Sean Newcomb pitched briefly for Wareham in 2012 and 2013. He’s been a star this spring.Sean Newcomb started Wareham’s first game in the 2013 Cape Cod Baseball League season and tossed six scoreless innings, priming himself to become one of the stars of the Cape League summer. A case of mono kept him off the mount until July 7, though, and he only wound up pitching 22.1 innings.
This spring, Newcomb started Hartford’s first game of the 2014 college baseball season, but this time, he’s been on the mound every week since – and with a lot to show for it. Stardom has arrived.
Newcomb leads the nation with a 0.00 ERA. He’s 3-1 in six starts and has allowed just a single unearned run in 39.2 innings. He’s struck out 46 and while his walk total is a bit high at 19, he’s made up for it by allowing only 14 hits. Opponents are batting .111 against him.
Even before his torrid start, Newcomb was drawing plenty of attention. He lit up radar guns at Hartford’s scout day in the fall.
The 6’5 lefty is a native of Middleboro, Mass., which also produced Cape League star Tyler Horan, one of the leaders of Wareham’s 2013 title run.
Three years ago, Kyle Zimmer rode a strong season with Cotuit into a tremendous junior season at San Francisco and, ultimately, a spot in the Major League draft’s first round. His younger brother is on the same path so far. Bradley Zimmer won Playoff MVP honors as Cotuit won the Cape League championship last year, and now the junior outfielder is cementing himself as one of the nation’s best hitters. The San Francisco junior ranks in the top 20 nationally in batting average with a .430 mark. He’s also hit six home runs and driven in 20, both tops on his team. In some early projections by Baseball America, Zimmer was tabbed as a likely first-round pick and ranked as the second-best college hitter in the draft.
The other guy who left Cape Cod as an MVP is off to a solid start of his own. Max Pentecost, the league MVP with Bourne, is hitting .303 with three homers for Kennesaw State and should be one of the top available catchers in the June draft.
In case you missed the news from earlier this month, the 2014 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game has been moved from Saturday, July 26 to Sunday, July 27. Bourne’s Doran Park will host the game, and the original Saturday date would have conflicted with Bourne’s celebration of the Cape Cod Canal’s 100th anniversary.
Every Cape League team has now posted its 2014 roster. As you watch the college baseball season unfold, your most Cape League-heavy team is powerhouse LSU. The Tigers have 12 players on Cape rosters, spread across six different teams. Sophomore Alex Bregman, a likely first-round pick in 2015, is the leader of the crew. He’s on the Harwich roster, as he was last summer before he ended up with Team USA. Bregman is hitting .291 this year, perhaps a mild sophomore slump after his huge freshman season.
Reigning Cape League MVP Max Pentecost leads Kennesaw State into an opening weekend series with Middle Tennessee State.
So winter’s been fun, huh? For the vast majority of you, it’s been long, cold, snowy and icy.
Today, a reprieve.
While the rest of the world celebrates pitchers and catchers reporting to Major League Baseball spring training, college baseball delivers the real thing this weekend, with games getting underway this afternoon in – we hope – sunny locales.
For Cape League fans, the start of college baseball season seems to begin the march to summer, even when spring seems far off.
If you’re looking for a game, ESPN3 has a pair – Niagara vs. Florida State on Friday at 6 p.m. and LSU vs. New Orleans on Saturday at 3 p.m. You’ll see a good crop of 2013 and 2014 Cape Leaguers in both games. LSU once again features shortstop Alex Bregman, likely the best sophomore in the country. He’s on the Harwich roster for 2014.
As always, Baseball America brings the heat with its College Preview. Take note of the list of the top sophomores in the country, which has 2013 CCBL breakout star Ian Happ in the No. 2 spot.
And to whet your appetite on the Cape League, we’ve got eight of ten 2014 rosters posted online, with only Chatham and Wareham missing. Check them out:
A couple of CCBL related things to watch on opening weekend:
Former Hyannis Harbor Hawk Jeff Hoffman of East Carolina, the reigning top prospect in the CCBL, is the likely opening day starter for the Pirates as they take on James Madison. Hoffman is a likely first-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Cape League MVP Max Pentecost had a tremendous summer for the Bourne Braves, and we’ll see if his bat is still scorching six months later when Kennesaw State opens its season against Middle Tennessee State.
Sophomore James Kaprielian takes over as the ace for the defending College World Series champion UCLA Bruins. Kaprielian pitched for Y-D last summer and was Baseball America’s third-best CCBL prospect.
Nathan Kirby gets a start on Saturday for No. 1 Virginia. Kirby lit up the NECBL last year and is ticketed for Orleans in the summer.
