Opening Weekend

Eric Lauer led the Cape League in strikeouts last summer and will be part of a marquee pitching match-up on college baseball's opening day. — Eric Lauer led the Cape League in strikeouts last summer and will be part of a marquee pitching match-up on college baseball’s opening day.

Friday is a major milestone on the march to a Cape League summer – and a great day in its own right.

Division I college baseball opens with 137 games on the schedule. Cape League stars past and future will be on diamonds across America. If you’re in the mood to watch, Watch ESPN has 13 games streaming Friday, beginning at 4 p.m.

Without further ado, some Cape League-centric notes on the opening weekend proceedings . . .

Friday’s game between Virginia and Kent State at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach could be one of the highlights of the weekend. The Cavaliers are the defending national champs, while the Golden Flashes are a perennial mid-major contender and aren’t far removed from a 2012 trip to Omaha.Friday, the Golden Flashes will send former Orleans Firebird Eric Lauer to the hill, and he figures to give them a chance. Lauer had a terrific sophomore season last year, putting up a 1.98 ERA with 103 strikeouts. He didn’t slow down much on the Cape, leading the league with 50 strikeouts while posting a 2.04 ERA. MLB Pipeline lists Lauer as the 38th-best prospect for the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.His opponent Friday is Virginia’s Connor Jones, MLB Pipeline’s 11th-best prospect. Interestingly, Lauer and Jones were slated to be teammates in Orleans, but Jones sat out the summer after a heavy workload for the CWS champ Cavaliers. (Also an initial member of the Orleans pitching staff? No. 2 draft prospect A.J. Puk of Florida. Just a crazy collection of arms had it panned out).
Lauer says he’s more confident than ever after his summer on the Cape, and he’ll need to be confident against the Cavaliers.

Lauer’s Orleans teammate Mitchell Jordan gets the start for Stetson Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Delaware. In a Stetson uniform last spring, Jordan was solid, with a 3.28 ERA. For the Firebirds, he was transcendent, posting a 0.21 ERA on his way to Cape League Pitcher of the Year honors. It’ll be interesting to see what Jordan’s big summer means for him this season. The Atlantic Sun named him a preseason all-conference pick.

The Volunteer State gets a cool baseball showcase when Tennessee and Memphis square off in Chattanooga this weekend. Tennessee will be led by a pair of 2015 Cape League standouts in infielder Nick Senzel and pitcher Kyle Serrano. Senzel earned league MVP and top prospect honors for Brewster and is projected to be one of the top players in the country this year, as well as a first-round pick. Serrano, another Orleans pitcher, will be an anchor for the Vols’ pitching staff.

Oklahoma State is ranked as high seventh in national preseason polls, and a guy who won big on the Cape is a major reason why. Donnie Walton, a key part of Y-D’s championship club, is one of seven starters back for the Cowboys. They face UT Arlington and Stephen F. Austin this weekend.

Matt Krook’s comeback started in Wareham, and it will continue Saturday when Oregon faces San Diego State. Krook was a supplemental first-round pick in 2013 who had Tommy John surgery. He missed all of the college season last spring before getting back on the mound for the first time with the Gatemen. And it could prove to be the beginning of a great comeback. Krook is MLB Pipeline’s 23rd-ranked prospect for the 2016 draft, and he was reportedly at the top of his game in Oregon’s final preseason scrimmage.

Andrew Calica’s season for UC Santa Barbara begins Friday at 5 p.m. against San Francisco, as the former Gatemen tries to build on hitting .400 on the Cape. As with the aforementioned Jordan, it’ll be very interesting what a terrific Cape League season will mean.

The series between Arizona and Rice shapes up as a good one. We’ll see if Bobby Dalbec’s ridiculous Cape League home run rate carries over to the spring.

Few players on the Cape last summer helped themselves more than Dakota Hudson in Hyannis. The Mississippi State flame-thrower delivered the production to match his projection and will be a big prospect to watch this spring. He’ll start for the Bulldogs Friday against Florida Atlantic.

