All League Team Unveiled

Steven Duggar was one of six Falmouth Commodores on the All-League squad.
Steven Duggar was one of six Falmouth Commodores on the All-League squad.

 

This is a few days old, but in case you missed it, the Cape League released its All-League selections for the 2014 season. The team is below. Below that, a few notes.

First Base – A.J. Murray – Chatham – Georgia Tech
Second Base – Billy Fleming – Bourne – West Virginia
Shortstop – Kevin Newman – Falmouth – Arizona
Third Base – David Thompson – Orleans – Miami
Infield Utility – Richard Martin Jr. – Bourne – Florida
Outfield – Gio Brusa – Brewster – Pacific
Outfield – Donnie Dewees Jr. – Hyannis – North Florida
Outfield – Steven Duggar – Falmouth – Clemson
Outfield – Ian Happ – Harwich – Cincinnati
Outfield – Mark Laird – Bourne – LSU
Outfield – Andrew Stevenson – Y-D – LSU
DH – Conner Hale – Falmouth – LSU
DH – Chris Shaw – Chatham – Boston College
Catcher – Jameson Fisher – Cotuit – SE Louisiana
Catcher – Anthony Hermelyn – Harwich – Oklahoma

Pitcher – Michael Boyle – Harwich – Radford
Pitcher – Zack Erwin – Harwich – Clemson
Pitcher – Matt Hall – Falmouth – Missouri State
Pitcher – Jordan Hillyer – Chatham – Kennesaw State
Pitcher – Justin Jacome – Y-D – UC Santa Barbara
Pitcher – Ryan Kellogg – Bourne – Arizona State
Pitcher – Kolton Mahoney – Orleans – BYU
Pitcher – Kevin McCanna – Falmouth – Rice
Pitcher – Andrew Naderer – Brewster – Grand Canyon
Pitcher – Kyle Twomey – Orleans – USC
Closer – Phil Bickford – Y-D – Cal State Fullerton
Closer – Adam Whitt – Cotuit – Nevada
Utility – Jake Madsen – Falmouth – Ohio

 

NOTES

  • Kevin Newman and Ryan Kellog are your lone repeat honorees. The Arizona-Arizona State rivals had terrific Cape League careers.
  • For the second year in a row, Falmouth had the most All-League selections with six. Lot of talent at Guv Fuller Field the last two years.
  • Champion Y-D with only one position player on the team. I thought that might be unusual, but it’s actually the second year in a row. Cotuit had just one All-League hitter last year, Rhett Wiseman. In the case of both Y-D and Cotuit, it speaks to the ability to play one day at a time and find a way to win, without having the stars of stars.
  • Snubs? Jordan Tarsovich jumps out to me. Probably the league champ’s most consistent hitter, Tarsovich hit .322 with three homers. I think Y-D’s Rob Fonseca (.315, 4 HR’s) could have been there too. And Bourne’s Blake Davey tied for second in the league in extra-base hits. A couple more possibilities, but overall, solid work, I think.
  • LSU leads all schools with three selections: Andrew Stevenson, Conner Hale and Mark Laird.
  • Seven schools have an All-League pick for the second year in a row: Arizona, USC, Arizona State, West Virginia, Florida and . . . mighty Kennesaw State. With MVP Max Pentecost last year and standout pitcher Jordan Hillyer this year, the Owls are making some Cape League noise.
  • How about schools that have an All-League pick for three years running? Nada. I was shocked by that.
  •  

    Stepping In

    Sal Annunziata homered twice for Harwich in a 10-0 win over Chatham.
    Sal Annunziata homered twice for Harwich in a 10-0 win over Chatham.

     

    It seems like every successful Cape League team has a player of a certain mold. He’s usually a late addition to the roster. He’s a little older, eligible for the draft, but he later than he hopes or didn’t hear his name called at all. He’s from a school that isn’t a baseball powerhouse.

    All those characteristics become motivation, and he delivers a big summer.