The top prospect in the Northwoods League often goes on to Cape League success the next year. Arkansas lefty Colin Poche was Baseball America’s pick in 2013, and he’s set to play for Falmouth in 2014. Poche gets 2014 started this weekend when the Razorbacks host Appalachian State.
Former Wareham star George Springer is on the verge of becoming the first 40/40 player in modern minor league history.
I will never get used to the end of a Cape Cod Baseball League season. It’s such an intensive season – rarely does a day go by without it – and then . . . poof. It’s gone.
Fun while it lasted though. Some notes as we head into the very, very long off-season . . .
I was a little surprised that Bradley Zimmer won the Playoff MVP award. He’s a fantastic player and he had a good finals series, but Austin Byler had a tremendous post-season. He had a hit in all eight of Cotuit’s playoff games and finished with 12 for a .429 average. He led the team in postseason average, home runs, extra-base hits and RBI.
Byler’s 12 hit total is the same as the leader in each of the last four postseasons, since the league expanded and created more playoff games. Some kind of magic number.
Christian Cecilio was the winning pitcher in the clinching game of Cotuit’s series victory over Falmouth and in the clincher of the championship win over Orleans. Pretty impressive feat and somewhat surprising on the surface. Cecilio had an ERA over three in the regular season and didn’t often pitch deep into games. But take away one bad start in which he gave up seven earned runs in 1.1 innings, and Cecilio had a fantastic summer. He didn’t allow more than two runs in any other start.
Perfect Game named Bourne’s Max Pentecost its Summer Player of the Year. It’s a well-deserved honor for Pentecost, who was also the Cape League’s MVP award winner. PG’s Frankie Piliere, who did great work scouting the Cape all summer, said Pentecost was “one of the most impressive all-around catchers to play on the Cape since Buster Posey.” High praise right there.
The Cape League released its all-league team last week. You can check it out here. Scott Heineman, who hit .304 and led the league in stolen bases, looks like the biggest snub to me.
The last award winner also trickled in as Jeff Hoffman has been named the Cape’s top pro prospect. He’s the second straight Hyannis pitcher to win the honor, joining his former teammate Sean Manaea.
I’m planning on doing the minor league all-stars feature that I did last year. It’s still a little ways off, but for now, how about the season former Wareham Gateman George Springer is having? The Astros prospect started the season in Double A and has since moved to Triple A. Between the two levels, he has hit 37 home runs and has stolen 42 bases. If he hits three more home runs he’ll become the first 40/40 player in the modern history of minor league baseball.
Jake Fincher slides into second in Saturday's game.
After nothing but close games in the first-round of the playoffs, the division championship series got underway with two games that were a little more lopsided. Cotuit rolled past Bourne and Orleans pulled away late to hand Chatham its first playoff loss.
Cotuit 9, Bourne 2
The last time the Cotuit Kettleers were in the West finals and the last time they were the No. 3 seed, they won the 2010 Cape Cod Baseball League championship. They took a step in the same direction yesterday when they jumped to an early lead and cruised over Bourne 9-2 in game one of the Western Division championship series.
The Kettleers scored five runs in the second inning and never really looked back, adding to the lead as they went. Dalton Potts (Tennessee Martin), making just his second start of the summer, stranded two men in three of his five innings and held the Braves to just a run. John Hochstatter (Stanford), Joel Seddon (South Carolina) and Eric Karch (Pepperdine) finished the job.
The Cotuit offense once again got huge contributions from its late-season reinforcements. Caleb Bryson (Samford) hit his fifth home run in his sixth game to start the scoring, and Austin Byler (Nevada) blasted a two-run shot a batter later to give Cotuit the lead. Danny Diekroeger (Stanford) added two RBI, while Bradley Zimmer (San Francisco), who’s back from an injury that kept him out of part of the first-round series, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The Kettleers finished with 13 hits. Jake Fincher (NC State), Logan Ratledge (NC State) and Garrett Stubbs (USC) chipped in two each.
The Braves, who are playing without MVP Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State), had 10 hits of their own but scored just the two runs. That’s been an issue all year – the Braves ranked second in the league in batting average but just seventh in runs scored.
Game two is set for today at 6 p.m. at Doran Park.
Orleans 7, Chatham 3
The Firebirds broke open a 4-3 game with three in the eighth and three pitchers allowed just three hits en route to a victory over Chatham. Orleans, who won two straight against Chatham to end the regular season, has now won three straight.
Corey Miller (Pepperdine), who won one of those two regular-season meetings, went five strong innings for the Firebirds, allowing three unearned runs on three hits. He struck out six.
Then the bullpen took over. Luis Paula (North Carolina) and Jeremy Rhoades (Illinois State) pitched the last four innings without allowing a hit. In the playoffs, Orleans relievers have now allowed four runs in 14 innings.