Some future Orleans Firebirds will be on opposite sides when San Diego and Vanderbilt get together this weekend. San Diego catcher Riley Adams and Vandy’s Chandler Day, Donny Everett and Ethan Paul are all set to play in Orleans. Day was recently named the top freshman prospect in America by D-1Baseball.com. With a crowded staff that includes Cape playoff hero Ben Bowden, Day is likely to pitch out of the bullpen for the Commodores. Vanderbilt’s roster also features some future Cotuit Kettleers, including standout pitcher Kyle Wright and freshman infielder Alonzo Jones.

Consensus preseason No. 1 Florida is a little light on Cape League flavor after a ton of their rising juniors played for Team USA last summer. As for popular No. 2 pick Louisville, the Cards have plenty of Cape League roots. Brendan McKay and Nick Solak, who played for Bourne last summer, are poised for big years. Kyle Funkhouser, a Chatham Angler in 2013, is back after he was drafted in the first round by the Dodgers but didn’t sign. Louisville faces Southern Illinois-Edwardsville to open its season.

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015

Fast starts after big finish

Trenton Brooks is hitting an even .500 in the early going.

Four sophomores were among the national top 50 in batting average this spring. One of them – Arkansas’ Andrew Benintendi – was draft-eligible and went as Boston’s first-round pick earlier this month. The other three have headed to New England for a different reason. Will Craig, Kyle Lewis and Trenton Brooks are all in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer. And in one of 2015’s early storylines, those three are picking up exactly where they left off.

Through six games, Brooks leads the league with a .500 batting average. The Chatham outfielder has had a hit in every game but one (in which he was hit by a pitch in his first time up and departed). The lefty-swinging rising junior has done nothing but hit in two seasons at Nevada, with a .330 average as a freshman and a .365 mark this season.

Craig is right alongside Brooks in the Chatham lineup. after hitting .382 – tops among sophomore – and earning ACC Player of the Year honors, Craig is off to a fast start with the Anglers. He has seven hits in six games, good for a .350 average, eighth in the league. The 6’3, 220-pound third baseman should be one of the league’s best all summer.

Lewis was not on the initial roster that Orleans released, but the Mercer star was a no-brainer of an addition. The 6’4, 205-pound outfielder hit .281 as a freshman but morphed into the Southern Conference Player of the Year with a huge sophomore season. He batted .367 with a .423 OBP, and blasted 17 home runs, plus 19 doubles. Lewis homered in his second Cape League game and is now tied for the league lead with three in just six games. He’s also hitting .409, good for fourth in the league.

Plenty more big-time hitters will emerge as the summer goes on. But few will have been big-time in the spring and the summer quite like Brooks, Craig and Lewis.

With Lewis and Bobby Dalbec, Orleans has a fearsome middle of the order. They each have three home runs. Unfortunately for the Firebirds, Dalbec, a standout at Arizona, has accepted an invitation to play for Team USA.

Team USA’s roster is taking shape, and Dalbec won’t be the only loss for the Cape League. Two of the top sophomore pitchers in the nation – Maryland’s Mike Shawaryn and Virginia’s Connor Jones – are on there. Shawaryn was slated for Y-D and Jones for Orleans. News came out Sunday that four Florida players will head to Team USA after the Gators finish in Omaha, and all were originally ticketed for the Cape. Pitchers A.J. Puk and Logan Shore were on the Orleans roster, power-hitting freshman J.J Schwarz was on the Y-D roster, and outfielder Buddy Reed was on the Harwich roster.

In better news, Wareham has activated Oregon’s Matt Krook. The lefty was on his way to becoming one of the best pitchers in the 2016 draft class but got hurt during his freshman year and needed Tommy John surgery. He missed this college season but will apparently begin his comeback in Wareham. Krook was mentioned on Jonathan Mayo’s very early look at the 2016 draft.

One of the few pitchers in the league to make two starts already is Orleans’ Mitchell Jordan, and he has been up to the task. The Stetson rising junior, a solid performer in the weekend rotation this year, has turned in two carbon-copy starts: five scoreless innings, one hit, five strikeouts. He’s the early league leader in strikeouts with 10.

