July 16 for July 15 Update

I went to Harwich on Wednesday evening for a doubleheader between Harwich and Wareham. There were at least 20 Major League scouts in attendance, and because there is not much room behind home plate at Harwich for scouts to sit, I overheard some interesting conversation by the end of the second seventh-inning game.

A few of the topics of discussion as Wareham's slow-working right-handed starter Brett Eibner from Arkansas checked the runner a few more times were hunting accidents, Dunkin' Donuts and Bailey's Irish Cream.

The Major League Scout 50-yard dash to the parking lot as soon as the last pitch was thrown was also a sight to behold. Wareham won the first game 5-1 and the second game 2-1.

The first game was a great pitcher's duel by Wareham right-handed starter Brandon Workman from the Univeristy of Texas and left-handed starter Aaron Meade from Missouri State.

The Phillies drafted Workman out of high school in the third round of the 2007 draft, and if they had been able to sign him and he consistently threw like he did Wednesday he would have been nice trade bait for the Phils to obtain Roy Halladay. He allowed one run and scattered six hits in eight innings pitched and struck out nine. Workman has great size at 6'5" 225 and simply has the best curveball in the Cape League. Workman has a slightly awkward motion in which he leans forward and then throws with some effort, but he has really good command of both his fastball and his curveball. Workman's fastball sat in the 91-93 mph range and his 74-76 mph curveball had tremendous 12/6 break. He only threw his 84 changeup once or twice the entire game, but his best two pitches were enough. Workman is definitely a potential first round pick next June.

Meade also looked very good in Game 1, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings pitched and striking out nine. Meade is above-average height with a thin, athletic build at 6'3" 185. He throws easily with good arm action, though he doesn't always follow through and he can tend to allow his pitches to drift up in the strike zone. Meade's fastball sat in the 88-90 mph range with good arm-side run. He threw an average, running 80 mph slider, and his best pitch was his 77-78 mph changeup. He tipped the changeup a little bit by slowing his body down as he threw it, but it was still a really good pitch and got him a lot of his strikeouts.

Eibner started Game 2 for Wareham and pitched a seven-inning complete game, allowing one run on four hits and striking out eight. Eibner is above-average height with a thin, athletic build at 6'3" 205. He throws easy with pretty good arm action, though his motion is a little loose and he struggled at times with his control. Eibner's fastball sat in the 92-95 mph range early in the game, but was down to the 89-90 mph range by the end of the game, an alarming sign for scouts. All of Eibner's secondary pitches were decent but not outstanding. He threw a hard 85-87 mph slider with tight break, an 80 mph curveball he didn't throw very often and an 81 mph changeup with good downward movement.

An interesting position player to watch was Harwich outfielder Leon Landry from LSU, one of the last late-arriving College World Series position players I hadn't yet seen. Landry is a great athlete with very good speed and a quick bat that suits him well for a role as a leadoff hitter. He is also a good defensive outfielder who does a good job going back on fly balls. One Major League scout said Landry is a fringe Major League prospect.

Wareham designated hitter/outfielder Alex Dickerson from the University of Indiana finally hit his first home run of the season Wednesday. He put a really smooth swing on a good fastball and drove it out of the park. Dickerson's raw power has impressed me every time I have watched Wareham take batting practice, but he gets off balance a lot of the time in the games and hasn't been able to put it together when it counts. Dickerson was just a freshman this spring, so he has time to figure it out. The ability is definitely there.

Cape League All-Stars will be selected Thursday. I will be at Brewster at Hyannis.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Hyannis 6 Bourne 0: Right-handed starter Seth Rosin from the University of Minnesota pitched five shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out five, and third baseman Dustin Harrington for East Carolina went 3-for-5 for Hyannis.

Orleans 3 Brewster 3, 12 innings: Third baseman Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia University went 3-for-6 for Brewster. Centerfielder Gary Brown from Cal State Fullerton went 2-for-5 with a home run and a triple for Orleans.

Chatham 6 Falmouth 4: First baseman Dean Green from Oklahoma State went 2-for-3 with a grand slam for Chatham. Third baseman Matt Skole from Georgia Tech homered for Falmouth.

Cotuit 3 Y-D 0: Cotuit right-handed starter Ricky Bowen from Mississippi State, the Reds' 43rd-roun pick last month, allowed two hits over five shutout innings. Left fielder Cory Vaughn from San Diego State went 2-for-2 for Cotuit and third baseman Tyler Hanover from LSU went 2-for-4 for Y-D.

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