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Day One

Former Orleans Firebird Marcus Stroman is the Opening Day starter in Toronto.

 
Former Orleans Firebird Marcus Stroman is the Opening Day starter in Toronto.
Past and future Cape Leaguers in the college baseball ranks have been playing meaningful games for more than month. Their Big League counterparts are finally back to action today with MLB’s opening day. Some notes on the proceedings and what’s to come:

  • Five former Cape Leaguers will be Opening Day starters for their clubs, headed by reigning American League Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel for the Astros and Matt Harvey for the Mets in a World Series rematch with the Royals. Keuchel, a former Wareham standout, is coming off a fantastic season and will be looking to cement his place as one of the game’s best pitcher. As for Harvey, with the Opening Day nod, he officially leads the Mets’ stable of talented young arms. The other Cape Leaguers who will start things off for their teams are former Y-D star Chris Sale for the White Sox, Cotuit’s Garrett Richards with the Angels and Orleans’ Marcus Stroman with the Jays. Last season was supposed to be the fulfillment of the prospect hype for Stroman, but an injury derailed most of the year. When he came back for a brief stint at the end of the regular season, he was dominant, and it looks like the Jays have tabbed him as their ace for this season.

  • One of the Cape League’s newest alumni stars will have to wait a while to pick up where he left off. Arizona’s A.J. Pollock, who hit .315 with 20 home runs and 39 stolen bases last season, broke his elbow Friday in a headfirst slide during an exhibition game against the Royals. Surgery will keep him out for several months and potentially for the entire season.

  • Pollock’s Arizona teammate Nick Ahmed had a huge spring. The former Bourne Brave hit .419 and continues to fight for a playing time in a middle infield rotation for the Diamondbacks.

  • If you’re looking for the next Cape League breakout candidate, former Cotuit Kettleer C.J. Cron is being counted as a big part of the Angels’ plans. Cron is expected to be the everyday first baseman.

  • Cron and Nick Tropeano played on the same Cotuit team in the summer of 2010 and may both be in Anaheim this summer. While Cron spent limited time in Cotuit thanks to Team USA, Tropeano had a huge summer and credits it with being a turning point in his career. He will open the 2016 season in Triple A.

  • Matt Duffy made an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career, getting the nod from the Astros and, in the process, securing another season with two Matt Duffys in the majors. Both are Cape League alumni, too. Houston’s Matt Duffy played for Chatham in 2009 and was a 20th round pick out of Tennessee. He played in eight games for the Astros last year. San Francisco’s Matt Duffy, a former Orleans Firebird, is looking for a big season after hitting .295 with 12 homers last season.

  • Former Bourne Brave and Cape League MVP Travis Jankowski has made the Padres’ Opening Day roster. The speedy Jankowski was rated San Diego’s seventh-best prospect this offseason.

  • David Ross had a fun spring embracing his status as the Cubs’ resident old man in what he has announced as his final season. He’ll also be happy to know that he’s one of the Cape League’s resident old-timers in the bigs. Ross played for Wareham in 1996, and is one of only two Cape Leaguers from that year – of any year before – on a MLB roster at this point. The other is Atlanta reliever Jason Grilli, who played for Brewster in ’96.

  • As for the other end of the spectrum, here are some prospects with Cape League ties who could make a splash this year, pending promotions to the bigs or opportunities if they’re already there: A.J. Reed (Houston), Brandon Finnegan (Cincinnati), Bradley Zimmer (Indians), Aaron Judge (Yankees) and Sean Manaea (Athletics).

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    Newcomb leads CCBL in Top 100

    Sean Newcomb pitched briefly for Wareham in 2012 and 2013.
    Sean Newcomb pitched briefly for Wareham in 2012 and 2013.

     
    With players like Kris Bryant, Dallas Keuchel, A.J. Pollock and Kyle Schwarber taking the torch as Major League Baseball’s young Cape League stars, it seems the next wave of alumni to crash on big league shores is still brewing.

    MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list released Friday is a good place to see what’s cooking.

    With Bryant, the former Chatham Angler, now off prospect lists and in Wrigley Field, there’s no obvious next top-of-the-heap prospect with Cape League roots, and the Top 100 list reflects that, with no Cape alumni in the top 20. (Interestingly, there aren’t a lot of college guys in general in that group, so it’s not a Cape League-only gap. Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson are the only former college players in the top 20, and they both were on Cape League rosters before going to Team USA).

    The top former Cape Leaguer checks in at No. 21, and it’s former Wareham Gatemen pitcher Sean Newcomb.

    The lefty from Hartford was limited by mono in his 2013 season with the Gatemen but struck out 28 in 22.1 innings, flashing his potential. He then delivered on it in a big way with a huge junior season at Hartford, and was drafted 15th overall by the Angels in the 2014 draft. He was sent to the Braves in the Andrelton Simmons trade this off-season.

    Newcomb struck out 168 in 136 innings of minor league action last year and is emerging as one of the game’s elite pitching prospects.

    From his MLB Pipeline Scouting Report:

    There were readings of Newcomb’s fastball touching triple digits in 2015 and he’ll sit in the 94-97 mph range. Big and physical, he maintains that velocity and does so without too much effort. Newcomb’s curve has become a plus pitch, one that misses plenty of bats. His changeup gives him a third at least Major League average offering.

    Newcomb does have to cut down on his walks to reach his ceiling, but as a Northeast guy who used to divide focus among two sports, he has more upside than your typical college arm. If the control improves, he could even outperform those Jon Lester comps.

    The other Cape Leaguers in the Top 100:

    26. Bradley Zimmer – Cotuit – Cleveland
    31. Aaron Judge – Brewster – New York Yankees
    40. A.J. Reed – Harwich – Seattle
    52. Jeff Hoffman – Hyannis – Colorado
    56. Aaron Blair – Y-D – Atlanta
    60. Tyler Jay – Y-D – Minnesota
    65. Kyle Zimmer – Cotuit – Kansas City
    68. Sean Manaea – Hyannis – Oakland
    70. Mark Appel – Y-D – Philadelphia
    76. Ian Happ – Harwich – Chicago Cubs
    78. Erick Fedde – Y-D – Washington

    MLB Pipeline also has lists of the top 10 prospects at every position. Those lists feature a number of additional Cape Leaguers including 2013 MVP Max Pentecost.