I went to Cotuit on Sunday for a very good pitching matchup between Cotuit lefthander Chad Bell from Walter State Junior College and Orleans lefthander Jimmy Reyes from Elon.
I had seen Bell throw in a relief appearance early in the season and came away nonplussed, but I had been meaning to give him a second look after he became a starter and threw a no-hitter.
I had also heard good things about Reyes, and only saw him throw three pitches when I caught the tail end of one of his appearances a few weeks back.
In addition to the pitching, Sunday's game featured the best managerial tantrum I have seen all summer when Orleans manager Kelly Nicholson ran out to argue a call at third base in the seventh inning. He yelled at both base umpires and chest bumped the home plate umpire who was attempting to stop Nicholson from continuing to get in his partner's face after Nicholson was already tossed. Nicholson finally absquatulated, but he caused another stir by stopping briefly in the Orleans bullpen on his seemingly aimless wander toward the woods surrounding the field. It was good times.
Cotuit won 7-4 in a game stopped by darkness after 7 1/2 innings.
Reyes was probably the better of the two southpaws. He is average height with an athletic build at 6'0" 190, though the 6'0" listing might be generous. He has a tight motion but throws with some effort and falls off the mound toward third base. Reyes is what you would call an advanced pitcher because he has four pitches, he mixes them well, and he has very good command. Reyes' fastball sat between 86-88 mph and had good tailing action in on left-handed hitters. Despite his limited velocity, Reyes was not afraid to challenge hitters inside. His 73-75 mph curveball was a very good pitch. It had slow, sweeping break but its late movement and Reyes' ability to spot it made it effective. Reyes also threw a slider with a similar trajectory but less depth than the curveball and a 78 mph changeup. Reyes isn't really a high ceiling guy, but he is solid and his command and know-how could translate to success at higher levels.
Bell was also solid and in a similar mold to Reyes. Bell is big with a solid build at 6'4" 215 but still has room to fill out. He has good arm action and throws with minimal effort but he does have balance issues and tends to fall off the mound toward third base. Bell's fastball sat in the 86-87 mph range and had some sinking action. His 78 mph floating changeup was perhaps his best pitch, but he tends to slow his body down when he is going to throw it. Bell showed a good curveball with sharp break during some of his warmup sessions between innings, but he didn't have feel for it during the game and really threw it effectively. He relied more on his average 79-81 mph spinning slider. Bell also has a poor pickoff move to first base for a lefty, and twice he failed to cover first base on ground balls to the right side. Bell his decent stuff, he's been very successful this summer and probably has the potential to add a few mph to his fastball. But he is not outstanding and Cotuit has better pitchers than him.
One of those pitchers is right-handed reliever Daniel Tillman from Florida Southern who has now thrown 21.1 innings this summer without allowing a run. Tillman didn't have his best stuff Sunday, to the point where resting third baseman Zack Cox from Arkansas came into the scouts' area during Tillman's appearance to ask if anyone noticed anything wrong with Tillman. His low 90's fastball/slider/changeup combination is still pretty good and has confounded hitters all season.
Among hitters, designated hitter and usual catcher Cameron Rupp had a big game for Cotuit. Rupp drove a fastball for a solo home run and added an RBI double down the leftfield line later in the game. Rupp is a big guy at 6'2" 235 with big power, but he doesn't have great balance at the plate. He also has a plus arm when he catches.
Cotuit shortstop Chris Bisson from the University of Kentucky made a couple of athletic plays in the field. Bisson leads the league in stolen bases and is clearly a very athletic player, but he often misses the routine play and he had made 16 errors in 39 games coming into Sunday.
Cotuit leftfielder Zach Cone from the University of Georgia did a good job using the whole field when he hit a three-rbi double to the right centerfield gap. Cone also has a good arm in the outfield and held Orleans third baseman Michael Olt from UConn at first base on a hit down the left field line.
I plan to be at Brewster at Bourne on Monday.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Bourne 7 Hyannis 6: Designated hitter Rob Segedin from Tulane went 3-for-4 and second baseman Pierre LePage from UConn went 2-for-3 for Bourne. Bourne first baseman Kyle Roller hit his league-leading ninth home run of the summer.
