Posted on

Krook living up to the hype

matt krookAlmost every year, a highly-drafted high school pitcher spurns pro ball and immediately becomes a star on campus. From Gerrit Cole to Tyler Beede, it’s a pretty serious list.

Matt Krook appears to be next in line.

The Oregon freshman, who’s on the Orleans roster for 2014, was a supplemental first-round pick of the Marlins. He didn’t sign after a failed physical led to a significant reduction in his signing bonus.

He was the second-highest pick who didn’t sign, behind only Phil Bickford, who went 10th overall and is now at Cal State Fullerton (Bickford is not currently on a CCBL roster for 2014). While Bickford has been good in his own right in his freshman season, Krook’s numbers have been even a little better.

The lefty from San Mateo, Calif., ranks eighth in the nation in strikeouts with 49. That’s exactly one behind Carlos Rodon, the man who may be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft. Krook, who’s been the Saturday starter for the Ducks, has a 2.00 ERA to lead the team’s starters and opponents are hitting just .160 against him.

Clearly, Krook has little trouble adjusting from the high school ranks, which is no big surprise. Krook pitched a few innings in the Far West League last year, a collegiate summer league that allows college-bound players to compete, and was named the top prospect by Perfect Game.

Posted on

Ducks Welcome ‘Dores

College baseball’s best weekend match-up is also one Cape League fans will want to keep an eye on. No. 2 Vanderbilt is heading west to take on No. 11 Oregon in Eugene. It’s one of the bigger series the Ducks have hosted in the four years since the program was revived, although several ranked teams have come to town, including No. 2 Arizona State in 2010. Those teams have left unhappy, with the Ducks owning a 13-4 home record against ranked teams.

At this point, Oregon has three players on Cape rosters for 2013, while Vanderbilt has seven, which is among the highest of any school.

Schedule
Friday, 6 p.m.
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Sunday, 12 p.m.

Oregon
Steven Packard – OF – Brewster
Scott Heineman – C/INF – Falmouth
Cole Irvin – LHP – Falmouth

Vanderbilt
Tyler Beede – RHP – Cotuit
Carson Fulmer – RHP – Cotuit
Brian Miller – RHP – Cotuit
Rhett Wiseman – OF – Cotuit
Jared Miller – LHP – Orleans
Philip Pfeifer – LHP – Orleans

Big Z
Vandy junior Kevin Ziomek spent part of two seasons with Cotuit and though he made only five appearances last summer, he emerged as one of the top arms in the league. So far this season, he’s been one of the best in the country, a status that was cemented last weekend. Ziomek fired a one-hit, complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts against Illinois-Chicago. For the year, Ziomek has a 0.82 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched. He’ll get the ball in Friday’s opener.

Aces
Vanderbilt’s weekend rotation is shaping up to be one of the nation’s best, and the two pitchers who follow Ziomek are both slated to be on the Cape this summer. Sophomore Tyler Beede, a former first-round pick, has a 1.45 ERA this season and is on the Cotuit roster. Sophomore Philip Pfeifer actually has a better ERA than Ziomek at 0.45, and he’s been the SEC Pitcher of the Week already this year, as well. Pfeifer is on the Orleans roster.

Kettleer vs. Firebird
Pfeifer is scheduled to start Sunday against Oregon freshman Cole Irvin, who is on the Orleans roster for the summer. Irvin was a 29th-round pick out of high school and has jumped right into the weekend rotation for the Ducks. He’s 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA.

Wise
Vandy’s Rhett Wiseman, who’s also slated for Cotuit, is a Massachusetts native and is one of the most highly-touted freshmen in the country. He’s started only two of the team’s 12 games, but he hit a walk-off home run against Illinois-Chicago last weekend.