A tall left-hander from a mid-major baseball program in Indiana signs on with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. Sounds familiar, right?
That was the profile of Sean Manaea, the Indiana State lefty who became one of the biggest breakout stars the Cape Cod Baseball League has ever seen when he dominated for Hyannis last season. Manaea’s performance vaulted him into the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft.
It would be unfair to compare Kyle Freeland with Manaea or to predict the same success, but the similar circumstances are worth mentioning. Freeland is a 6’3 southpaw who attends Evansville, and he’ll play for Hyannis this summer.
Those are not the only similarities. Freeland has some serious credentials.
Freeland was a late-round draft pick out of high school, and he brought a little more hype to college than Manaea. He’s the record holder for strikeouts in the state of Colorado.
He had some ups and downs in his freshman season with the Purple Aces but flashed plenty of potential and led the team with 70 strikeouts. Last summer, he headed north to Alaska and was named the league’s second-best prospect by Baseball America. His season included 35 consecutive scoreless innings.
So far this season, Freeland has picked up where he left off. He owns a 3.00 ERA and has struck out 31 while walking just three in 27 innings of work. If he keeps it up, he’ll become one of the top pitchers in the nation.
What happens after that is anybody’s guess, but I’m thinking Hyannis is very happy to have another lefty from Indiana on the way.