    Harwich has a guy like that.

    Sal Annunziata (Seton Hall) blasted two home runs last night, his fourth and fifth of the season, as the Mariners hammered Chatham 10-0 to move to the brink of an Eastern Division title.

    Harwich has an MVP candidate in Ian Happ, all-stars in Kyle Barrett and Anthony Hermelyn, hyped-up guys like Skye Bolt and C.J. Hinojosa, and the son of a former Major Leaguer in Cavan Biggio.

    Annunziata has been as important as all of them. He hit .330 this spring with five homers and led Seton Hall in RBI with 49. In June, he went undrafted but hooked on with Harwich and has been solid.

    He’s hitting .265 and leads the Mariners with five home runs. He’s third on the team in RBI with 20. In a stretch in early-July, when Orleans and Y-D were charging hard at Harwich, Annunziata had a nine-game hitting streak as the Mariners kept a grip on first place at all times. Annunziata then went on and won the home run derby at the Cape League All-Star Game.

    Last night, with Orleans and Y-D losing, Harwich took a four-point lead at the top of the division and Annunziata set the course. With the game against Chatham scoreless in the fifth, he smacked a solo home run. In the next inning, he hit a two-run shot and his Mariners never looked back, adding six runs in the seventh inning to pull away.

    Robby Kalaf (Florida International) went five scoreless innings for the Mariners and three relievers combined to finish off the shutout. Harwich won all six games it played against Chatham this summer.

    Annunziata finished with three RBI and four runs scored – and another big game in his big summer.

     

    Bourne 6, Orleans 2

    While Falmouth won again, Bourne did too and kept its tenuous two-point hold on first place in the West intact. Jimmy Herget (South Florida), who has had some rough outings recently, delivered in a big spot, striking out seven and giving up just one hit in six scoreless innings. Dylan Nelson (Radford) and Joey Strain (Winthrop) finished the job. The Bourne offense got a home run from Blake Davey (Connecticut), his fifth. Zander Wiel (Vanderbilt) added two RBI and Brian Serven (Arizona State) had two hits.

     

    Falmouth 11, Wareham 2

    Falmouth kept pace with Bourne and officially eliminated Wareham from playoff contention with a lopsided victory. The Gatemen are eight points out of fourth, with only three games to play, meaning Hyannis and Cotuit will be safely into the playoffs. For Falmouth, Alex Young (TCU), was dominant, striking out 10 and giving up one run in seven innings. A late arrival after the College World Series, Young has been a huge addition. He owns a 1.50 ERA, has struck out 28 and walked just three, and Falmouth has won every game he’s pitched in. Conner Hale (LSU) led the Falmouth offense with three hits and three RBI, keeping him atop the league RBI leaderboard with 35. Jake Madsen (Ohio) and Nicholas Ramos (Indiana) also had three hits each, while Boomer White (TCU) and Sam Gillikin (Auburn) had two RBI each.

     

    Cotuit 8, Hyannis 0

    Cotuit dropped the first three games in the Barnstable Patriot Cup season series with Hyannis, but won the last three, finishing it off with an 8-0 shutout last night. The win also moved Cotuit one point ahead of Hyannis in the West standings. Jeff Kinley (Michigan State) gave Cotuit one of its best starting pitching performances of the summer, going six scoreless with three strikeouts. Jackson McClelland (Pepperdine) and Adam Whitt (Nevada) finished off the shutout. The offense was led by Jackson Glines (Michigan), who had three hits and four RBI, giving him seven hits in the last three games. Jameson Fisher (SE Louisiana), Kyle Holder (San Diego) and Jeremy Taylor (East Tennessee State) had two hits each.