Andrew Frankenreider saved nine games for Northern Illinois this spring and already has two for Falmouth this summer. He has allowed just one hit in 6.2 innings. Frankenreider is just the third player in Northern Illinois history to play on the Cape.

The teams with the best records so far have been the total package. Orleans, at 5-2, leads the league in team batting average and ERA. Hyannis, now 6-1, is second in both categories.

Hyannis had the makings of a pretty good offense even before late additions Bobby Melley, Justin Arrington and Jacob Noll arrived on the scene. Melley, a Cape League vet at this point, is hitting .429 with six RBI in just four games. Arrington has a hit in all but one game and is batting .438. Noll, who hit .348 for Florida Gulf Coast this year, is 4-for-8 in three games.

In addition to its Team USA guys, the initial Orleans roster also had a pair of six-round picks in Ohio State’s Travis Lakins and Loyola Marymount’s David Fletcher. Neither is on the active roster right now. We’ll see if they make an appearance at some point this summer.

June 9, 2015June 9, 2015

Firebirds have big talent on the way

Orleans finished with the fourth-best record in the league last summer. With 11 incoming players heading to Omaha this week, rather than the Cape, it may be an uneven start to 2015, but on paper, the Firebirds once again have one of the league’s more talented teams.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Bobby Dalbec
2. David Fletcher
3. A.J. Puk
4. Connor Jones
5. Zack Collins

NOTABLE

Orleans will be hard-hit by the College World Series, with 11 players on teams that are bound for Omaha. So the team on the field in Tuesday’s opener will look different than this one.

That said, there’s a lot of talent with or without the Omaha crew. The Firebirds have two returning standouts in Bobby Dalbec and David Fletcher and three players who were their conference’s freshmen of the year last year.

Dalbec has received a Team USA invite, as well, after he played for Orleans last summer. The two-way standout smacked 15 home runs for Arizona this spring.

Fletcher was great for Orleans last summer, with a .299 average and the same kind of presence at shortstop that made him the Alaska League’s top prospect in the summer of 2013 before he even got to college. He’s as good a building block as any team in the league can claim this year.

Virginia star Nathan Kirby, who was drafted last night, was ticketed for Orleans last year but never made it. His teammate, Connor Jones, who emerged as an ace when Kirby was hurt for part of this season, is now slated to be a Firebird.

Hayden Stone pitched 11 innings for Orleans last summer and allowed just one earned run. He’s slated to be back, although he has missed a lot of time for Vanderbilt this spring. Teammate John Kilichowski has bided his time for the Commodores behind first-round picks Carson Fulmer and Walker Buehler.

Ohio State had some standout freshmen in 2014 and three of them are headed to Orleans. Pitcher Tanner Tully was the Big 10 Freshman of the Year, Travis Lakins has joined him in the weekend rotation and outfielder Ronnie Dawson was one of the Buckeyes’ best hitters.

Kent State seems to churn out pitching prospects more than any other non-power conference program, and Eric Lauer may be next in line. A 17th-round pick out of high school, he struck out 103 this year.

Lauer, Lakins, Tully and Cameron Neff make up a pretty good foundation for a starting rotation, even before you factor in late arrivals. Logan Shore and A.J. Puk are stars for Florida and the aforementioned Jones has been terrific for Virginia.

Two of the best hitters for an Omaha-bound Miami team have Orleans as their next stop. Zack Collins hit 15 homers this year while Willie Abreu is a former 14th-round pick.