Harwich 1 Chatham 0: Left-handed starter Aaron Meade from Missouri State, the Yankees' 28th-round pick in June, pitched seven shutout innings for Harwich, allowing four hits and striking out five. Chatham left-handed starter Tyler Lyons from Oklahoma State, the Yankees' 10th-round pick in June, allowed one run on seven hits and struck out seven in 7.1 innings pitched.
Wareham 6 Falmouth 5: Leftfielder Alex Dickerson from the University of Indiana went 2-for-2 with a home run for Wareham. First baseman Hunter Morris from Auburn went 2-for-4 with a home run and leftfielder Brian Fletcher from Auburn went 3-for-4 for Falmouth.
Y-D 15 Brewster 5: First baseman Mickey Wiswall from Boston College went 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs for Y-D. Second baseman Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia homered for Brewster.
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Showing posts with label Cameron Rupp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cameron Rupp. Show all posts
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
July 24 for July 23 Update
I went to Boston on Thursday for the Cape League All-Star Game. It was a really cool experience to have free rein over any section in Fenway Park, and the players were obviously having a blast taking BP, shagging balls and then playing a game in a Major League ballpark.
The persisting rain cut everything short and gave the West a 3-0, 5-inning win, but it didn't really put a damper on the experience while it lasted.
I still advocate keeping the All-Star Game on the Cape because it makes it easier for the diehard fans and volunteers to attend, but it was a lot of fun and would be a good idea to hold the festivities at Fenway once every few years. The announced crowd of 14,317 was bigger than I anticipated.
A lot of guys seemed to be overswinging during batting practice, but a few players stood out for taking solid rounds of BP. Chatham's Mike Murray from Wake Forest kept hitting solid line drives from his wide-base stance. Cotuit's Cameron Rupp from the University of Texas crushed a couple balls out of the stadium. Rupp also has the best arm among catchers. Orleans' Gary Brown from Cal State Fullerton, Y-D's Mickey Wiswall from Boston College and Falmouth's B.A. Vollmuth from Southern Mississippi hit well too.
I decided to make a random list of guys who hit at least one ball over the Green Monster seats during batting practice. They were Brown, Harwich's Connor Powers from Mississippi State, Orleans' Alex Hassan from Duke, Brewster's Harold Martinez from the University of Miami, Y-D's Micah Gibbs from LSU, Brewster's Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia and Rupp.
I didn't pay much attention to the Home Run Derby because I was actually talking to my former employer Peter Gammons during most of it (always good to name drop). It was almost an uncomfortable situation for the league when the first couple of guys struggled to find their home run swings. Congratulations to Powers, who beat Rupp in the finals.
Because each pitcher only threw one inning, I spent the game focusly mostly on them. Like many scouts I went to a section farther from the plate so I could sit under cover during the game, and I had to rely on the stadium radar gun for pitchers' velocities. As far as I can tell it was accurate compared to velocities I had seen from most guys earlier in the summer, considering each guy could let loose for his short appearance.
Wareham righthander Brandon Workman from the University of Texas looked like an All-Star starter in his inning of work. His fastball sat in the 94-95 mph range, and his 77-78 mph hammer curveball looked tremendous even from a more distant vantage point. Barring injury I would be very surprised if he didn't go in the first round of next June's draft.
Orleans lefthander Rob Rasmussmen from UCLA impressed me in my first live look of him since last summer. He is the only All-Star who appeared yesterday who I hadn't seen yet, and I had been meaning to catch him since one American League front office guy said earlier this summer that Rasmussen is a "Randy Wolf clone." Rasmussen is undersized at 5'11" 160, but he has tight mechanics and good arm action and throws with some effort but not extreme effort. His fastball sat in the 92-93 mph range and touched 94. His 81-82 mph curveball was a good pitch with tight break and it complemented his 85-87 mph slider well. He also threw a good 83 mph changeup with good tailing action down and in on left-handed hitters. He is another guy who should go in the first few rounds next year.