     

    Brewster 14, Y-D 3

    Brewster stayed alive in the East race with a lopsided victory over Y-D. The Red Sox started Justin Jacome (UC Santa Barbara), who had won his last four starts in impressive fashion, but his defense let him down this time as the Whitecaps scored seven runs off him, five of which were unearned. Credit to Brewster, too, though, as they took full advantage of the miscues in reaching their season-high in runs. Zach Gibbons (Arizona), who was hitting .233 entering the game, went 4-for-5 with a home run and seven RBI. Gio Brusa (Pacific) homered and drove in three, Kyle Overstreet (Alabama) went 5-for-6 and Braden Bishop (Washington) went 3-for-3. In its last three wins, Brewster has scored 39 runs. Yesterday, the Whitecaps also got strong pitching as Andrew Lee (Tennessee) went six scoreless innings. The Whitecaps are now three points out of the last playoff spot in the East. Hurting the cause is the fact that they have to play one game against second-place Orleans and two against first-place Harwich to finish the year.

     

    What to Watch

    Just a few days after a three-way tie in the East, Harwich could clinch the title outright with a win tonight and an Orleans loss. The Mariners host Y-D at 7 p.m., with James Mulry (Northeastern) on the mound. Mulry started against Y-D on opening night and got Harwich’s season off on the right foot with seven shutout innings.

    The Other Arms

    Adam Whitt leads the league in appearances and wins.
    Adam Whitt leads the league in appearances and wins.

     

    In an era of pitch counts and closely-watched elbows, sometimes the most valuable player on a Cape League pitching staff isn’t a dominant ace or a flame-throwing closer. It’s the guy who can take the ball every other day, pitch one inning or four and be counted on to come through, whatever the situation.

    Two of those guys helped their teams pick up wins last night.

    Adam Whitt (Nevada), the captain of this crew, pitched three scoreless innings of relief as Cotuit beat first-place Bourne 9-5. Marcus Brakeman (Stanford), typically a reliever, stepped in for a start and went five solid innings to help Hyannis snap a seven-game losing streak in an 11-8 victory over Falmouth.

    Whitt has been tremendous this summer, an MVP if the award ever went to a middle reliever. After a spring in which he saved seven games for Nevada, Whitt has been a whatever-you-need arm for the Kettleers. He is tied for the league lead in appearances with 10 and – despite all of them coming in relief – he’s in the top 10 in innings pitched. It’s not just quantity either. Whitt leads the league in wins with four and ERA with a 0.77 mark. He has given up two earned runs all summer, in 23.1 innings pitched.

    On Tuesday, Whitt came on in the seventh, with his team trailing 5-2. He tossed a scoreless inning, and his team scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh on RBI singles by Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt), Jameson Fisher (SE Louisiana) and Brendan Hendriks (San Francisco). Cotuit added two more in the eighth on a home run by John Norwood (Vanderbilt). Whitt ran with the lead, striking out two in a scoreless eighth and finishing the job with a quiet ninth. The win was Cotuit’s second straight.

    In Hyannis, the Harbor Hawks needed even more from their jack-of-all trades. Make your first Cape League start and give us a chance to stop a seven-game losing streak while you’re at it? Brakeman was up to the task. The righty from Stanford had pitched as little as a third of an inning in one appearance and four innings in another. He came in with a 1.50 ERA.

    Brakeman got into immediate trouble when Falmouth loaded the bases in the first, but he escaped with minimal damage then settled in. He pitched two scoreless frames before Falmouth added two in the fourth. But Brakeman finished with a one-two-three fifth that included a pair of strikeouts.

    The offense stayed close while Brakeman was in there then broke out late to take control. Brakeman’s Stanford teammate Austin Slater had three hits and four RBI, while Dylan Bosheers (Tennessee Tech) had three hits and three RBI.

    Brakeman didn’t factor in the decision, as Joseph Shaw (Dallas Baptist) got the win and Matt Denny (Misssissippi) got the save.

    But for the unsung jack-of-all-trades, that’s all in day’s work.

