Joey DeNato delivers a pitch for Y-D in last year's Cape League championship series.Predicting college baseball success based on Cape Cod Baseball League success is generally not a worthwhile enterprise. I once did a Top 25 based on Cape results and picked USC No. 1. I don’t think the Trojans even sniffed the real Top 25 that spring.
But what you can do is pinpoint up-and-coming teams. Not the North Carolinas and Vanderbilts of the world, but the Stony Brooks. Anyone who watched the 2011 Cape Cod Baseball League season knew Stony Brook had to have a good year in 2012. The Seawolves then made a Cinderella run to Omaha.
Last year, Right Field Fog commenter Orville from Orleans suggested Indiana as a breakout candidate for 2013.
The man knows what he’s talking about.
The Hoosiers are in the College World Series and haven’t yet lost an NCAA Tournament game. They shut out Louisville in their CWS opener on Saturday night.
While the Hoosiers aren’t quite as Cape League heavy as that Stony Brook team from a year ago, some of their stars are Cape League bred. Kyle Schwarber was the CCBL playoff MVP and is now one of the top hitters in the country. Sam Travis starred for Y-D.
And Joey DeNato, a true Cape League veteran, was the star of Saturday’s win.
DeNato pitched for Y-D in 2011 and 2012, and was one of those steady performers that Cape League teams need. He started five games in 2011 and came out of the bullpen for seven more. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen last summer. He didn’t make any top prospects lists and wasn’t drafted this year. But I’m sure if you ask Y-D manager Scott Pickler, he loved having DeNato on his staff. DeNato owns a career Cape League ERA of 2.28.
Saturday was his day in the sun. The lefty struck out eight in a complete-game, four-hit shutout of a Louisville team that had beaten Vandy superstars Kevin Ziomek and Tyler Beede a week earlier.
The Hoosiers are now 1-0 in their first-ever trip to Omaha, something a lot of people on the national stage didn’t see coming.
Some of us did.
The University of San Diego had a banner day when slugger Kris Bryant was selected with the second overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. His teammates are doing what they can on the Cape. Y-D’s Andrew Daniel ranks sixth in the league in hitting at this early stage, and fellow Torero Connor Joe of Chatham is right behind him in seventh at .417. Both of them own three-game hitting streaks.
Chatham’s Mitchell Gonsolus (Gonzaga) has been on base more than anybody so far this season, with three hits and five walks in 10 plate appearances, good for an .800 OBP. Summer success should be no surprise – Gonsulus was the MVP of the West Coast Collegiate League last summer
Sometimes, late additions come to the Cape with some of the best credentials in the league. Chatham’s Erich Weiss and Cotuit’s Alex Haines fit the bill. Weiss starred as a sophomore for Texas in 2012, hitting .350 with five homers. Heading into his junior season, he was labeled as a potential early-round pick but he didn’t repeat as much of his success and fell down draft boards. He was still selected in the 11th round by the Pirates this year but is in Chatham, where he has two hits in two games. Haines, who plays at D-II Seton Hill, was the top prospect in the NECBL last summer but didn’t get drafted until the 33rd round this year.
Harwich’s Ian Happ was not on the team’s original roster, but he looks like a great pickup. The Cincinnati freshman hit .322 this spring with six homers, 13 doubles and a .451 OBP. He also stole 25 bases, and is slotting into the leadoff spot in Harwich’s order. The Mariners have some more talent to come, but Happ may not be moving from that spot.