The offense spotted Miller a four-run lead with two in the first and two in the second. Austin Davidson (Pepperdine) finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and Jordan Betts (Duke) knocked in two. Vince Conde (Vanderbilt) added two hits and an RBI.
Game two is slated for 7 p.m. in Orleans. Shawn O’Neill (La Salle) goes for the Firebirds. He has pitched mostly as a reliever this summer. Aaron Garza (Houston), who’s winless despite some solid starts, gets the ball for Chatham.
Orleans beat Harwich 4-3 to force game three in its East semifinal.
Chatham is into the next round with a sweep of Y-D, the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2001.
The other three games were decided by one run for a second straight night – and they all went in the other direction. Cotuit, Bourne and Orleans avoided sweeps and kept their seasons alive.
Cotuit 5, Falmouth 4
In perhaps the best Cape League game of the summer, the Kettleers came from behind twice after the fifth inning and won the game on a walk-off in the 10th.
It was a fitting finish, too. The Kettleers could probably field two teams with all the players that have come through there this summer, and somehow the team still finished one point out of first place. No matter who was in the lineup, they were getting it done. Yesterday, they got a game-tying two-run homer from Austin Byler (Nevada), a late pick-up. And in the 10th, they won the game on a walk-off RBI single by Garrett Stubbs (USC), who began his Cape League career on August 3.
The Commodores looked poised for a sweep when they went up 3-0 in the fourth on a three-run homer by Kevin Cron (TCU). Meanwhile, ace John Means (West Virginia) cruised through five innings.
But Cotuit wasn’t going down easy. A three-run rally in the sixth capped by Byler’s home run tied the game. After Falmouth went up by one in the seventh, Cotuit tied it again in the eighth, setting the stage for the 10th-inning heroics.
Wesley Cox (Texas-San Antonio), another recent arrival, got the win in relief for the Kettleers.
Game two is slated for today at 5:30 p.m in Falmouth. Probably pitchers are TBA.
Bourne 1, Hyannis 0
Two largely unheralded pitchers staged a duel to match what stars Ryan Kellogg and Kyle Freeland did the night before, and Bourne pushed a run across in the eighth for the win.
Kyle Kubat (Nebraska) delivered his best start of the summer for the Braves, striking out six and scattering six hits in 6.2 innings. His counterpart, Cy Sneed (Dallas Baptist), was just as good for Hyannis, striking out seven and allowing only three hits while also going 6.2 innings.
In the eighth, Bourne broke through against Hyannis reliever Jordan DeLorenzo (West Florida), a late arrival who had yet to allow a run. Trent Gilbert (Arizona) singled to start the rally, and Tim Caputo (Rhode Island) followed with a bunt single that rolled fair. DeLorenzo retired Mark Laird (LSU) and newly-crowned Cape League MVP Max Pentecost, but Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) knocked an RBI single into right field to score the go-ahead run.
Michael Costello (Radford), who had come on in the seventh and stranded a pair of runners, gave up two singles in the ninth but wiggled out of trouble to finish off a victory for the Braves.
Game two will go off at 6 p.m. today at McKeon Park in Hyannis. Jacob Lindgren (Mississippi State), who had pitched out of the bullpen to start the summer before going six shutout innings in his only start, will go for the Braves. Rocky McCord (Auburn), who has allowed one run in his last two starts, gets the ball for Hyannis.
Orleans 4, Harwich 3
Orleans took a lead in the third and held onto it through a few Harwich rallies, winning by a run and forcing a game three.
Ross Kivett (Kansas State), Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) and Chris Marconcini (Duke) knocked in the runs in the third, and the three were enough for Bobby Poyner (Florida). He took a shutout into the seventh before giving up one run. He went seven full innings, striking out three and allowing just four hits.
Closer Matt Troupe (Arizona) came on for the eighth and got into trouble, giving up a walk and two straight singles. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Ian Happ (Cincinnati) scored two and made it a one-run game.
But Troupe buckled down. He stranded Happ on second with a strikeout of A.J. Reed (Kentucky), who had homered an inning before. In the ninth, Troupe struck out two to finish off the victory.
For Harwich, Nick Howard (Virginia) turned in an impressive start, striking out nine in nine in seven innings, but he was the hard-luck loser.
Game three is set for Eldredge Park tonight at 7 p.m., and it might be the best pitching match-up of all the game threes. All-Star Game starter Aaron Bummer (Nebraska) will go for Harwich against Jared Miller (Vanderbilt), who struggled in his last start but struck out 10 in six scoreless innings the start before that.
Chatham 9, Y-D 4
Chatham led 2-0 for much of the game but found itself tied 3-3 in the eighth. That’s when the Anglers exploded, getting a grand slam from J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton) and scoring six runs to send them on their way to the next round.