     

    Harwich 13, Chatham 8

    Harwich pounded 20 hits and was on its way to a 13-0 win before Chatham scored eight runs in the top of the ninth. But that was as close as the Anglers got, as Harwich held onto first place with the victory. Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) and Ian Happ (Cincinnati) both homered for the Mariners, while Joe McCarthy (Virginia) had four hits in his second Cape League game. Danny Zardon (LSU) added three hits and two RBI. McCarthy and Zardon each had two doubles. Making his first start after opening the year in the bullpen, Robby Kalaf (Florida International) struck out five and allowed just one hit in five scoreless innings. Ronnie Glenn (Penn) pitched three scoreless innings of relief. Ty Moore (UCLA) and Nick Collins (Georgetown) led Chatham’s late charge.

     

    Orleans 3, Y-D 2

    The Firebirds won their fourth in a row, scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth and finishing off Y-D in the ninth. Orleans scratched the key run across with two outs in the eighth, on two singles and an error. That made a winner out of reliever Bobby Dalbec (Arizona), and Jacob Cronenworth (Michigan) pitched a scoreless ninth for his league-best fifth save. David Fletcher (Loyoloa Marymount) and Mitchell Tolman (Oregon) each had two hits for the Firebirds. Hunter Cole (Georgia) had two hits for Y-D.

     

    Brewster 2, Wareham 0

    Three pitchers combined on a shutout and the Brewster offense scored a run in the fifth and another in the seventh to win a pitcher’s duel with Wareham. Cody Ponce (Cal Poly Pomona) allowed four hits in six scoreless innings, the second time this summer that he’s gone six scoreless in a start. Joe McCarthy (Southern New Hampshire) pitched 1.2 innings before Pat Ruotolo (Connecticut) grabbed the save, striking out three of the five batters he faced. Drew Harrington (Louisville) allowed one run in five innings. Braden Bishop (Washington) and Luke Lowery (East Carolina) knocked in the decisive runs.

     

    What to Watch

    Players from national champion Vanderbilt have been trickling in and a good one will make his debut tonight as Walker Buehler starts for Y-D against Brewster.

    Kettleers Defending Another Title

    cotuit 14
     
    cotuit-white.jpg
    I’ve been doing these early look team preview stories since the early years of Right Field Fog. I enjoy doing them because it gives me a foundation of information about incoming players, but there’s always an understanding that things will change.

    I don’t if there’s ever been a team that had more things change, with better results, than the 2013 Cotuit Kettleers.

    More than half of the players in their early look were not in Cotuit uniforms as the Kettleers celebrated the Cape Cod League Championship. And still, they won it. It was a testament to their ability to put a team together, almost day-by-day.

    As the 2014 season approaches, the Kettleers start with a group that has some returning players like Drew Jackson and Rhett Wiseman, plus the usual talented newcomers like Sam Tewes, Tres Barrera and Jameson Fisher.

    How will it work out? You never know for any team in any year, but that seems especially true after what Cotuit did last year. But whether this core ends up carrying the team all summer or 15 other guys swoop in, it’s safe bet that the Kettleers will be contending come August.

     

    THE SKINNY

    Manager: Mike Roberts
    Last Year: 25-18-1; Won CCBL Championship
    Returning Players: 4
    Juniors: 1
    Sophomores: 17
    Freshmen: 5

     

