than Friday’s game between Vanderbilt and UCLA. Sonny Gray, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week who’s slated for Cotuit this summer, is expected to get the start against fellow sophomore star Gerrit Cole. The two were both on Cotuit’s roster but ended up as teammates on Team USA instead. Cole is not on the Cotuit roster for 2010.
In their first outings of the year, Gray struck out eight in eight shutout innings, while Cole struck out nine, didn’t walk anybody and allowed just one hit in six innings. Cole and Gray were ranked second and fourth on Baseball America’s list of the top 50 sophomore prospects in the nation.
In all the other Classic games, there is slated to be at least one ’09 or ’10 Cape Leaguer on the mound. Tyler Lyons (Chatham ’09) goes for the Cowboys against USC on Friday. On Saturday, Vandy’s Taylor Hill (Chatham ’09) gets the start against USC, while OK State’s Thomas Keeling (Chatham ’09) pitches against UCLA standout Trevor Bauer (Y-D ’10). In Sunday’s games, Kevin Couture (Chatham ’07 & ’08) is slated to pitch for USC against UCLA’s Rob Rasmussen (Orleans ’08 & ’09), while Jack Armstrong (Wareham ’09 & ’10) gets the start for Vandy against OSU’s Andrew Heaney (Falmouth ’10).
Whew. In pitching match-ups alone, it’s like a Cape League reunion.
Friday
Vanderbilt at UCLA, 9 p.m. ET
Live Stats
Oklahoma State at USC, 9:30 p.m.
Live Stats
Saturday
Oklahoma State at UCLA, 5 p.m.
Live Stats
Vanderbilt at USC, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday
Oklahoma State vs Vanderbilt at Dodger Stadium, 1 p.m.
Live Stats
USC vs UCLA at Dodger Stadium, 5 p.m.
Live Stats
2010 Cape Leaguers
Oklahoma State
Andrew Heaney, Falmouth
Tom Belza, Chatham
Mark Ginther, Chatham
Vanderbilt
Jack Armstrong, Wareham
Riley Reynolds, Chatham
Aaron Westlake, Chatham
Sonny Gray, Cotuit
Michael Yastrzemski, Cotuit
Grayson Garvin, Bourne
Will Clinard, Orleans
Regan Flaherty, Y-D
USC
Taylor Wrenn, Orleans
Rick Oropesa, Chatham
UCLA
Beau Amaral, Chatham
Dan Klein, Chatham
Tyler Rahmatulla, Chatham
Trevor Bauer, Y-D
Cody Keefer, Y-D
2010 Spotlight: Zack MacPhee
Zack MacPhee wasn’t exactly a bit player for the Bourne Braves last summer. He started at shortstop in each of Bourne’s playoff games and went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the Braves’ title-clinching win.
But in the summer, and the spring before that, MacPhee was kind of easy to miss.
He hit .270 for Arizona State’s College World Series team, batting ninth just as he did for Bourne. After a late arrival because of the CWS, MacPhee hit .146 in 30 games on the Cape.
These days, while you can’t give too much credence to a series against a cold-weather team that got out-scored 44-6, it’s a little easier to notice MacPhee.
He was the star of the Sun Devils’ season-opening series with Northern Illinois, hitting .727 with seven runs scored, eight RBI and six extra-base hits. He earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors and National Player of the Week honors from several publications.
MacPhee lined up at second base for the Sun Devils and batted second. He’s part of a big and talented group of ASU sophomores, many of whom will make their way to the Cape this summer. MacPhee is expected back in Bourne.
He’ll be an interesting player to watch. He was a 22nd round pick out of high school, but on Baseball America’s list of top college prospects by class, he wasn’t among the top 50 sophomores.
Who knows if that will change by the time summer rolls around, but one thing’s for sure: if MacPhee does anything close to what he did on the opening weekend, he won’t be so easy to miss.