Tommy Lawrence (Maine), who lost to Y-D in a playoff start last year, turned it around this time, giving up just one earned run in 5.1 innings. Jacob Dorris (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) got the win in relief when the Anglers broke through.
After tying the game in the seventh, they took the lead in the eighth on RBI singles by Blake Butera (Boston College) and Landon Lassiter (North Carolina). Then came the big blow. With the bases loaded, Davis smacked a home run out of the same field where he won All-Star Game MVP honors.
Dorris gave up one run in the bottom of the eighth but Dominic Moreno (Texas Tech) closed the door in the ninth, sealing the sweep for Chatham and ending Y-D’s season.
James Kaprielian (UCLA) was a bright spot for the Red Sox, striking out nine in five innings. D.J. Stewart (Florida State) homered and Alex Blandino (Stanford) finished a terrific Cape League career with two hits.
Chatham won a playoff series for the first time since 2001, when it won the East and lost to Wareham in the league championship.
The Anglers get a day off while the rest of the teams hit the field for game threes.
Leon Byrd, Jr. and Falmouth swept a doubleheader last night.
The Cape League’s move to an eight-team playoff structure has taken some of the fun out of regular-season playoff races. This season, for instance, the four spots in the West were already sewn up before the final week of games began.
But even without the do-or-die quests for playoff berths, the races aren’t without drama. And there’s a lot of drama in the West.
Hyannis, Cotuit and Falmouth have been at the top of the division and within just a few games of each other for pretty much the entire season. With losses by Hyannis and Cotuit, plus a doubleheader sweep by Falmouth, they’re now separated by just two points. Hyannis is in first with 46 points, Cotuit has 45 and Falmouth has 44. They all have 22 wins, with ties representing the point difference.
There have been plenty of tight races over the years in the Cape League, but rarely have they been this tight – and with three teams involved. Since 2000, the smallest point-margin between the top three teams in a division race was three. It happened in both 2001 and 2008. If the current race stays at two, Hyannis, Cotuit and Falmouth will be the most tightly-packed trio since the turn of the century.
In a race like that, any win is big. Two on one day is bigger, and that’s what Falmouth did last night. The Commodores beat Wareham 2-1 in the first game of a twin bill, getting five strong innings from Craig Schlitter (Bryant) and a save from Donny Murray (Holy Cross). Kevin Newman (Arizona) had two hits and Conner Hale (State College of Florida) drove in a run.
In game two, Falmouth looked like it was headed for a split. Wareham carried a 4-1 lead into the seventh inning, the final inning because it was a doubleheader. Instead, the Commodores scored six runs to take a lead then held off Wareham for the win.
Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) made it 4-3 with a two-run double before Dylan Davis (Oregon State) tied the game on an RBI single. Then, with the bases loaded, Troy Stein (Texas A&M) cracked a triple to score three more runs.
Just like that, the Commodores had matched Hyannis and Cotuit with 22 wins.
And they made a close race start to look historically close.
Harwich 5, Hyannis 4
The Harbor Hawks nearly gained a little separation in the aforementioned raced when they broke a 0-0 tie with four runs in the top of the ninth. Harwich answered with four runs in the bottom half, though, then won the game in the 10th. Once Hyannis got the lead, it turned to league saves leader Eric Eck (Wofford), but Eck had his first rough outing of the summer as Harwich rallied. Blair DeBord (Kansas State) had an RBI single, one of four hits on the night. Brendon Hayden (Virginia Tech) followed with a two-run double, and Brett Austin (NC State) tied the game with an RBI single. Then in the 10th, Tanner English (South Carolina) brought in Branden Cogswell (Virginia) with a walk-off single, his second 10th-inning walk-off hit of the summer.
Orleans 2, Cotuit 0
The Firebirds won for the seventh straight time with a shutout of Cotuit. Trent Szkutnik (Michigan) scattered five hits in five scoreless innings before giving way to an increasingly dominant Orleans bullpen. Kyle Twomey (USC), Luis Paula (North Carolina), Brian Clark (Kent State) and Matt Troupe (Arizona) combined to allow just one run the rest of the way while pitching an inning each. Troupe struck out the side in the ninth for his ninth save. The pitchers got all the support they needed in a two-run fifth inning. Jordan Betts (Duke) homered and Vince Conde (Vanderbilt) drove in the other run. For Cotuit, Evan Beal (South Carolina) struck out six in 6.2 innings but was the hard-luck loser.
