I went to Yarmouth-Dennis on Friday, but the scheduled pitching matchup had changed and once again I ended up seeing only pitchers I have already seen and written about. With less than two weeks left in the season, and still between 20 and 30 pitchers left unseen, I am making it a point to avoid situations like these from now on.
The postponements and inconsistent accuracy of the Cape League's "Pitchers: Next 3 Days" page are making things difficult, but I am going to try to overcome these obstacles.
As for Friday, Y-D won 6-3 and is starting to distance itself from the pack in the Eastern Division.
Righthander Michael Goodnight from the University of Houston started for Y-D and put together an average performance. Goodnight's main issue is his front side flies open too early and it leads to struggles with his command. Goodnight has good size and a projectable frame at 6'4" 215. His fastball sat in the 91-93 mph range, and he showed an inconsistent 75 mph curveball. When he threw the pitch well it had sharp downward break, but he sometimes didn't finish it and it would hang up in the zone. Goodnight also threw an average changeup with some tail down and in.
Chatham's starter was Patrick Johnson from the University of North Carolina, who is really just held back by his size. Johnson is 5'10" 170 and he throws with big effort. Johnson's fastball sits in the 87-89 mph range and he will occasionally touch 90. His best pitch is a hard 78-82 mph slider with tight break that he can throw for a strike. He also has a pretty deceptive 80 mph changeup with downward movement and an average 72-75 mph curveball. The problem with Johnson is he is pretty much showing you all that he will be, and that is not going to be good enough against professional hitters.
A reliever of interest was Y-D righthander Tyler Burgoon from the University of Michigan, who has put up tremendous numbers as Y-D's closer since I last saw him during the first week of the season. Burgoon hasn't allowed an earned run all season, and he entered Friday's game having given up just four hits in 17.1 innings pitched and striking out 27. He's doing it with only two pitches and a fastball that tops out at 91 mph. Burgoon is undersized at 5'10" 165 and he throws with big effort. His fastball sat in the 89-91 mph range and had good tailing action in on right-handed hitters. He threw a very good 81-82 mph slider with sharp two-plane break. It is pretty clear it is that slider that gets him a lot of his strikeouts. You can't argue with his results, but he is still not a top-level prospect because of his size and average velocity that is clearly maxed out.
Among hitters, three of Y-D's better players put good swings on balls during the game Friday. First baseman Mickey Wiswall turned on a high and inside fastball and hit a line drive home run that left the park in a hurry. He showed really quick hands and a compact swing. Rightfielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech drove an outside fastball off the top of the rightfield fence, and catcher Ben McMahan from the University of Florida also did nicely taking a outside fastball the opposite way for a double.
I am taking my second non-rain-related day off of the summer on Saturday to attend a function back home in Connecticut. I will return to the Cape on Sunday intent on seeing as many of the elusive unseen pitchers as I can over the last week-and-a-half of the regular season.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Harwich 3 Cotuit 2: Both second baseman Phil Gosselin and rightfielder Dan Grovatt, each from the University of Virginia, went 2-for-4 for Harwich.
Falmouth 3 Hyannis 2: Shortstop B.A. Vollmuth from Southern Mississippi hit a home run for Falmouth. Second baseman Nick Crawford from UAB and centerfielder Trent Whitehead from East Carolina each had three hits for Hyannis.
Wareham 2 Orleans 1: Rightfielder George Springer from UConn, first baseman Jordan Swaggerty from Arizona State and catcher Chris Hannick from Cal State Northridge each had two hits for Wareham.
The Brewster at Bourne doubleheader was rained out.
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Showing posts with label Austin Wates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Austin Wates. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
June 26 for June 25 Update
I went to Yarmouth-Dennis on Thursday evening and saw Orleans beat Y-D 6-0 in a briskly played game in the first summer-like weather of the season.
Eight Major League scouts were in attendance for the first pitch, perhaps to see Y-D ace Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast who has pitched 14 straight scoreless innings and was scheduled to make his third start of the season Thursday. Righthander Greg Peavey from Oregon State got the nod instead, and by the end of the game all of the scouts had left.
