Red Sox defending title again

The Y-D Red Sox celebrate in last year's championship series. — The Y-D Red Sox celebrate in last year’s championship series.

If they make the playoffs, look out. The Y-D Red Sox haven’t been the best team in the regular season in either of the past two years, but won the Cape League championship both times. Pitching looks like the strength on paper for the incoming Sox.

Five to Watch

1. Ricky Thomas
2. Alex Faedo
3. Jayson Rose
4. J.J. Schwarz
5. Deon Stafford

Notable

Ricky Thomas didn’t have a fantastic freshman season for Fresno State but became one of the Cape’s best pitchers last summer, going 7-0 with a 1.01 ERA. And that was just the beginning for Thomas. Back with the Bulldogs, he’s emerging as one of the top sophomore arms in the nation.

Alex Faedo would be a Friday starter just about everywhere, but at Florida, he’s a Sunday starter behind junior stars A.J. Puk and Logan Shore. Despite that, it’s Faedo who leads the team in strikeouts.

Mikey Diekroeger is following in the footsteps of brothers Kenny and Danny at Stanford and will follow Danny to the Cape. While Kenny was on a Y-D roster, he never actually played on the Cape. Danny played briefly for Y-D in 2012 and for Cotuit in 2013.

Barnstable native Will Toffey will be back for his second summer with Y-D. After a late arrival last year, the Vanderbilt infielder hit .136 in 15 games for the Red Sox.

Quite a collection of catchers on the Y-D roster — Florida star J.J. Schwarz, A-10 Player of the Year Deon Stafford of St. Joseph’s and Oral Roberts standout Matt Whatley. While Schwarz has the best credentials, Stafford had the best season with a .400 batting average and 17 homers.

Florida was the No. 1 team in the nation for much of the season and is still top five. If the Gators make Omaha, the Red Sox will have a few holes, with Faedo, Schwarz and shortstop Dalton Guthrie all on the roster.

The Red Sox could end up with an all-TCU outfield. Three of the four listed on the roster call Fort Worth home.

Y-D has welcomed in big-time arms from Cal State Fullerton the last two years — Phil Bickford in 2014 and Chad Hockin last year. Connor Seabold may fit the bill this year, with his 90 strikeouts in just 76.2 innings pitched.

PITCHERS

Michael Baumann – SO – Jacksonville – 2015 Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year had 4.31 ERA this year, fanned 67
Sam Delaplane – JR – Eastern Michigan – Saved three games and struck out a batter an inning out of Eagles’ bullpen
Alex Faedo – SO – Florida – Sidekick to stars A.J. Puk & Logan Shore great in his own right with 102 Ks, 3.58 ERA
Cre Finfrock – SO – Central Florida – Notched a team-high 70 strikeouts as weekend starter
Mitch Hart – SO – USC – Freshman All-American struggled in sophomore campaign, with ERA over seven
Jake Higginbotham – FR – Clemson – 27th-round pick out of high school has 4.59 ERA as starter for Tigers
Oliver Jaskie – SO – Michigan – Moved into weekend rotation and went 7-3 with 3.36 ERA, 55 Ks
William Montgomerie – SO – Connecticut – Emerged as reliable weekend arm with 2.86 ERA, 78 Ks
Bryan Pall – SO – Michigan – Three saves, 26 strikeouts in 26 innings as Wolverine reliever
Jayson Rose – SO – Utah – One of the top starters in Pac-12 is 8-5 with 2.46 ERA, 96 Ks in 95 IP
Connor Seabold – SO – Cal State Fullerton – Mostly a starter, has racked up 90 Ks and only seven walks in 76.2 IP
Collin Snider – SO – Vanderbilt – Standout reliever for Commodores has 2.57 ERA, 30 Ks
Ricky Thomas – SO – Fresno State – Breakout star in CCBL last year dominant for Bulldogs with 2.16 ERA, 108 Ks
Erich Uelmen – SO – Cal Poly – Solid weekend starter posted 3.76 ERA, 66Ks

CATCHERS

JJ Schwarz – SO – Florida – Frosh star has had a bit of a sophomore slump but still hitting .290 with six homers
Deon Stafford – SO – Saint Joseph’s – A-10 Player of the Year batted .400 with 17 homers this spring
Matt Whatley – SO – Oral Roberts – Reigning Summit League Newcomer of Year stayed hot at .354, 7 HRs