    NOTABLE

  • The returning players are a good start in maintaining the identity of that gritty, tough-minded Kettleers team from last year. Drew Jackson was a big part of it and so was Rhett Wiseman. Garrett Stubbs and Max Schrock spent less time in Cotuit but still had a taste of it, with Stubbs as one of the poster boys for the late-season adjustments. He was in town for two regular season games then hit over .400 in the playoffs.
  • Both Jackson and Wiseman have run into sophomore slumps this year. Both had very good summers a year ago, and will be trying to recapture that form. Wiseman, in particular, remains a must-see for scouts.
  • Cotuit’s closer last year was Vanderbilt’s Brian Miller, and another Commodore will likely slide right in. Sophomore Carson Fulmer, who actually has more saves for Vandy than Miller this season, is ticketed for Cotuit. He’s saved nine games so far, averaging better than a strikeout an inning.
  • Wofford sophomore Luke Leftwich hasn’t put up the best college numbers but he had a good summer in the Valley League last year, and he has bloodlines working in his favor. HIs father Phil was a Major League pitcher, as was his grandfather Tom Timmerman.
  • Pepperdine consistently sends solid pitchers to Cape Cod, year after year. Jordan McClelland looks to be next in line. He has an ERA under four in the Waves’ starting rotation.
  • Cotuit had a great bullpen last year, and the early roster indicates more of the same in 2014. It also appears the Kettleers are trying to make sure the likely relievers on the roster fit together well – both Travis Duke and A.J. Minter have been used at times as lefty specialists this spring.
  • Southeast Louisiana sophomore Jameson Fisher could very well end up as the incoming CCBL player with the highest spring batting average. The catcher/infielder leads the Southland with a .382 mark.
  • In Fisher, Stubbs, Tres Barrera and Will Haynie, the Kettleers have four players who can catch. Barrera has some of the top behind-the-plate credentials. It’s not every day that a freshman gets a chance to start at catcher for the University of Texas. He’s not there everyday, often DH’ing, but getting there at all is pretty good.
  • If you look at Adam Parks’s collegiate numbers at Liberty, you might wonder why he’s getting a chance to play in the Cape League. But, two years removed from Tommy John surgery, he flashed big velocity in the Valley League last summer. And with one game, he made a name for himself. Parks threw a perfect game in June.
  • As a 22nd-round pick who stands 6-foot-5 with a thin frame, Wichita State freshman Sam Tewes has the projection scouts like. Production doesn’t always follow immediately, but it has for Tewes. He didn’t allow a hit in 4-plus innings in his first collegiate start and sports a 3.15 ERA in the Shockers’ weekend rotation.
  •  

    FIVE TO WATCH

    1. Rhett Wiseman
    2. Jameson Fisher
    3. Sam Tewes
    4. Max Schrock
    5. Tres Barrera

     

    PITCHERS

    Travis Duke – LHP – 6’3 210 – Texas – Sophomore
    Nick Eicholtz – RHP – 6’4 180 – Alabama – Freshman
    Carson Fulmer – RHP – 5’11 190 – Vanderbilt – Sophomore
    Spencer Henderson – LHP/1B – 6’3 215 – UC Davis – Sophomore
    Logan James – LHP – 5’11 185 – Stanford – Sophomore
    Luke Leftwich – RHP – 6’3 200 – Wofford – Sophomore
    Jackson McClelland – RHP – 6’5 220 – Pepperdine – Sophomore
    A.J. Minter – LHP – 6’0 200 – Texas A&M – Sophomore
    Adam Parks – RHP – 6’2 220 – Liberty – RS Sophomore
    Sam Tewes – RHP – 6’5 205 – Wichita State – Freshman
    Matthew Vogel – RHP – 6’2 185 – South Carolina – Freshman
    Trey Wingenter – RHP – 6’7 195 – Auburn – Sophomore

     

    Travis Duke – LHP – 6’3 210
    Texas
    Sophomore

    Duke emerged as a valuable bullpen arm in his first season in Austin last year, posting a 1.53 ERA. He’s out-done himself this year. In 21 appearances, Duke hasn’t allowed an earned run. He has struck out 16, walked four and given up only 12 hits in 18.1 innings.

    Nick Eicholtz – RHP – 6’4 180
    Alabama
    Freshman

    A 29th round pick out of high school last year, Eicholtz has had a solid debut season with the Crimson Tide. Pitching out of the bullpen and as a starter, Eicholtz has a 2.49 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 47 innings.

    Carson Fulmer – RHP – 5’11 190
    Vanderbilt
    Sophomore

    Fulmer had a great freshman season as a reliever and has been even better this year. With a 1.17 ERA, nine saves and 54 strikeouts in 46 innings, Fulmer has even out-done his teammate Brian Miller, a former Cotuit closer.

