Solid Pro Year for CCBL Champ Cotuit

Right Field Fog’s 2013 Alumni Reports continue with a look at the group whose successors called themselves Cape League champs in 2013: the Cotuit Kettleers.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Jason Kipnis was an MLB All-Star for the Cleveland Indians.

Second to None

Accolades have rolled after nearly every year of Jason Kipnis’s career. The former Cotuit Kettleer was one of the top prospects in the Cape League in 2008, the PAC 10 Player of the Year at Arizona State in 2009 and the Cleveland Indians’ Minor League Player of the Year. After a solid Major League debut in 2012 – but a brief hiatus in the honors – Kipnis was back to his old tricks in 2013. The Indians second baseman was named an American League All-Star, solidifying his place as one of the best young second basemen in the game.

Kipnis started hot, earning Player of the Week honors twice in a month of June that saw him hit .419. Later in the summer, he earned his All-Star nod and delivered an RBI double in the eighth inning.

He finished the season hitting .284 with 17 homers and 84 RBI, to go with 30 stolen bases. He helped the Indians to their first playoff appearance since 2007.

Kipnis hit .264 with two home runs in the 2008 CCBL season.

What a Relief

One of the longest tenured Kettleers alumni and a relative newcomer both made their presence felt in new bullpen roles in 2013.

After recording a total of seven saves in 10 Major League seasons, Jason Grilli became the closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013 and made himself right at home, saving 33 games and earning National League all-star honors. Grilli helped end a 20-year playoff drought for the Pirates. Grilli was a Cotuit Kettleer in 1995 and a Brewster Whitecap in 1996.

Luke Hochevar played for Cotuit in 2003 and was starting to pop on No. 1 pick bust lists as he failed to post an ERA lower than in 4.81 in his first six seasons with the Royals. In 2013, Hochevar moved to the bullpen and delivered, becoming a dominant setup man and a key part of a turnaround in KC. Hochevar finished with a 1.92 ERA in 58 appearances.

MLB Notables

Yan Gomes (Cotuit ’07/Chatham ’08) joined Grilli in Cleveland and was a revelation, hitting .294 with 11 homers in 88 games. Reports indicate he may become Cleveland’s starting catching in 2014…Chase Headley (Cotuit ’04) came back to earth a bit after a breakout 2012, but still hit 13 homers for the Padres…Veteran Chris Capuano (Cotuit ’97 & ’98) remained a solid starter for the Dodgers…Chase Utley (Cotuit ’99), annually one of the Cape’s top alumni until an injury in 2012, bounced back with 18 homers in 2013…The Mariners are still waiting for former CCBL MVP Justin Smoak (Cotuit ’06) to become a bona fide star but he did hit a career-high 20 homers this year…

MLB Debuts

Brandon Cumpton (Cotuit ’08 & ’09) – Pittsburgh, June 15
Chris Dwyer (Cotuit ’09) – Kansas City, Sept. 24
Jeff Kobernus (Cotuit ’08) – Washington, May 25
Cameron Rupp (Cotuit ’09) – Philadelphia, Sept. 10

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Micah Johnson led the minors in stolen bases.

Speed Demons

Under Mike Roberts, Cotuit has become known as the place on the Cape for base-stealers, and quite a few are still using their speed to power their climb through the minors.

Three Cotuit alumni were among the top 30 base stealers in the minor leagues. The group was led by White Sox farmhand Micah Johnson, who swiped a minors-best 87 bags in 2013. Johnson was a Kettleer in 2011. To go with his high speed thievery, Johnson hit .312.

Also on the leaderboard were Rico Noel (Cotuit ’09) and Jeff Kobernus (Cotuit ’08). Noel stole 59 bases and hit .266 for San Diego’s Double A affiliate. Kobernus stole 42 at Triple A and played 24 games in the bigs with the Nationals.

Top Arms

Cape League alums don’t show up on pitching prospect lists as much as they do on position player tallies, but Cotuit can lay claim to two of the best. Kyle Zimmer (Cotuit ’11) is the second-ranked prospect in the Royals system, according to Baseball America and his CCBL teammate Chris Beck (Cotuit ’11) is ranked 10th in the White Sox system. Nick Tropeano (Cotuit ’10) checks in at No. 9 in the Astros’ system.