PITCHERS

Parker Bean – FR – Liberty – Big right-hander had ERA over seven in debut season
Alec Bettinger – SO – Virginia – Mid-week starter last year slid into full-time bullpen role and has 4.80 ERA
Chandler Blanchard – SO – Pepperdine – Strong reliever as freshman had 4.99 ERA, saved four games as a sophomore
Adam Haseley – FR – Virginia – Two-way player hit .252, put up 2.66 ERA in 10 appearances on the mound
Connor Jones – SO – Virginia – With UVA ace Nathan Kirby ailing, emerged as Cavs’ workhorse, going 7-2, 2.96 ERA, 105 Ks in 103.1 IP
John Kilichowski – SO – Vanderbilt – Lefty has started and relieved for Omaha-bound Commodores and has 2.97 ERA
Travis Lakins – SO – Ohio State – Tossed perfect game in Prospect League last summer, posted 3.75 ERA in weekend rotation this year
Eric Lauer – SO – Kent State – 17th-round pick in 2013 broke out as one of best in MAC this year with 1.98 ERA, 103 Ks
Cameron Neff – SO – St. Mary’s – Workhorse had 5 complete games as a freshman, delivered 2.32 ERA as a sophomore
Stephen Nogosek – SO – Oregon – Led team in appearances this year with 39 and had 2.02 ERA with 60 Ks
A.J. Puk – SO – Florida – Towering righty, Perfect Game’s top Northwoods prospect last summer, has team-best 99 Ks this season
Kit Scheetz – SO – Virginia Tech – Lefty made nine starts this year, had 4.34 ERA in those games
Logan Shore – SO – Florida – SEC Freshman of the Year in 2014 continues to shine with 2.50 ERA this year as Friday starter
Hayden Stone – SO – Vanderbilt – Struck out 80 in 58 relief innings last year but was limited to three appearances this season
Tanner Tully – SO – Ohio State – Reigning Big 10 Freshman of the Year had 4-4 record, 4.32 ERA in sophomore season

CATCHERS

Jeremy Martinez – SO – USC – Steady in first two years with Trojans, hit .296 this season
Sean Murphy – SO – Wright State – Horizon League Freshman of the Year in 2014 hit .329 with 4 HR this year

INFIELDERS

Zack Collins – SO – Miami – ACC’s top freshman in 2014 hitting .303 with 15 HR, 70 RBI as Miami heads to Omaha
Bobby Dalbec – SO – Arizona – Two-way player had huge sophomore season at the dish, hitting .319 with 15 HR
David Fletcher – SO – Loyola Marymount – Started 41 games at SS for Orleans last year, hit .308 and stole 14 bases this spring
T.J. Nichting – SO – UNC Charlotte – All-Star in Great Lakes League last summer scuffled to .198 average in sophomore year
Daniel Pinero – SO – Virginia – 20th-round pick in 2013 has been starting SS for two years, hit .300 with 6 HR this season
Colby Woodmansee – SO – Arizona State – Shortstop had solid sophomore year, hitting .308 with 5 HR, team-best 44 RBI
Nick Zammarelli – FR – Elon – Lincoln, R.I., native hit .288 with 7 HR in first season with Phoenix

OUTFIELDERS

Willie Abreu – SO – Miami – 14th-round pick in 2013, batting an even .300 and ranks fourth on team with six home runs
Ronnie Dawson – SO – Ohio State – Picked up where he left off after big freshman year, hitting .279 with 7 HR, 16 SB
Austin Miller – SO – Loyola Marymount – A Freshman All-American last year like teammate Fletcher, hit .314 with three homers this spring
Bryan Reynolds – SO – Vanderbilt – Consensus Freshman All-American last year hitting .311 with 5 HR, 17 SB this year

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015

Pitching leads Wareham

Since winning the Cape League championship in 2012, the Gatemen have had a rough go of it, missing the playoffs for two straight years. With a talented pitching staff in place, Wareham will be poised for a return to prominence this summer.

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Corey Ray
2. Anthony Kay
3. Matt Krook
4. Ryan Olson
5. Jarrett Rindfleisch

NOTABLE

Oregon’s Matt Krook was an unsigned first round pick of the Marlins in the 2013 draft. He was looking the part as an Oregon freshman with 60 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched last year before going down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. The procedure was done 13 months ago and Krook was reportedly ready to burn his redshirt and pitch in the postseason if Oregon needed him. That didn’t happen, so it appears the Cape League season will mark Krook’s return to the mound. He’ll surely be on a tight leash, but he’ll be interesting to watch.

While Krook obviously has a lot of potential, seven other Gatemen pitchers have potential and big seasons as starting pitchers to build on. Connecticut’s Anthony Kay is the best of them, having established himself as an ace for the Huskies with 96 strikeouts this year.