    Spencer Henderson – LHP/1B – 6’3 215
    UC Davis
    Sophomore

    A two-way player, Henderson had good luck with the bat and struggled some on the mound in limited action during his freshman campaign. He’s flipped things around this year, hitting just .171 but posting a 3.77 ERA out of the bullpen. Henderson was a Perfect Game Collegiate League all-star and the 35th-ranked prospect in the league last summer.

    Logan James – LHP – 5’11 185
    Stanford
    Sophomore

    A left-handed reliever, James has posted higher ERA’s than he and the Cardinal would like in his first two seasons in Palo Alto. He had a 4.56 mark last year. This season, walks have been a problem and have sent his ERA climbing further to 5.14.

    Luke Leftwich – RHP – 6’3 200
    Wofford
    Sophomore

    Leftwich has given up a lot of hits and has a career ERA north of five, but he’s done one thing very well in two years at Wofford – he has struck people out. Leftwich was second on the team with 69 K’s last year. He already has 69 in 70 innings this season, with some games left to play. Perfect Game tabbed Leftwich as the ninth-best prospect in the Valley League last summer.

    Jackson McClelland – RHP – 6’5 220
    Pepperdine
    Sophomore

    McClelland pitched mostly out of the bullpen last year and shined for the Waves. After a strong summer in the Southern California Collegiate League, he’s been a steady performer in Pepperdine’s rotation this spring. In 11 starts, he has a 3.79 ERA with 36 strikeouts. McClelland was a 35th-round pick out of high school in 2012.

    A.J. Minter – LHP – 6’0 200
    Texas A&M
    Sophomore

    A 39th-round pick out of high school, Minter had an ERA over four last year but has emerged this season as a reliable bullpen arm in College Station. In 18 appearances, often pitching as a lefty specialist, Minter has a 1.84 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.

    Adam Parks – RHP – 6’2 220
    Liberty
    RS Sophomore

    After a medical redshirt year in 2012 for Tommy John surgery, Parks hasn’t yet hit his stride for the Flames. He had an ERA over six last season and has seen it balloon to 9.39 in brief action this year. But in between those two seasons, Parks was tremendous in the Valley League last summer. He ranked as the second-best prospect and threw a seven-inning perfect game early in the season that put him on the scouting map.

    Sam Tewes – RHP – 6’5 205
    Wichita State
    Freshman

    Tewes was a 22nd-round pick out of high school but stuck with his commitment to the Shockers. Despite his thin frame, he’s had no trouble adjusting to the next level. As a weekend starter, Tewes has a 3.15 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 65.2 innings.

    Matthew Vogel – RHP – 6’2 185
    South Carolina
    Freshman

    Vogel was one of the top high school prospects in New York last spring and was drafted in the 36th round by the Diamondbacks. He headed to South Carolina and has yet to see a ton of action for the Gamecocks. In eight appearances, he has a 6.91 ERA, though he has struck out 15 in 14.1 innings.

    Trey Wingenter – RHP – 6’7 195
    Auburn
    Sophomore

    A late-round pick of the Mariners out of high school, Wingenter hasn’t made a huge impact with the Tigers but continues to flash potential. The towering righty had a 3.68 ERA in six appearances last year. This season, he’s at 2.84 in 10 games, with 22 strikeouts in 19 innings. Last summer, he was the second-rated prospect in the Perfect Game Collegiate League.