INFIELDERS

Wade Bailey – SO – Georgia Tech – After solid debut last year, hitting .314 with four HRs this season
Mikey Diekroeger – SO – Stanford – Hitting only .216 but second on team in extra-base hits
Dalton Guthrie – SO – Florida – Leadoff man and SS for preseason favorite Gators, hitting .323
Coco Montes – FR – South Florida – Full-time starter as frosh, hitting .221 with two home runs
Kevin Smith – SO – Maryland – Starting SS since day one hitting .267 with eight homers this season
Will Toffey – SO – Vanderbilt – Barnstable native hitting .234 with 19 RBI in sophomore season

OUTFIELDERS

Nolan Brown – SR – TCU – Poised to be Frogs’ leadoff hitter but injury sent him to redshirt year
Ryan Johnson – FR – TCU – Hitting .214 in limited action off Horned Frogs’ bench
Luke Miller – FR – Indiana – Indiana HS star off to strong start with Hoosiers, hitting .283 with 13 XBH
Connor Wanhanen – SO – TCU – Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2015 hitting .247 this season

March 4, 2016March 4, 2016

Sneak Peek

Ricky Thomas starred for Y-D last summer and is slated to return this year.

It’s very early in the college baseball season, a time for small sample sizes and differing opponent quality, but it’s never too early to take a peek at which future Cape Leaguers are off to fast starts. Not every roster has been posted yet, so this is far from a complete list, but it’s a start.

Jeren Kendall hit .253 in 20 games for Cotuit last summer and is ticketed for a return trip this year. He’s off to a roaring start for Vanderbilt, batting .474 with three home runs and 16 RBI through 10 games. He’s also stolen 10 bases. Teammate Alonzo Jones, a highly-touted freshman who is slated to join Kendall in Cotuit, is third on the team with a .333 average. The Commodores are at Stanford this weekend.

Future Orleans catcher Riley Adams is hitting .481 for San Diego, against competition that includes powerhouse Vanderbilt.

Chatham will welcome in a pair of Seattle University pitchers, and they’ve both been lights out so far. Tarik Skubal is one of the nation’s leaders in strikeouts with 23 in 13 innings. He has walked just one batter and has a 0.00 ERA. Rotation-mate Nick Meservey, who’s also bound for the Anglers, boasts a 0.00 ERA, as well.

Florida’s Alex Faedo had one of the most noteworthy pitching performances of the young season when he struck out 12 in 6.1 scoreless innings as the top-ranked Gators scored a marquee win over Miami. The sophomore is slated to play for Y-D this summer.

Also penciled in for the Y-D rotation will be returning standout Ricky Thomas, one of the breakout stars of the 2015 Cape League season. Thomas has picked up where he left off for Fresno State, going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 12 innings.

Defending national champ Virginia has gotten a torrid start from sophomore infielder Ernie Clement, who is on the Harwich roster for 2016. Clement is batting .515 through eight games and is among the early national leaders.

Missouri state preseason all-conference pick Jake Burger is hitting an even .500 and five of his 16 hits have been home runs. Burger is set to play for Falmouth in the summer.

From Alabama to Texas to California, Chatham’s roster includes three hitters who have been red-hot. UC Irvine’s Keston Hiura is batting .500 with four home runs, on the heels of earning Perfect Game Summer All-American honors in the West Coast League. Texas Tech’s Tanner Gardner is hitting at a .429 clip, and Samford’s Austin Edens is at .364 with three home runs.

Rhode Island’s Tyler Wilson, who is slated to play for Harwich, has already picked up one Atlantic 10 award and will likely pick up a few more. The reigning A-10 Pitcher and Rookie of the Year was named A-10 Pitcher of the Week after striking out 11 in seven shutout innings against a good Maryland team last weekend.

Future Falmouth Commodore Kyle Nelson has already appeared in five games out of the UC Santa Barbara bullpen and has struck out 17 in 10.1 innings, while allowing no earned runs and only three hits.

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015

Red Sox out to defend title

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox surged to their fourth Cape Cod Baseball League championship in 11 years last summer, completing the run with a sweep of Falmouth in the title series. They made the run after finishing third in the East Division during the regular season and shuffling their roster regularly.

Another talented group, led by a deep pitching staff and a host of big-name freshmen, is on its way.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Mike Shawaryn
2. J.J. Schwarz
3. Will Toffey
4. Cole Billingsley
5. Brett Adcock

NOTABLE

Maryland is headed to a Super Regional and ace Mike Shawaryn has been a big reason why. After setting a school record for wins as a freshman, Shawaryn took the leap into bona fide ace territory this year, going 13-2 with an eye-popping 133 strikeouts. This may be the first preview, but it’s hard to imagine anyone in the Cape League has a better pitching coming to town than Y-D has with Shawaryn.

Shawaryn heads a list of starting pitchers with strong track records on the Y-D roster. Brett Adcock, Brandon Bailey and Shane Bieber were workhorses this year, with Adcock and Bailey both striking out more than 90.

