After a solid summer, Chatham is poised for a repeat as it welcomes in a team that’s older than most in the Cape League.
 

FIVE TO WATCH

1. J.B. Bukauskas
2. James Karinchak
3. Tanner Gardner
4. Chase Pinder
5. Nick Meservey

 

NOTABLE

The Anglers’ web roster includes everybody right now – temps and full contracts – so be prepared for a lot of names, some of which might not be around all summer.

I wrote last summer about the North Carolina aces that Chatham has had over the years. They have another one lined up in J.B. Bukauskas, though it remains to be seen if he’ll pitch on the Cape at all after accepting a Team USA invite.

Several teams on the Cape this summer will play with two or three rising seniors on the roster. Chatham has 20 of them listed on the roster right now. Some of them are on temporary contracts, but even in terms of full contract guys, the Anglers are very old by Cape League standards. They’ll risk losing some to the draft, but could be a veteran team if all pans out.

Chatham lost a couple of big names from its initial roster. Seattle’s Tarik Skubal was dominating the WAC before a season-ending injury. UC Irvine’s Keston Hiura, a Perfect Game Summer All-American last year in the West Coast League, hit .358 with seven homers but is no longer on the Anglers roster.

Tanner Gardner hit over .400 for much of the year at Texas Tech. He’s now at .376 as the Red Raiders head to the Super Regionals, having earned all-Big 12 honors.

Bryant and Boston College are part of a banner year for New England college baseball, with the Bulldogs earning Top 25 love and a No. 2 seed in a regional and the Eagles still alive in Super Regionals. The Anglers will give several of those teams standouts a chance to build on the success, with four Eagles and a Bulldog ticketed for Chatham. The best of the bunch are Bryant ace James Karinchak and BC standout freshman Jacob Stevens.

The Anglers have two returning catchers in BC’s Nick Sciortino and Richmond’s Kyle Adams. Neither had a lot of success with the bat last year but can provide a pretty good foundation behind the plate.

Chatham was set to have to players from Seattle. With Skubal’s injury, they’re down to one – but he’s a good one. Nick Meservey earned WAC Pitcher of the Year honors and could be a potential ace for the Anglers.

The ACC batting champ wasn’t freshman star Seth Beer or former Angler Will Craig or likely top-five pick Corey Ray. It was Pittsburgh’s Charles LeBlanc, who hit .405 and is bound for Chatham.

Chatham has made a concerted effort to find some small-school guys hungry to success on the Cape in recent years. Several fit the mold this year, including Joe Tietjen of UNC Asheville, Matt Vernon of Appalachian State and D.J. Artis of Liberty. All had big springs and will be eager to prove themselves this summer.

 

PITCHERS

Reagan Bazar – SO – Louisiana Lafayette – Towering righty (6-7, 250) had 1.93 ERA in nine relief appearances for Ragin’ Cajuns
Kale Breaux – JR – Mississippi State – Highly-touted freshman has 5.40 ERA in 16 appearances out of bullpen, with 19 Ks
J.B. Bukauskas – SO – North Carolina – Turned in breakout sophomore season with 3.10 ERA, team-best 111 Ks in 78.1 innings
Moises Ceja – JR – UCLA – Led Bruins in ERA with 2.60 mark in 25 relief appearances and fanned 23 in 27.2 innings
Tanner Chock – JR – Presbyterian – Struck out 72 in 86 IP, 4.60 ERA for Blue Hose, who had program’s best-ever showing in Big South
Tom Cosgrove – SO – Manhattan – Turned in breakout sophomore season for Jaspers with 3.70 ERA, 80 Ks in 90 IP
Tony Dibrell – SO – Kennesaw State – After solid NECBL showing last year, tallied 4.64 ERA while striking out 66 in 54.1 IP this spring
Christopher Farish – RS SO – Wake Forest – After redshirt and injury-limited year, made 35 appearances and struck out 35 in 28 innings
Michael Fitzgerald – RS JR – Northeastern – Saved 11 games and struck out 32 in 38.2 innings, while leading team in appearances
Jason Foley – JR – Sacred Heart – Went 4-4 with 5.68 ERA and fanned 47 in 58.2 innings
Trevor Gay – SO – North Carolina – Led Charlotte in appearances last season before transferring to North Carolina, where he sat out this year
Caleb Gilbert – FR – LSU – Has 5.04 ERA in 25 appearances, mostly out of the pen, to go with 43 strikeouts in 44.2 innings
Lincoln Henzman – JR – Louisville – Standout reliever for Super Regional-bound Cards has 4.50 ERA, 27 Ks in 24 innings
Reed Howell – SO – Appalachian State – Led team in appearances by wide margin and posted 3.83 ERA with 37 Ks in 49.1 innings
James Karinchak – JR – Bryant – NEC Pitcher of the Year for breakout Bryant team went 12-3 with 2.00 ERA, 112 Ks in 94.2 innings pitched
Andrew Karp – SO – Florida State – Has 7.43 ERA in eight relief appearances for Seminoles
Erikson Lanning – FR – Texas Tech – In midst of Up-and-down freshman season with 2-3 record, 5.91 ERA, 27 Ks
Simon Matthews – JR – Georgetown – Moved into weekend rotation and went 5-4 with 2.45 ERA and 59 Ks in 95.1 IP
Isaac Mattson – SO – Pittsburgh – Followed strong debut in Panthers bullpen with more of the same this year – 3.71 ERA, 31 Ks
Nick Meservey – JR – Seattle – WAC Pitcher of the Year posted 2.32 ERA, 79 Ks in 81.1 innings
Matt Pidich – RS SO – Pittsburgh – New Jersey native had good numbers in limited action last year, did not pitch this season
Parker Rigler – JR – Kansas State – JUCO transfer served as weekend starter, went 4-9, with 4.89 ERA and 73 Ks in 77.1 IP
Jacob Stevens – FR – Boston College – Has burst onto the scene for upstart Eagles, going 4-3, 2.14 ERA, team-best 68 Ks