Bourne 2, Y-D 1
Bourne is reportedly saying goodbye to ace Jaron Long, according to Perfect Game’s Frankie Piliere, as Long is set to sign with the New York Yankees. The Braves picked up a victory, though, breaking a 1-1 tie with a run in the ninth to win 2-1. Michael Costello (Radford), who was making his first start after pitching in relief all summer, tossed five shutout innings. Hawtin Buchanan (Ole Miss) got the win in relief and Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State), a two-way guy who’s been more position player than pitcher this summer, picked up the save. Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored the go-ahead run on an errant pickoff throw.
Brewster 8, Chatham 1
The Whitecaps snapped a season-long winless streak against Chatham with an 8-1 victory over the first-place Anglers. Justin Kamplain (Alabama) struck out six in five innings of no-hit baseball. The Anglers managed just one hit against the Brewster bullpen. In the meantime, the Whitecaps broke open a close game with five runs in the eighth. Cole Lankford (Texas A&M) led the attack with two hits and two RBI, while Scott Heineman (Oregon) had two hits and one run driven in.
What to Watch
Chatham’s Tommy Lawrence (Maine) dueled Jeff Hoffman in his last start and should give the fans another good tilt when Y-D and Daniel Savas (Illinois State) visit Veterans Field tonight. Lawrence has not allowed a run since his first outing, on June 25. Savas is 3-0 and two starts ago, he struck out 12 in eight innings.
Drew Stankiewicz squares to bunt for Hyannis in a game earlier this season.
Chatham and Hyannis own a combined three of the starting spots in the All-Star Game. That’s significantly less than Falmouth, less than Harwich and the same number as Brewster.
But who needs star power?
The Anglers beat Wareham 8-4 last night for their fourth straight win and their league-best 23rd of the season. They have a 12-point lead on second-place Harwich in the East.
The Harbor Hawks beat Brewster 5-0 last night for their third consecutive win. They lead the West by four points over Cotuit and five over the star-studded Falmouth squad.
I don’t think Chatham and Hyannis had too many snubs in the all-star department. Skyler Ewing has been the Harbor Hawks’ best player but he had to be an all-star reserve because he plays the same position as Bourne’s Max Pentecost. Lukas Schiraldi has a case for Chatham.
Generally speaking, though, the numbers are about right. The Anglers and Harbor Hawks have some very good players, but success seems to be driven by good, steady baseball more than stars who light it up.
It was more of the same last night.
Chatham scored seven runs in the first two innings on its way to a win over the Gatemen last night. Mitchell Gonsolus (Gonzaga) went 4-for-5 with two runs scored, while Brandon Sedell (Nova Southeastern) went 2-for-4 with four RBI. Dante Flores (USC) added two hits, Michael Russell (North Carolina) hit a home run and J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton) drove in two runs. On the mound, Matthew Gage (Siena) gave up one earned run on six hits in five strong innings. Ryan Leach (Franklin Pierce) and Mitch Merten (UC Irvine) delivered solid work out of the bullpen.
In Brewster, Hyannis got six shutout innings from Austin Pettibone (UC Santa Barbara), who had struggled in his last start. Tyler Spoon (Arkansas), Brian Anderson (Arkansas) and Landon Curry (Indiana State) had two hits each, while Dominic Jose had two RBI. The Harbor Hawks have won three straight and four of five.
Bourne 4, Harwich 3
The Braves touched up East All-Star starting pitcher Aaron Bummer (Nebraska) for four runs and got a steady performance from Austin Gomber (Florida Atlantic) en route to a 4-3 victory. Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and now has a six-game hitting streak. Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State) also went 2-for-4, upping his average to .398. Eric Fisher (Arkansas) and Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) also drove in runs for the Braves. On the mound, Gomber didn’t record a strikeout but gave up just two runs in five innings. Trace Dempsey (Ohio State) picked up his fourth save.
Orleans 11, Falmouth 4
The Firebirds seem to be getting back on track after a tough stretch, and they beat the Commodores with a big offensive night. Austin Davidson (Pepperdine) led a 15-hit attack with three hits and three RBI. Will Fulmer (Vanderbilt) also had three hits while Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) and Jordan Betts (Duke) had two hits and two RBI each. Corey Miller (Pepperdine) gave up three runs in five innings for the win. For Falmouth, Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) hit his fifth home run and brought his league-leading RBI total to 29. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) went 4-for-5.
Y-D 4, Cotuit 3
The Red Sox scored three runs in the eighth and held off a Cotuit charge in the ninth for the victory. D.J. Stewart (Florida State) had an RBI double to get the rally in gear before Jose Trevino (Oral Roberts) got the go-ahead run home with an RBI single. Trevino then scored on an error. Darrell Hunter (Oregon) gave up two hits and a run in the ninth but ultimately struck out the side to pick up the save. Kody Kerski (Sacred Heart) got the win. Trevino led the Y-D offense with three hits and an RBI. For Cotuit, Chris Ellis (Ole Miss) gave up three runs in seven innings.
