It was a hard off-season in Cotuit with the passing of Arnold Mycock and coach Mike Roberts’ wife, Nancy. It’s a good bet everyone is eager for some Kettleers baseball.
 

FIVE TO WATCH

1. Jeren Kendall
2. Jake Bivens
3. Alonzo Jones
4. Matt Ruppenthal
5. Colton Hock
 

NOTABLE

Jeren Kendall was poised to be one of the top returning players in the league but he has been invited to Team USA, so it remains to be seen whether he spends any time at Lowell Park. If he does, he’s certainly the guy to watch after his huge sophomore season.

Kendall’s Vandy teammate Alonzo Jones might be able to do a pretty fair impersonation. A year younger, he has pop and speed.

Cotuit’s online roster doesn’t include players on temporary contracts, but we’ll mention one here — East Tennessee State catcher Hagen Owenby hit .374 with 17 homers this spring and seems a safe bet to stick around all summer.

The Kettleers have three freshmen who were hearing a lot of draft buzz this time last year. They had varying results in their first years of college, though. Jason Bilous was solid for Coastal Carolina, but UCLA’s Justin Hooper and Mississippi State’s Jared Padgett saw limited action.

Stanford’s Colton Hock and Quinn Brodey were standouts for the NECBL’s Newport Gulls last year and are slated to be together again in Cotuit. Hock had a great spring in the Cardinal bullpen. Brodey – a two-way player in the past – honed in on the bat this spring.

Are any Mississippi State players not coming to the Cape? Cotuit has two, and I think every Cape team I’ve previewed so far has at least one, or sometimes four.

A pair of Mountain West Conference standouts in 2015 will be in Cotuit before starting a new chapter next year. Cory Voss and Cal Stevenson are both transferring to Arizona. Voss went the junior college route this year while Stevenson sat out the season at Arizona. Both are in Cotuit while their future Wildcat teammates head to a Super Regional.

 

PITCHERS

Jason Bilous – FR – Coastal Carolina – 29th round pick last year had 4.04 ERA, struck out 45 in 42 innings in first season at Coastal
Colton Hock – SO – Stanford – Had big 2015 with NECBL’s Newport Gulls and put up 2.03 ERA, 6 saves, 61 Ks in 57.2 IP this spring
Bobby Holmes – SO – Coastal Carolina – Started six games and saved three, with lots of relief work in between and fanned 66 in 69.2 IP
Justin Hooper – FR – UCLA – Six-foot-five lefty was highly-touted recruit, but pitched only eight innings of the bullpen this spring
Tyler Johnson – SO – South Carolina – One of three Gamecocks with saves, he owns 9 to go with 55 Ks and just 8 walks in 50 IP
Matt Ladrech – SO – California – Solid numbers in two years as a starter and had 4.30 ERA this season
Taylor Lehman – SO – Penn State – Six-foot-eight left-hander finished with 4.79 ERA in Nittany Lions weekend rotation
Jared Padgett – FR – Mississippi State – Highly-touted left-hander limited to 2.1 innings this spring
Ryan Rigby – SO – Mississippi State – Strong reliever for Super Regional club has 1.75 ERA, 41 Ks in 19 appearances
Josh Roberson – FR – UNC-Wilmington – Started three games and made 10 relief appearances with 6.04 ERA and 22 K in 22.1 IP
Keith Rogalla – SO – Creighton – Former 37th-round pick struck out 59 in 73 innings as weekend starter for Blue Jays
Matt Ruppenthal – SO – Vanderbilt – Shined in Vandy bullpen with 2.33 ERA, 59 Ks in 46.1 innings
 

CATCHERS

Tim Susnara – SO – Oregon – Struggled with the bat in Cotuit last summer but bounced back with .268 AVG, 2 HR for Ducks
Cory Voss – SO – McLennan CC – MWC Freshman of the Year in 2015 at New Mexico starred in JUCO this year and is bound for Arizona
Albee Weiss – SO – Cal State Northridge – Hit .219 and ranked second on the team with six home runs this season

 

INFIELDERS

A.J. Balta – RS SO – Oregon – In return from redshirt season, hit .219 with team-leading nine home runs and 47 RBI
Jake Bivens – SO – Michigan – Big 10 Freshman of the Year in 2015 hit .356 as a sophomore with .441 OBP and 13 SB
Clay Fisher – SO – UC Santa Barbara – Gauchos’ starting shortstop since day one last year, hitting .286 this season with only five errors
Greyson Jenista – FR – Wichita State – Emerged as Shockers’ top hitter in big freshman year, hitting .326 with five home runs, 32 RBI
Alonzo Jones – FR – Vanderbilt – Speedy infielder made impact immediately, hitting .285 with 18 XBH, 10 stolen bases
Jordan Pearce – SO – Nevada – Built on strong freshman season by hitting .332 with 4 HR, 17 2B, team-high 47 RBI
Josh Shaw – FR – St. John’s – Hit .292 with two home runs and stole seven bases while playing in all 55 games in freshman season
 

OUTFIELDERS

Quinn Brodey – SO – Stanford – Two-way standout focused on the plate this spring and hit .280 with 7 HR, team-best 41 RBI
Dayton Dugas – FR – Wichita State – Hit .304 with four homers, 16 XBH in debut with Shockers
Jeren Kendall – SO – Vanderbilt – Also a Team USA invite, followed summer in Cotuit with big sophomore year – .332, 9 HR, 28 SB
Cal Stevenson – SO – Arizona – Hit .356 as a freshman at Nevada and sat out this year after transferring to Arizona