 

CATCHERS

Kyle Adams – SO – Richmond – Back for second year in Chatham off breakout sophomore season – .321, three homers, 33 RBI
Joseph Freiday – SO – Virginia Tech – Former Massachusetts Gatorade POY hit .226 with three homers while splitting time behind plate this year
Alex LeFevre – RS JR – Connecticut – Transfer from junior college ranks hit .283 in part-time role for Huskies
Jordan Romero – JR – LSU – JUCO transfer is tied for the team lead in home runs with nine and hitting an even .300
Nick Sciortino – JR – Boston College – Returning Angler hit .169 last summer but has been solid this spring with .277 AVG
Gunnar Troutwine – SO – Wichita State – Hit .278 and led Shockers with seven home runs in sophomore campaign
 

INFIELDERS

John Aiello – SO – Wake Forest – Hit only .226, but nearly half of 44 hits went for extra bases
Sean Bouchard – JR – UCLA – Finished second on team with .295 AVG and chipped in two homers and 36 RBI
Orlando Garcia – SO – Texas Tech – Batting .261 with seven home runs for Super Regional-bound Red Raiders
Cam Hanley – JR – Northeastern – Hit .247 while starting 24 games for Huskies
Charles LeBlanc – SO – Pittsburgh – Native of Canada won ACC batting title at .405, drove in 46 and stole seven bases
Hunter Lee – SO – High Point – Started every game and hit .295 with 30 RBI
David MacKinnon – JR – Hartford – Earned spot with Wareham last summer and hit .292 then batted .392 with 4 HR for Hawks
Jake Palomaki – JR – Boston College – Infield and leadoff stalwart hitting .265 with team-high 19 stolen bases
Jeremy Vasquez – SO – Florida – Following good summer in Northwoods by hitting .289 for Gators
Matt Vernon – JR – Appalachian State – Hit .317 with 8 HR, 42 RBI, all team-bests for Mountaineers en route to all-conference nod
 

OUTFIELDERS

D.J. Artis – FR – Liberty – Red Sox 40th-round pick last year had big debut, finishing at .369 with two home runs and 23 stolen bases
Donovan Casey – SO – Boston College – Hitting .266 with big contributions in postseason and has also pitched some for Eagles
Matt Cook – SO – Wheaton – Harwich native hit .268 for D-III powerhouse Wheaton
Stuart Fairchild – SO – Wake Forest – Started every game and hit .293 while ranking second on team in RBI with 47
Tanner Gardner – SO – Texas Tech – One of nation’s top batting average guys all year, now at .376 with 3 HR, 18 2B, 43 RBI
Brock Lundquist – SO – Long Beach State – Followed up all-conference freshman year by hitting .315 with three home runs
Patrick Mathis – SO – Texas – Hit .297 with six home runs for Longhorns
Chase Pinder – JR – Clemson – Brother of former Angler Chad, hitting .294 with 11 home runs for Super Regional club
Joe Tietjen – JR – UNC Asheville – Earned second-team all-Big South honors by hitting .344 with 10 homers, 55 RBI