What to Watch
Harwich will see if it can gain some ground when it visits Chatham for a 7 p.m. start. Dillon Peters (Texas) will try for a repeat of his last start, when he went seven shutout innings. Tommy Lawrence (Maine) takes his 3-0 record to the mound for Chatham.
Daniel Savas struck out 12 in eight innings as Y-D topped Harwich.
It has not been a good year for Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox pitchers and with ace Erick Fedde taking a detour to Team USA, it didn’t look like this week would be much help.
Daniel Savas had something to say about that.
The righty from Illinois State turned in as dominant a performance last night as anyone on the Cape has delivered this summer. He struck out 12 and allowed one run in eight innings as the Red Sox beat Harwich 5-3.
It was the the third straight win for Savas, who is steadily emerging as one of the top pitchers in the league. He has suddenly vaulted himself into second in the league in strikeouts, despite the fact that he didn’t make his first appearance until June 23 and his first start until July 5.
The performance is only surprising in the sense that you might not have seen it coming. Savas was a late arrival – on a temporary contract, in fact – but his spring was tremendous. He went 10-0 for Illinois State with a 1.79 ERA and five complete games in 15 starts. He struck out 98 in 100.1 innings. Opponents hit just .180 against him.
Savas had a solid freshman season in 2011 before redshirting in 2012. This season represented an impressive return. He was a first-team all-Missouri Valley pick.
After all of that, though, Savas was not drafted this spring. He hit the road for the Cape, and the Red Sox are very happy he did. He’s been just what the doctor ordered for them – they’re 3-0 in games he’s started.
Last night, Savas actually gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Ian Happ (Cincinnati), but it was smooth sailing from there. He struck out the side after the home run, then cruised, allowing just four more hits. He only got stronger as the game went on, retiring the last 11 batters he faced.
He had plenty of support, too. The Red Sox got two RBI from D.J. Stewart (Florida), plus one RBI each by Taylor Smart (Tennessee) and Alex Blandino (Stanford).
The Red Sox are now just one game under .500, and they may get their ace back soon – Fedde is expected back when Team USA’s season ends next week.
But with Savas in the mix, it may get crowded at the top of the rotation.
Chatham 11, Cotuit 8
The East and West first-place teams rank third and fourth in team ERA, but their third meeting of the year was a slugfest. Chatham prevailed, running its record against the Kettleers to 3-0 and becoming the first team in the league to 20 wins. They’re now 20-9. The Anglers scored six runs in the fourth, still found themselves in a tied game but took the lead with one in the sixth and three in the seventh. J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton) hit his second home run, part of a three-hit, three RBI night. Michael Russell (North Carolina) drove in two runs, while Dante Flores (USC), Connor Joe (San Diego) and Jimmy Pickens (Michigan State) drove in one each. On the mound, Andrew McGee (Monmouth) had another tough outing, but the bullpen picked up the slack, allowing just one run over the final 4.1 innings. Ryan Leach (Franklin Pierce) got the win and Kyle Funkhouser (Louisville) notched his fourth save in just his fifth appearance. For Cotuit, Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the summer.
Bourne 7, Brewster 0
Jaron Long (Ohio State) was terrific again as the Braves shut out Brewster for their second straight win. Long went six scoreless, striking out three and giving up just three hits. He’s now 5-0 and owns more than a third of his team’s wins. He has allowed one run all summer and just 17 hits in 28 innings pitched. Michael Costello (Radford) and Justin McCalvin (Kennesaw State) finished off the shutout, with McCalvin striking out the side in a spotless ninth. The Bourne offense was led by Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State), who went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Trent Gilbert (Arizona) went 4-for-4.
Falmouth 12, Hyannis 1
The Commodores was 0-4 against Hyannis but exacted a measure of revenge last night, pounding 18 hits on their way to the lopsided victory. Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) went 2-for-4 and hit his sixth home run, which vaults him into the league lead. Five other Commodores also had multi-hit games, led by Kevin Cron (TCU), who went 4-for-4 with three RBI. Dylan Davis (Oregon State) had three RBI and Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) had two, bumping his league-high total to 26. On the mound, Trey Teakell (TCU) – who pitched in a loss to Hyannis last week – went seven strong innings, striking out four and giving up only one hit.
Orleans 4, Wareham 0
The Firebirds have been struggling but picked up a much-needed victory with a shutout of the Gatemen. Vanderbilt lefty Jared Miller made his third start and was at his best, tossing seven innings of two-hit baseball. He struck out four. Jeremy Rhoades (Illinois State) and Matt Troupe (Arizona) finished it off, with Troupe getting his sixth save. Jordan Luplow (Fresno State) went 4-for-4 with his second home run of the summer, stretching his hit streak to six games. Vince Conde (Vanderbilt) and Austin Davidson (Pepperdine) had two hits each.