Another of those pitchers is Cal Poly Pomona’s Ryan Olson, who pitched for the Gatemen last year. Like Pomona teammate Cody Ponce, who pitched for Brewster last summer and rocketed up draft boards, Olson is coming off a huge sophomore season. He went 12-0 with a 1.73 ERA and 92 strikeouts.

Ian Hamilton has saved 28 games in two seasons at Washington State.

Indiana University has been good to the Gatemen over the years and fellow Hoosier State school Ball State is on the act this year, with pitcher Zach Plesac and catcher Jarret Rindfleisch poised for big things.

If Louisville’s Corey Ray doesn’t end up with Team USA, he’s primed to be one of the Cape League’s best. The sophomore has flashed power and speed in breakout campaign.

PITCHERS

Shaun Anderson – SO – Florida – Won a Northwoods League title last summer and has 4.29 ERA as Gator reliever this spring
Bailey Clark – SO – Duke – After just six outings as freshman, jumped into rotation and turned in 2.95 ERA in 13 starts
Grant Dyer – SO – UCLA – Went from mid-week starter to shut-down reliever, putting up 1.82 ERA in whopping 42 appearances
Ian Hamilton – SO – Washington State – Broke school record for saves with 15 last year, tacked on 13 with 1.67 ERA this year
Brett Hanewich – SO – Stanford – Has started 27 games in two years for Cardinal, with 3.59 career ERA
Drew Harrington – SO – Louisville – Set to return to Wareham after posting 0.29 ERA with 42 Ks in Louisville bullpen
Zac Houston – JR – Mississippi State – After quiet freshman year, made 21 relief appearances with 3.66 ERA
Daulton Jefferies – SO – California – Strong starter for two years running, went 6-5 this year with 2.92 ERA, team-high 74 Ks
Connor Jones – SO – Georgia – Struggled in sophomore season, with ERA above 8 in 16 relief appearances
Anthony Kay – SO – Connecticut – After strong summer in Wareham, lefty emerged as UConn ace with 2.07 ERA, 96 K in 100 IP
Matt Krook – SO – Oregon – Former first-round pick missed 2015 season after Tommy John surgery, but is ready to work his way back
Ryan Olson – SO – Cal Poly Pomona – After stint with Wareham last year, dominated for Pomona with 12-0 record, 1.73 ERA, 92 Ks
Benton Parr – SO – Georgia Tech – Solid as starter and reliever in two seasons with Yellow Jackets, has career 3.53 ERA
Zach Plesac – SO – Ball State – National freshman pitcher of the year last year had 3.27 ERA, 77 K in sophomore year
Tyler Thorne – SO – Stanford – Has pitched mostly in relief for Cardinal, finishing with 5.18 ERA this year
Ryan Williamson – SO – NC State – Pitched as starter and in relief and finished with ERA over five this season

CATCHERS

Jarett Rindfleisch – SO – Ball State – MAC Freshman of the Year in 2014 hit .310 with 10 homers this year

INFIELDERS

Nick Cieri – SO – Maryland – Infielder/catcher hit .299 as a sophomore for Terps
Mark Karaviotis – SO – Oregon – Hawaii native grabbed starting SS job last year, hit .270 this season in second year with Ducks
Andrew Knizner – SO – NC State – Emerged as standout in sophomore year, with .317 average, five homers
Kramer Robertson – SO – LSU – Returning to Wareham after hitting .232 for Tigers this season
John Sternagel – SO – Florida – Hitting .178 for Gators in limited action this season

OUTFIELDERS

Connor Beck – r-FR – TCU – After redshirt year, has only seen action in 11 games for Horned Frogs this season
Jamison Jabs – SO – Franklin Pierce – Hit .328 and smashed 13 home runs for D-II power Ravens
Corey Ray – SO – Louisville – Team USA invite has been dynamic player for Cards, with .330 average, 11 HR, 34 SBs
Logan Sowers – FR – Indiana – Indiana Mr. Baseball hit .257 with six homers in debut season
Charlie Warren – SO – Rice – Returning Gatemen hit .311 this spring for Owls