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Young talent leads Commodores

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Falmouth missed the playoffs last season but has a talented team ready for a return trip.
 

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Luken Baker
2. Brady Puckett
3. J.J. Matijevic
4. Bryce Montes de Oca
5. Brady Singer

 

NOTABLE

  • The Falmouth roster no longer includes the guy who stole all the headlines in the preseason. Missouri State All-American Jake Burger is on the Team USA roster. But there’s plenty of talent left . . .

  • A late addition who stands as a good replacement for Burger is TCU freshman Luken Baker. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year came in highly touted and has been a force at the plate and on the mound. He’s also at his best right now, coming off four home runs in the Big 12 Tournament.

  • Baker is one of 12 freshmen on the roster – a high number – but there’s quite a pedigree for a lot of them. Florida’s Brady Singer was the highest unsigned high school pick in the draft last year, Tyler Holton and Cole Sands grabbed spots in the Florida State rotation right off the bat, and Josh Watson leads a powerful TCU team in home runs.

  • The Commodores will have some veterans to lean on around the youth. J.J. Matijevic was a breakout star for the Commodores last summer and is one of the few returning Cape League all-stars. Stephen Villines and Evan Skoug are also slated to be back after a good summer.

  • Brady Puckett, who’s penciled in as the opening night starter for the Commodores, had a fantastic sophomore season en route to Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year honors. He’s also 6-foot-8.

  • Cadyn Grenier didn’t have a great first season at Oregon State but has the credentials. He was a 21st-round pick who was mentioned as a possible first-round pick last year.

  • Dallas Baptist continued its emergence as a baseball power this year and will send three players to Falmouth.

  • In addition to Baker’s success at TCU, Falmouth has Skoug and Watson hitting in the middle of the Frogs’ order.

  • Missouri’s Bryce Montes de Oca, another 6-foot-8 pitcher, lit up the radar gun last summer as he continued a comeback after Tommy John surgery in high school. Unfortunately, he was shut down after .1 inning this year and had surgery, but this indicates he starts rehab in June, so he may still pitch for Falmouth.

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    PITCHERS

    Jake Bird – SO – UCLA – Had solid freshman season before struggling to ERA over six this season
    Seth Elledge – FR – Dallas Baptist – One of the nation’s leaders in saves, racked up 14 with 1.61 ERA, 31 Ks in 28 innings
    Glenn Otto – SO – Rice – Busy reliever for Owls tallied eight saves and struck out 76 in 71.2 innings
    Brett Gilchrist – FR – Dallas Baptist – Two-sport standout struggled in first year with DBU, finishing with 14.54 ERA in 10 appearances
    Tyler Holton – FR – Florida State – Two-way player having more luck on mound in first year, with 2.92 ERA, team-best 78 Ks
    Cole Sands – FR – Florida State – Went 6-6 with 4.21 ERA in weekend rotation for Seminoles, striking out 46 in 66.1 innings
    Tyler Jones – SO – Wichita State – Pitched out of the bullpen for Shockers, finishing with 6.18 ERa, 35 Ks in 39.1 innings
    Turner Larkins – SO – Texas A&M – Working as a starter and reliever for Aggies, has 2.82 ERA, 35 Ks in in 38.1 innings
    Brady Singer – FR – Florida – Highest unsigned high school pick in the 2015 draft, has 4.95 ERA in relief for Gators
    Corbin Martin – SO – Texas A&M – Has struck out 33 in in 26.1 innings pitched out of bullpen for Super Regional-bound Aggies
    Stephen Villines – SO – Kansas – Standout closer for Jayhawks and Falmouth last summer had 5 SV, 2.13 ERA this year
    Bryce Montes de Oca – SO – Missouri – Flamethrower who flashed potential with ‘Dores last year pitched just .1 inning this year
    Kyle Nelson – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Standout reliever on Gauchos’ first-ever Super Regional squad has 2.08 ERA, 84 Ks in 69.1 IP
    Thomas Ponticelli – FR – San Francisco – Grabbed Saturday starter role as a freshman and finished with 5.94 ERA with 44 Ks
    Brady Puckett – SO – Lipscomb – Six-foot-eight righty earned A-Sun Pitcher of the Year after going 9-2, 2.93 ERA, 101 Ks in 107.2 IP
    Bo Tucker – SO – Georgia – Posted 3.71 ERA and three saves while striking out a batter an inning out of Georgia bullpen
     

    CATCHERS

    Matt Duce – FR – Dallas Baptist – Delivered strong debut for regional club, batting .321 with 4 HR, 30 RBI
    J.J. Matijevic – SO – Arizona – Finished third in Cape League in AVG last year and batted .289 with 4 HR in sophomore season
    Evan Skoug – SO – TCU – Major run producer for Frogs batting .290 with 9 HR, 50 RBI, team-best 30 XBH
     

    INFIELDERS

    Luken Baker – FR – TCU – Projected as one of the top frosh in the nation and hasn’t disappointed — .382 with 8 HR, 54 RBI plus 1.70 ERA
    Tristan Gray – SO – Rice – Returning Commodore hit .295 with five homers for Owls this spring
    Dane Myers – SO – Rice – Also a pitcher, hit .264 with two home runs and saved seven games out of Owls bullpen
    Cadyn Grenier – FR – Oregon State – Highly touted freshman struggled a bit in debut, hitting .240
    Deacon Liput – FR – Florida – 39th round pick out of high school has started all but one game for Gators and is hitting .277 with 13 SBs
    Matt McLaughlin – SO – Kansas – Started every game for Jayhawks and hit .256 with two homers
     