What to Watch
Cotuit and Hyannis, the top two teams in the West, will square off for the fourth time this season at 6 p.m. at McKeon Park. The Kettleers are 3-1 in the four match-ups. Kyle Freeland (Evansville), who’s won his last two starts, gets the ball for Hyannis. Christian Cecilio (San Francisco), who has settled in after one bad June start, is on the hill for Cotuit.
Gunnar Heidt makes a play for Harwich in a game earlier this summer. The Mariners rallied Sunday, making a winner out of Aaron Bummer.
Fifty-six pitchers in the Cape Cod Baseball League have more strikeouts than Harwich’s Aaron Bummer (Nebraska).
One starting pitcher has a better ERA, and nobody has more wins.
Who needs strikeouts?
Bummer improved to 4-1 on Sunday with his fifth quality start of the summer, giving up just a run in six innings as Harwich shut down Falmouth’s powerful lineup for an 8-3 victory. A late Mariner rally made a winner out of Bummer.
It was another terrific performance from Bummer, who’s been the league’s most consistent pitcher. He opened the season with six shutout innings and then went seven scoreless in his next start. He gave up two earned runs in his next start and took the loss, but has gotten right back on track. He went six shutout innings in his last start before picking up the victory Sunday. Bummer is now 4-1 with a 0.84 ERA.
I’ve often wondered if the Quality Start statistic – at least six innings, no more than three runs – should be adapted for the Cape League, where even the best pitchers often don’t work deep into games. It doesn’t need to be changed for Bummer. He’s had five real quality starts in five tries.
On Sunday, Bummer didn’t strike out a batter but didn’t need to. He scattered five hits and gave up just the one earned run (Falmouth did score two unearned runs). Bummer needed only 88 pitches to get through six innings.
Even with all that, Bummer was on the verge of taking a hard-luck loss. Harwich trailed 3-0 but scored seven runs in the seventh inning to turn the game completely around. Branden Cogswell (Virginia) and Aaron Barbosa (Northeastern) each drove in two runs for the Mariners, while Ian Happ (Cincinnati) and Ben Moore (Alabama) had three hits apiece.
Sean Fitzgerald (Notre Dame) and Mason McCullough (North Carolina) finished off the victory for Harwich.
And Bummer put another win in the books.
Chatham 8, Y-D 5
The Anglers won for the third straight time, running their league-best record to 18-8-1, and it was yet another different route to a victory. Starter Andrew Chin (Boston College) gave up five runs in two innings, but in the meantime, Chatham scored seven runs of its own in the first two innings. After that, the bullpen dominated and kept Chatham in control. Dominic Moreno (Texas Tech), Jacob Dorris (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and Kyle Funkhouser (Louisville) surrendered just three hits over the final seven innings. J.D. Davis (Cal State Fullerton) led the offense with two hits and four RBI. Connor Joe (San Diego) went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Cotuit 5, Wareham 3
The Kettleers (17-10) also won their third straight and now have a four-point cushion atop the West. Cotuit scored four runs in the first inning and held off a late push by the Gatemen for the victory. Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt) had a double, a triple and two RBI, while Yale Rosen (Washington State) and Drew Jackson (Stanford) knocked in one run apiece. Patrick Corbett (Coastal Carolina) got the win in relief of Ben Smith (Coastal Carolina). Corbett struck out four in 3.1 innings. For Wareham, Brett Pirtle (Mississippi State) had three hits.
Bourne 5, Hyannis 2
Ryan Kellogg (Arizona State) pitched six strong innings as the Braves won a rain-shortened game that lasted six innings. Kellogg struck out six, didn’t walk a batter and gave up one earned run on four hits. Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State) drove in two runs, while Mason Robbins (Southern Miss), Clint Freeman (East Tennessee State) and Tyler Kuresa (UC Santa Barbara) brought in one each. Hyannis (15-9), which has lost two in a row, got two hits from Steve Wilkerson (Clemson).
Brewster 11, Orleans 3
On the strength of a blowout win, the Whitecaps (10-16) are suddenly two points back of Orleans (11-15) for fourth place in the East. Brewster pounded out 17 hits. Scott Heineman (Oregon) went 5-for-5 with three runs scored at the top of the Brewster lineup. Nick Lynch (UC Davis) hit a home run, while Austin Bailey (San Diego), Chris Mariscal (Fresno State), and Trevor Mitsui (Washington State) knocked in two runs each. Orleans finished with 12 hits but managed just the three runs. Brewster starter Aaron Brown (Pepperdine) gave up two earned runs in five innings to pick up the win.