     

    POSITION PLAYERS

    Tres Barrera – C – 6’2 195 – Texas – Freshman
    Jameson Fisher – C/INF – 6’2 180 – SE Louisiana – Sophomore
    Will Haynie – C/INF – 6’5 225 – Alabama – Freshman
    Kyle Holder – INF – 6’1 185 – San Diego – Sophomore
    *Drew Jackson – INF – 6’2 195 – Stanford – Sophomore
    Hunter Melton – INF – 6’2 225 – Texas A&M – Sophomore
    *Max Schrock – INF – 5’9 180 – South Carolina – Sophomore
    *Garrett Stubbs – C – 5’10 160 – USC – Junior
    Jeremy Taylor – OF – 6’2 178 – East Tennessee State – Sophomore
    Logan Taylor – INF – 6’1 200 – Texas A&M – Sophomore
    *Rhett Wiseman – OF – 5’11 190 – Vanderbilt – Sophomore
    * – returning player

     

    Tres Barrera – C – 6’2 195
    Texas
    Freshman

    Barrera was an All-State shortstop and an All-State catcher at his Texas High School and has been a key cog for the Longhorns since day one. He’s batting .266 with a .335 OBP. He has two homers and is second on the team in extra-base hits.

    Jameson Fisher – C/INF – 6’2 180
    SE Louisiana
    Sophomore

    A 24th-round pick out of high school, Fisher had a tremendous debut season on his way to Freshman All-America honors last year, and the good times have rolled on this year. Fisher leads the Southland Conference in hitting with a .382 batting average. Though he doesn’t have a homer, he has 13 doubles and 30 RBI.

    Will Haynie – C/INF – 6’5 225
    Alabama
    Freshman

    One of Tennessee’s top high school prospects a year ago, Haynie has struggled in his first year in Tuscaloosa. Though he has three home runs, he’s hitting only .179.

    Kyle Holder – INF – 6’1 185
    San Diego
    Sophomore

    After a big season in the junior college ranks at Grossmont College, Holder transferred to San Diego and has made an immediate impact. As a full-time starter with the Toreros, he’s hitting .309 with three homers and 28 RBI.

    Drew Jackson – INF – 6’2 195
    Stanford
    Sophomore

    The brother of former Kettleer Brett Jackson, Drew was a valuable contributor in Cotuit’s championship run last year. Jackson hit .263 and was named the league’s 43rd-best prospect by Perfect Game. Back at Stanford, his sophomore season has not gone well. Jackson is hitting .151.

    Hunter Melton – INF – 6’2 225
    Texas A&M
    Sophomore

    Melton hit .280 and led the Aggies in home runs as a freshman. In his sophomore season, he hasn’t flashed the same pop. Melton is hitting .245 without a home run.

    Max Schrock – INF – 5’9 180
    South Carolina
    Sophomore

    A 28th-round pick out of high school, Schrock was one of the top freshmen in the SEC last season. In a brief stint in Cotuit, he continued to shine, hitting .381. This spring, Schrock is hitting .247 but his five home runs rank second on the team.

    Garrett Stubbs – C – 5’10 160
    USC
    Junior

    Stubbs was coming off a middling sophomore season when he hooked on with the Kettleers as part of one of their waves of reinforcements. After playing in just two regular season CCBL games, he was a huge part of the championship run, hitting .455 with three RBI in six playoff games. This spring, Stubbs is hitting .287 for the Trojans.

    Jeremy Taylor – OF – 6’2 178
    East Tennessee State
    Sophomore

    Taylor was an Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team pick in 2012, Taylor has continued to be a solid contributor for the Bucs this spring. He’s hitting .264 with two homers and 10 doubles, and he’s stolen 12 bases.

    Logan Taylor – INF – 6’1 200
    Texas A&M
    Sophomore

    Taylor struggled in limited action as a freshman but has been a solid everyday contributor this season. Taylor is hitting .272 with a team-best 14 doubles, to go with a homer and 21 RBI. Last summer, Taylor excelled in the Texas Collegiate League, ranking second with a .335 batting average. He was named the league’s second-best prospect by Perfect Game.

    Rhett Wiseman – OF – 5’11 190
    Vanderbilt
    Sophomore

    A 25th-round pick in the 2012 draft who was projected to go even higher, Wiseman came to Vanderbilt and to Cotuit last summer with considerable hype. He was solid with flashes of brilliance in both spots, hitting .297 with four homers on the Cape. This spring, he has hit a rough patch, with a .236 average and no homers.