Y-D had the league’s most fearsome closer last year in Phil Bickford. David Ellingson may not have the same pedigree, but he’s got the numbers. The Georgetown standout saved nine games with an ERA under 1.00 this season.

The Cape League always has a few native sons in uniform. Barnstable native Will Toffey could be the best in recent memory. The Vanderbilt freshman already lit up the Futures League last year and has forced his way into the lineup for the defending College World Series champions as a freshman.

TCU’s Brian Howard stands 6’9. That is all.

Y-D is slated to have three freshman catchers from powerhouse SEC programs. All have big potential, but J.J. Schwarz has made it good on more quickly than the others, with 15 homers for Florida in his debut season.

Y-D could have a very athletic outfield, with Stephen Wrenn of Georgia and South Alabama’s Cole Billingsley patrolling. Wrenn had started at center field in every game of his college career and flashed potential for Bourne last summer. Billingsley ranked 16th in the nation in stolen bases this year.

St. John’s Mike Donadio didn’t have a great sophomore year, at least compared to his Big East Rookie of the Year campaign in 2014, but he’ll be a valuable presence for the Red Sox this summer. A late addition last year, Donadio hit .367 with two home runs in the playoffs.

The Red Sox will likely have one of the youngest teams in the league, with 13 freshman ticketed for Red Wilson Field. That includes nine position players, who often struggle as freshmen on the Cape.

PITCHERS

Brett Adcock – SO – Michigan – Third-team all-Big 10 lefty K’d 95 in 90 IP, with a 3.10 ERA
Brandon Bailey – SO – Gonzaga – Strong starter for Gonzaga went 8-3 with 3.72 ERA and tied for 3rd in WCC with 91 Ks
Shane Bieber – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Dominated in West Coast League last summer and earned all-conference nod this year
Ben Bowden – SO – Vanderbilt – Native of Lynn, Mass., has been valuable bullpen arm, with 45 Ks in 34.2 IP
Gabe Cramer – JR – Stanford – Saw limited action in first two years, emerged as good reliever this year
David Ellingson – SO – Georgetown – Dominant closer had 9 saves, .75 ERA this season
Alex Faedo – FR – Florida – Late-round pick last year has been solid swing guy this spring, with 3.36 ERA
Mitch Hart – FR – USC – Jumped right into weekend rotation and posted 4.07 ERA; second on team in IP
Brian Howard – SO – TCU – Six-foot-nine righty struck out 43 in 43 innings this spring, pitching mostly out of bullpen
Dustin Hunt – SO – Northeastern – ERA ballooned near five, but righty from Andover, Mass., led Huskies in Ks
Dalton Lehnen – FR – Cincinnati – Freshman lefty led Cincy in starts but went 1-7 with 5.56 ERA
Mike Shawaryn – SO – Maryland – One of nation’s best pitchers went 13-2, had 1.66 ERA and struck out 133, 4th nationally
Ricky Thomas – FR – Fresno State – Freshman lefty had solid debut with 3.92 ERA
Chris Viall – SO – Stanford – Solid swing man on pitching staff had 4.73 ERA this season

CATCHERS

Mike Papierski – FR – LSU – 16th-rd pick in 2014 draft has hit .214 in limited action for loaded LSU team
Nathan Rodriguez – FR – Arkansas – Talented catching prospect was declared ineligible this season and did not play
J.J. Schwarz – FR – Florida – 17th-rd pick last year has had huge freshman season: .320 with 15 HR, 66 RBI

INFIELDERS

Tommy Edman – SO – Stanford – Started every game this spring, hit .296 with a homer
Dalton Guthrie – FR – Florida – Late-round pick in 2014 has started every game in debut season, posting .290 average
Ryan Lillard – FR – Arizona State – Iowa native hit .233 in 26 games as a freshman
Will Toffey – FR – Vanderbilt – Barnstable native & top prospect in Futures League last year hitting .309 in first year at VU
Connor Wong – FR – Houston – Hit .248 with six homers in first season with Cougars

OUTFIELDERS

Cole Billingsley – JR – South Alabama – Had big year after medical redshirt in 2014, batting .345 and swiping 30 bags
Luke Bonfield – FR – Arkansas – Mets’ 21st-rd pick in ’14 has hit .164 in limited duty for Razorbacks
Michael Donadio – SO – St. John’s – Big East Rookie of Year in 2014 batted .302 this year
Ryan Noda – FR – Cincinnati – Hit .230 and was second on UC to former CCBL all-star Ian Happ in HRs with 7
Stephen Wrenn – SO – Georgia – Has started all 109 games of UGA career in CF; hit .324 with 8 HR this year