What to Watch
A couple of strong-armed Austins will square off in Bourne. Austin Gomber (Florida Atlantic) gets the ball for the Braves, with Austin Pettibone (UC Santa Barbara) starting for Hyannis.
Maybe it’s the wishful thinking of a Cubs fan, but I’ve thinking/hoping ever since the draft that Kris Bryant could be the next Cape League alum to hit it big in Major League Baseball.
There are plenty of solid Big Leaguers, of course – the alumni list hit 1,000 just this week – but I’m talking perennial all-star types, the Buster Poseys and Evan Longorias of the world. If it happens, Bryant could be the first Cape League star of the 2010’s.
And there’s reason to think it will happen. Bryant hit 31 home runs for San Diego this past spring, 10 more than anyone in college baseball and more than a lot of teams. He had a remarkable year and shot to the top of draft boards. The Cubs took him with the second overall pick and the sides have reportedly have agreed to terms this week on a record signing bonus.
Bryant’s tim on the Cape was typical of what you expect from a freshmen – some struggles, but flashes too. He hit only .223 but bombed three home runs and had more than a third of his hits go for extra bases.
Had Bryant not gone to Team USA and returned to Chatham, it’s a safe bet he would have been a star. Can you imagine him hitting the juiced balls? I’m not sure any record would have been safe.
As it is, Bryant is still a full-fledged Cape League veteran, not a cameo guy like Mark Appel or Mike Zunino.
And he may be the league’s next star. This Cubs fan hopes so.
I mentioned this on Twitter, but I’ll make note of it here too. Max Pentecost’s amazing performance Wednesday night is made all the more amazing by the fact that he was the starting catcher that night and remained behind the plate for all 12 innings. It’s been a while since the Cape had an elite catching prospect. Pentecost may fit the bill.
Derek Fisher hit eight home runs on his way to top prospect honors in the Northwoods League last summer. The Virginia slugger has yet to hit a home run on the Cape but he’s still been one of the league’s best. Fisher leads the league with a .397 batting average. He has five multi-hit games in his last eight. He has also struck out just six times in 58 at-bats and has a .500 on-base percentage.
Chatham is doing perfectly fine for itself this season, but that lineup almost had one of the best hitters in the country. Taylor Sparks of UC Irvine was a late invitee to Team USA, and he’s tearing it up for the National Team. He leads the squad with a .421 average.
Speaking of the Anglers, for a while it looked like Chatham was going to be a team of solid players, without any stars. Dante Flores has stepped into the void. After hitting just .154 for Chatham last summer, he’s one of the best hitters in the league this year. His triple-slash line is .354/.419/.576, one of the best in the league.
There is quite a battle going on for the league lead in stolen bases. Brewster’s Scott Heineman currently has it with 14 steals, but Harwich’s Aaron Barbosa is hot on his heels with 13. Orleans’ Greg Allen and Falmouth’s Kevin Newman each have 11. All of those guys are on pace to run right past the league-leading totals of the last few years. Tony Kemp led with 18 last year, Kyle Wren had 18 in 2011 and Andy Burns had 25 in 2010. The last huge total came in 2009, when Chris Bisson stole 36.
Former Chatham A Grant Green was called up to the Oakland A’s this week. He was hitting .318 with 11 homers at Triple A. If Green makes a name for himself at all in the Big Leagues, he’s got Cape League Hall of Famer written all over him. Green won a championship with Y-D then was an MVP candidate for Chatham the next year.
My most underrated players in the league so far? Connor Joe of Chatham and Conner Hale of Falmouth. Joe is hitting .282 with a homer and 10 RBI. Hale is at .278 with a home run and 11 RBI. Also, why are there so many Connors/Conners/Conors in the Cape League this year? I can’t keep the spellings straight.
Chatham has two players, Mitchell Gonsolus and Sheehan Planas-Arteaga, with on-base percentages north of .420 – and both of them have batting averages under .270. The Anglers can really work a walk.
Wareham reliever Ryan Riga has been a busy man this summer. He leads the league in appearances with 14. The Gatemen have played 24 games.
There’s always a middle reliever who doesn’t get as much but deserves as much attention as starters and closers. Cotuit’s Joel Seddon is at the top of the list so far. He’s made six appearances and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 15 innings.
Some of my favorite players on the Cape are small-school guys who make an impression and come back the next year when their teams need some help. Cotuit’s Galli Cribbs, Jr. and Wareham’s Fred Shepard are doing it this year. Cribbs, of Clarendon College, is hitting .229 and playing a solid shortstop when asked for a Cotuit team that’s been hit hard by personnel losses. Wareham has been in a similar boat and Shepard has stepped up. The left from Amherst has an ERA that’s on the high side but he’s tied for fourth in the league in strikeouts.