Peavey, Houston's 32nd round pick, was outpitched by Orleans right-handed starter Casey Gaynor from Rutgers, who baseball fans may remember from his days with the Toms River (NJ) Little League team that made back-to-back Little League World Series appearances in the late 1990s. Gaynor really wasn't that great, but he pitched seven shutout innings, allowed just two hits and struck out three. Gaynor is average height and a little husky at 6'2" 210, and throws with loose arm action and little effort though he does throw across his body. Gaynor's fastball sat in the 86-88 mph range, and he threw a "so-what" 70 mph curveball with slow, sweeping break. He also showed an occasional changeup that didn't do much for me. Gaynor has good control, mixes his pitches well and knows how to pitch, but the quality of his stuff does not make him a professional prospect.
Peavey, on the other hand, had better stuff, but he struggled with his command and ended up allowing five runs before he was knocked out in the fifth inning. Peavey is average size at 6'2" 190, and he throws with good arm action but with effort in his delivery. His fastball sat in the 89-91 mph range with good tailing and sinking action down and in on right-handed hitters. Peavey showed a 79-83 mph curveball with very good downward break, and complemented that pitch with a good 80-82 mph slider, but he did not have good command of his breaking pitches and almost looked as if he didn't know where the pitches were headed when he let them go. Peavey also showed an occasional changeup but relied mostly on his fastball and curve. Peavey needs to improve his command to succeed at higher levels.
Orleans left-handed reliever Matt Packer from the University of Virginia was really the only other pitcher to catch my eye Thursday night. Cleveland's 32nd round draft pick showed four good pitches in just one inning of work. His low 90s fastball had good sinking action, his curveball had steep downward break, he complimented the curve with a good hard slider, and he showed a good 79 mph changeup as well.
Among the position players, Orleans centerfielder Gary Brown from Cal State Fullerton looked very good in his first Cape League appearance of the summer. Brown has a nice compact swing, and he's able to put the ball in play and use his excellent speed to get on base. Brown beat out two infield hits Thursday night and ended up going 3-for-5. He's also an excellent defensive centerfielder as he reads the ball well off the bat and gets great jumps, then uses his speed to run down fly balls all over the outfield. More than once on Thursday he made pretty difficult plays look routine and ended up camping out under balls that looked like doubles off the bat.
Y-D leftfielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech is locked in at the plate. The speedy Wates is leading the league with .419 batting average, and he hit three balls hard Thursday despite going just 1-for-4.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Falmouth 5 Bourne 4: Falmouth left-handed starter Taylor Wall from Rice pitched six shutout innings for Falmouth. Centerfielder Todd Cunningham from Jacksonville State and third baseman Jason Esposito from Vanderbilt each had two hits for Falmouth, while second baseman Pierre LePage from UConn and designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina--Oakland's 47th round pick--each had two hits for Bourne.
Hyannis 3 Cotuit 2: Designated hitter Cody Hawn from Tennessee had two hits for Hyannis and first baseman Tony Plagman from Georgia Tech and the Yankees' 46th round pick had two hits for Cotuit.
Harwich 6 Brewster 3: Rightfielder Dan Grovatt from the University of Virginia and first baseman Connor Powers from Mississippi State and the Dodgers' 11th round pick each had two hits for Harwich. Centerfielder John Barr from the University of Virginia went 3-for-4 and scored all three runs for Brewster.
Chatham 6 Wareham 4: Chatham scored twice in the top of the ninth to improve to a league-best 9-1 this season. Rightfielder Steven Brooks from Wake Forest and leftfielder Jeff Schaus from Clemson each had two hits for Chatham, while third baseman Shea Vucinich from Washington State hit two home runs for Wareham. First baseman Cole Leonida from Georgia Tech had three hits and rightfielder George Springer from UConn had two hits for Wareham.