    OUTFIELDERS

    Ryan Chandler – SO – Rice – Reigning CUSA Freshman of the Year followed with .270 sophomore season, adding 2 HRs, 20 RBI
    Michael Gigliotti – SO – Lipscomb – Hit .302 and stole 15 bases a year after strong debut season with Lipscomb
    Trevor Larnach – FR – Oregon State – Scuffled with the bat in first season in Corvallis, finishing with average under .200
    Josh Watson – FR – TCU – Hitting .282 and leading the Horned Frogs in home runs with 11 in first season
     

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    Falmouth rebuilds after title trip

    Falmouth 15

     
    A veteran Falmouth team led by two-time batting champ Kevin Newman made a run at its first Cape League title since 1980 last summer but fell short against a red-hot Y-D team in the title series. The veterans are gone – with just one player set to return – but the Commodores will be looking for another run in 2015.
     

    FIVE TO WATCH

    1. Andrew Benintendi
    2. Mitch Longo
    3. Heath Quinn
    4. Jon Duplantier
    5. Keaton McKinney
     

    NOTABLE

  • Rice’s Jon Duplantier was highly-touted as a freshman but missed all of this season with an injury. If he’s healthy, the summer could be a springboard for him.

  • The Commodores have three pitchers who saved at least eight games this spring. Zach Jackson had the most impressive numbers to go with the saves total, striking out 80 batters in only 52 innings pitched.

  • Jackson’s Arkansas teammate, Keaton McKinney, was projected to be a top-five round pick out of high school, but signing demands and a strong commitment to Arkansas kept him out of the early rounds. He jumped right into the weekend rotation this year and posted a 3.21 ERA.

  • Both catchers on the Falmouth roster will make the trip bring Big 12 award credentials with them. Michael Tinsley was a second-team all-conference pick and Evan Skoug made the all-freshman team.

  • Maryland has been one of the stories of the NCAA Tournament so far, and Brandon Lowe has led the offense. The redshirt sophomore is batting .333 with nine homers and 53 RBI.

  • Mitch Longo earned MAC Player of the Year honors at Ohio University and will likely anchor Falmouth’s outfield this summer.

  • Boomer White was a key part of Falmouth’s run to the championship series last year and will be back in the fold this year. He’ll also be chomping at the bit, after sitting out this spring due to NCAA transfer rules.

  • Arkansas’ Andrew Benintendi will be perhaps the best hitter coming to the Cape, but don’t count on him making it. A breakout year has pushed the draft-eligible sophomore into the first round of a lot of mock drafts.

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    PITCHERS

    Jon Duplantier – SO – Rice – Big right-hander had promising freshman year but was sidelined in 2015
    Morgan Earman – SO – Arizona – 21st-round pick in 2013 pitched in 10 games as a freshman but was limited to 2 IP this year
    Zach Jackson – SO – Arkansas – Dominant reliever for two years saved 8 games this spring with 80 K in just 52 IP
    Cobi Johnson – FR – Florida State – Late-round pick out of high school has high ERA but has struck out a batter an inning
    Turner Larkins – FR – Texas A&M – Solid starter in debut season had 3.96 ERA, 43 Ks
    Keaton McKinney – FR – Arkansas – Ranked in nation’s top 100 high school players last year, McKinney went 6-1 with 3.21 ERA in debut
    Sean McLaughlin – JR – Georgia – Injured last year, returned to weekend rotation this year and had 4.67 ERA with 57 Ks
    Alex Phillips – SO – San Jacinto – Baylor commit struck out 72 in 68 innings this season
    Wyatt Short – SO – Ole Miss – Lefty closer saved 10 games this year with 1.38 ERA
    Bo Tucker – FR – Georgia – Finished busy freshman year with 2.03 ERA out of the bullpen
    Stephen Villines – SO – Kansas – Ranked second in Big 12 in saves with 13, to go with 3.40 ERA
     

    CATCHERS

    Evan Skoug – FR – TCU – Late-round pick in 2014 was Big 12 all-freshman honoree after hitting .282 with team-best 43 RBI
    Michael Tinsley – SO – Kansas – Second-team all-Big 12 pick hit .337 with three homers, 39 RBI
     

    INFIELDERS

    Tate Blackman – FR – Ole Miss – 20th-round pick out of high school struggled as a freshman, finishing at .197
    Tristan Gray – FR – Rice – Standout Texas high schooler had solid debut with Rice, hitting .247 with 10 extra-base hits
    Brandon Lowe – SO – Maryland – Freshman All-American in 2014 has been terrific in 2015: .333, 9 HR, 53 RBI
    J.J. Matijevic – FR – Arizona – Boston’s 22nd-round pick in 2014 hit .238 in first year as a Wildcat
     

    OUTFIELDERS

    Andrew Benintendi – SO – Arkansas – National player of the year candidate hit .390 with 18 HR, but is draft-eligible
    Mitch Longo – SO – Ohio – MAC Player of the Year hit .357 with 7 homers, 49 RBI
    Heath Quinn – SO – Samford – Freshman All-American stayed hot in sophomore year, with .340 average, 14 home runs
    Boomer White – SO – Texas A&M – Returning Commodore sat out this spring after transferring from TCU
    J.B. Woodman – SO – Ole Miss – Built on good freshman year with .274 average, 7 home runs