Zimmer got off to a rough start in 2013, but settled in and finished with a 4.32 ERA and 140 strikeouts. He ended the season in Double A, where he had a 1.93 ERA in four starts. In the meantime, his brother Bradley won the 2013 Cape League championship with Cotuit.

Beck is on a similar trajectory, having spent time at both Class A and Double A in 2013. He finished the season with a 3.07 ERA and is the fourth-ranked pitcher in the Chicago system.

Tropeano, one of the heroes of Cotuit’s 2010 championship, spent the entire season at Double A Corpus Christi. Though his ERA was a little high at 4.11, he struck out a Texas League-best 130 in 133.2 innings.

MILB NOTABLES

Tony Kemp (Cotuit ’12) made his pro debut in the Houston organization and hit .273 at two levels, with 21 stolen bases…Kemp’s Vandy teammate Mike Yastrzemski (Cotuit ’10 & ’11) hit .273 in his first season in the Baltimore organization…Jordan Leyland (Cotuit ’10 & ’11) hit .341 in the Northwest League before a promotion to Class A in the Toronto organization…Kyle Finnegan (Cotuit ’12) made a splash for Oakland’s short-season affiliate, striking out 50 in 11 games…Victor Roache (Cotuit ’11), a star with the Kettleers, hit 22 homers for Class A Wisconsin of the Brewers organization…Deven Marrero (Cotuit ’10 & ’11) hit .252 between two levels but remains a top 10 Red Sox prospect, according to Baseball America…Alex Yarbrough (Cotuit ’11) hit .313 with 11 homers and was ranks 10th in BA’s top Angels prospects…Caleb Joseph (Cotuit ’07) had his best year as a pro, blasting 22 home runs for Double A Bowie in the Baltimore farm system…Reliever Ben Rowen (Cotuit ’09) continued to excel in the bullpen, posting a 0.69 ERA in 51 appearances between two levels for the Rangers farm system…Mike Ford (Cotuit ’13), who starred at the beginning of this past CCBL season before signing with the Yankees, hit .235 in the NY-Penn League

July 12, 2013July 12, 2013

The Next Big Thing

CHA11_krisbryant — Kris Bryant and the Cubs have agreed to a deal

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.

April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

Rebels, Commodores set for SEC showdown

No. 2 LSU and No. 10 Kentucky are squaring off this weekend, but that’s not the only SEC battle worth watching for Cape League fans. No. 3 Vanderbilt will visit Ole Miss, with each team featuring six players who are on 2013 Cape League rosters. As a bonus, all three games will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Vanderbilt is 26-4 overall and 8-1 in the SEC. The Rebels are 23-6 but have gotten off to a tough 4-5 start in conference play.

Schedule
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, 5 p.m.
Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

2013 Cape Leaguers
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

Missouri
Hawtin Buchanan – RHP – Bourne
Josh Laxer – RHP – Bourne
Chris Ellis – RHP – Cotuit
Brady Bramlett – RHP – Falmouth
Jacob Waguespack – RHP – Falmouth

Notable
Arms Race
Vanderbilt’s pitching has just been ridiculous this year. I don’t know how anyone can take a series from them. Former Cape Leaguer Kevin Ziomek has been the ace, but 2013 Cape Leaguers Tyler Beede (Cotuit) and Philip Pfeifer (Orleans) haven’t been far behind. Beede is 7-0 with a 0.99 ERA, best among starting pitchers in the SEC. Opponents are hitting .151 against him. Pfeifer has a 3.86 ERA.

Leading Off
Former Cotuit Kettleer Tony Kemp ranks sixth in the SEC in hitting at .375. He has also stolen 14 bases, and his on-base percentage is .486.

Bullpen Rebels
Hawtin Buchanan, Jacob Waguespack and Chris Ellis have all pitched sparingly for Ole Miss because of injuries, but Josh Laxer and Brady Bramlett have been two of the players who’ve picked up the slack. Bramlett has a 1.53 ERA in five appearances, with three starts. Laxer has also pitched out of the bullpen and in a starting role, posting a 2.45 ERA.

Emerging Ace
In his time on Cape Cod, Bobby Wahl was a lights-out closer for Cotuit. He’s now a starter – and an ace. Wahl is 6-0 for the Rebels with a 1.80 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched. The Friday match-up between Wahl and Ziomek – both former Kettleers – should be a dandy.