Eight Major League scouts were in attendance for the first pitch, perhaps to see Y-D ace Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast who has pitched 14 straight scoreless innings and was scheduled to make his third start of the season Thursday. Righthander Greg Peavey from Oregon State got the nod instead, and by the end of the game all of the scouts had left.
Peavey, Houston's 32nd round pick, was outpitched by Orleans right-handed starter Casey Gaynor from Rutgers, who baseball fans may remember from his days with the Toms River (NJ) Little League team that made back-to-back Little League World Series appearances in the late 1990s. Gaynor really wasn't that great, but he pitched seven shutout innings, allowed just two hits and struck out three. Gaynor is average height and a little husky at 6'2" 210, and throws with loose arm action and little effort though he does throw across his body. Gaynor's fastball sat in the 86-88 mph range, and he threw a "so-what" 70 mph curveball with slow, sweeping break. He also showed an occasional changeup that didn't do much for me. Gaynor has good control, mixes his pitches well and knows how to pitch, but the quality of his stuff does not make him a professional prospect.
Peavey, on the other hand, had better stuff, but he struggled with his command and ended up allowing five runs before he was knocked out in the fifth inning. Peavey is average size at 6'2" 190, and he throws with good arm action but with effort in his delivery. His fastball sat in the 89-91 mph range with good tailing and sinking action down and in on right-handed hitters. Peavey showed a 79-83 mph curveball with very good downward break, and complemented that pitch with a good 80-82 mph slider, but he did not have good command of his breaking pitches and almost looked as if he didn't know where the pitches were headed when he let them go. Peavey also showed an occasional changeup but relied mostly on his fastball and curve. Peavey needs to improve his command to succeed at higher levels.
Orleans left-handed reliever Matt Packer from the University of Virginia was really the only other pitcher to catch my eye Thursday night. Cleveland's 32nd round draft pick showed four good pitches in just one inning of work. His low 90s fastball had good sinking action, his curveball had steep downward break, he complimented the curve with a good hard slider, and he showed a good 79 mph changeup as well.
Among the position players, Orleans centerfielder Gary Brown from Cal State Fullerton looked very good in his first Cape League appearance of the summer. Brown has a nice compact swing, and he's able to put the ball in play and use his excellent speed to get on base. Brown beat out two infield hits Thursday night and ended up going 3-for-5. He's also an excellent defensive centerfielder as he reads the ball well off the bat and gets great jumps, then uses his speed to run down fly balls all over the outfield. More than once on Thursday he made pretty difficult plays look routine and ended up camping out under balls that looked like doubles off the bat.
Y-D leftfielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech is locked in at the plate. The speedy Wates is leading the league with .419 batting average, and he hit three balls hard Thursday despite going just 1-for-4.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Falmouth 5 Bourne 4: Falmouth left-handed starter Taylor Wall from Rice pitched six shutout innings for Falmouth. Centerfielder Todd Cunningham from Jacksonville State and third baseman Jason Esposito from Vanderbilt each had two hits for Falmouth, while second baseman Pierre LePage from UConn and designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina--Oakland's 47th round pick--each had two hits for Bourne.
Hyannis 3 Cotuit 2: Designated hitter Cody Hawn from Tennessee had two hits for Hyannis and first baseman Tony Plagman from Georgia Tech and the Yankees' 46th round pick had two hits for Cotuit.
Harwich 6 Brewster 3: Rightfielder Dan Grovatt from the University of Virginia and first baseman Connor Powers from Mississippi State and the Dodgers' 11th round pick each had two hits for Harwich. Centerfielder John Barr from the University of Virginia went 3-for-4 and scored all three runs for Brewster.
Chatham 6 Wareham 4: Chatham scored twice in the top of the ninth to improve to a league-best 9-1 this season. Rightfielder Steven Brooks from Wake Forest and leftfielder Jeff Schaus from Clemson each had two hits for Chatham, while third baseman Shea Vucinich from Washington State hit two home runs for Wareham. First baseman Cole Leonida from Georgia Tech had three hits and rightfielder George Springer from UConn had two hits for Wareham.
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