July 9 for July 8 Update

I went to Bourne on Wednesday evening, and the weather randomly decided to be cold again even though it was July 8th. After all the rainouts we've had I would say "at least it wasn't raining," but it drizzled during part of the game too.

Bourne used five different pitchers in its 3-1 win over Falmouth, and all five are at least worth talking about.

Right-handed starter Seth Maness from East Carolina was probably the least impressive of the five, but was still decent. Maness has kind of a small frame at 6'0" 182, but he throws with good arm action. He tends to rush through his motion a little bit. Maness' fastball sat mostly in the 89-90 mph range, and he worked almost exclusively on the outer half of the plate. He also threw a decent 81 mph changeup with good movement. He showed both an 80 mph slider and a 75 mph curveball, but neither was better than a Cape League-average -pitch.

Right-handed reliever Alex Wimmers from Ohio State came in next, and he entered the game with a small amount of buzz among scouts as another Team USA Trials late-arriver. One American League scout said before the game he was glad he caught this game because he was told during batting practice that Wimmers would throw an inning. Wimmers has an athletic build at 6'2" 195. He is a quick worker who throws with some effort. Wimmers' fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range, and he threw a good 74-75 mph curveball with big downward break. He also showed a 77 mph changeup.

Right-handed reliever Justin Poovey from the University of Florida pitched the seventh inning. Poovey is another guy who has a bit of a small frame for a pitcher at 6'1" 190. He throws with some effort and tends to throw across his body. Poovey's fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range and he also showed an 83 mph slider.

Right-handed reliever Stephen Harrold from UNC Wilmington is usually Bourne's closer, but he pitched the eighth inning Wednesday. Harrold is also average size at 6'1" 200. He appears to stop himself as he delivers, and doesn't drive his body all the way threw the pitch. His 89-92 mph fastball is the only pitch I caught during his inning of work.

Finally, right-handed reliever Kevin Munson from James Madison pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for Bourne and picked up the save. I had seen Munson earlier in the year, but his stuff was a lot more memorable this time. Munson is also average size for a pitcher at 6'2" 200. He needs to tighten up his motion, and he throws with some effort, but he has two good pitches that really work for him in a bullpen role. Munson's fastball sat in the 93-94 mph range Wednesday and he spotted it well. He also threw an 80-83 mph slider with good run that he both throw for strikes and get hitters to chase out of the zone. His appearance was probably the most impressive of the seven pitchers who appeared in Wednesday's game.

One hitter worth discussing is Bourne third baseman Rob Segedin from Tulane, who recently joined the Braves after Team USA Trials. Segedin has lost some weight since last summer when he played for Falmouth, but he is still a solid 6'3" 225. He has a quick bat and a short stroke from the right side of the plate, and he hit the ball hard in all four of his at-bats Wednesday when he went 2-for-4.

Another position player of note Wednesday was Bourne rightfielder Ben Klafczynski from Kent State, who made perhaps the defensive play of the season when he leaped high over the short fence in right to rob a sure home run from Falmouth leftfielder Brian Fletcher from Auburn.

I will be at Chatham at Brewster on Thursday.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Harwich 5 Cotuit 2: Rightfielder Dan Grovatt from the University of Virginia and first baseman Connor Powers from Mississippi State, the Dodgers' 11th round pick, each had two hits for Harwich. Third baseman Zack Cox went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Cotuit.

Hyannis 3 Orleans 0: Right-handed pitchers Austin Hudson from Central Florida, Seattle's 27th round pick, and Dallas Gallant from Sam Houston State combined on a five-hit shutout for Hyannis. Gallant struck out eight in his three innings of work.

Wareham 5 Chatham 1: Left-handed starter Eric Pfisterer from Duke allowed no earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched, and designated hitter Zach Wilson from Arizona State had two hits for Wareham.

Brewster 5-Y-D 1: Right-handed starter Sean Hoelscher from TCU pitched 6.1 shutout innings for Brewster, allowing four hits and striking out three. Centerfielder Jordan Casas from Long Beach State, third baseman Tyler Hanover from LSU and leftfielder Steve Chatwood from the University of San Diego each had two hits for Yarmouth-Dennis.

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