Wareham righthander Jack Armstrong from Vanderbilt put up the best velocity numbers of the day, as his fastball sat in the 95-96 mph range and he did a great job pounding it in on hitters' hands. His 83 mph changeup is a good pitch he is able to throw for strikes. He only threw one 78 mph slider with hard run, and he threw two curveballs, one at 80 mph and the other at 81. The one curveball he threw well had really impressive downward break.
Brewster righthander Kyle Blair from the University of San Diego struggled with his control. He was throwing across his body which really hurt his command. Blair's fastball sat around 92 mph, his 78 mph slider had good, hard run, his 79-81 mph changeup tailed in on right-handed hitters and he threw a decent 77 mph curve with steep break.
Wareham lefthander Eric Pfisterer from Duke still strikes me as more of a good college pitcher but he pitched effectively in his inning of work. His fastball sat in the 86-88 mph range and once touched 90. He threw a 78 mph curveball with sweeping 3/8 break and an average 81 mph slider with harder break. His best pitch is a deceptive 78-79 mph changeup with good downward movement.
Y-D lefthander Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast was the East Division MVP, but his inning was so quick we didn't get to see much from him. His goofy, deceptive motion is probably still his best asset, as the tall and very thin Sale flies at the hitter with all arms and legs. Sale's fastball sat in the 93-94 mph range and he also showed a good 80 mph slider. He is another guy scouts are talking about as a potential high pick next year.
Hyannis righthander Dallas Gallant from Sam Houston State pitched a quick fourth inning. His fastball sat around 93 mph and had good tailing action in on right-handed hitters. He showed a 79-80 mph curveball with sweeping break and a really good, hard 85 mph slider.
Orleans lefthander Elliot Glynn from UConn was probably the pitcher who impressed me the least, even though he didn't allow a run in his inning. He slings his pitches and has slight balance issues. His fastball sat around 87 mph and he threw an average slider that would run out of the strike zone.
Finally, Bourne righthander Stephen Harrold from UNC Wilmington came in and struggled with his control before a double play bailed him out to preserve the win. His fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range and had some tail in on right-handed hitters. His 80-82 mph slider had sharp break and he also showed an 80-81 mph curveball.
To me, Workman was the most impressive pitcher, followed by Armstrong, Rasmussen and Sale in that order.
It is also worth mentioning Cotuit third baseman Zack Cox looked great in his two at-bats which earned him the West Division MVP award. He crushed a triple off the centerfield fence against Rasmussen. It hit right near the garage door and must have travelled about 400 feet. He then went with an outside pitch for a single to left in his second at-bat. I like Cox's aggressive approach at the plate and he often swings at the first good pitch he sees and hits it well. It has been a struggle for me for the past couple of weeks now whether to make him or Gibbs my No. 1 position player prospect.
I will most likely be at Chatham at Y-D on Friday.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? E-Mail me at schimmeldbk@gmail.com
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The persisting rain cut everything short and gave the West a 3-0, 5-inning win, but it didn't really put a damper on the experience while it lasted.
I still advocate keeping the All-Star Game on the Cape because it makes it easier for the diehard fans and volunteers to attend, but it was a lot of fun and would be a good idea to hold the festivities at Fenway once every few years. The announced crowd of 14,317 was bigger than I anticipated.
A lot of guys seemed to be overswinging during batting practice, but a few players stood out for taking solid rounds of BP. Chatham's Mike Murray from Wake Forest kept hitting solid line drives from his wide-base stance. Cotuit's Cameron Rupp from the University of Texas crushed a couple balls out of the stadium. Rupp also has the best arm among catchers. Orleans' Gary Brown from Cal State Fullerton, Y-D's Mickey Wiswall from Boston College and Falmouth's B.A. Vollmuth from Southern Mississippi hit well too.
I decided to make a random list of guys who hit at least one ball over the Green Monster seats during batting practice. They were Brown, Harwich's Connor Powers from Mississippi State, Orleans' Alex Hassan from Duke, Brewster's Harold Martinez from the University of Miami, Y-D's Micah Gibbs from LSU, Brewster's Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia and Rupp.
I didn't pay much attention to the Home Run Derby because I was actually talking to my former employer Peter Gammons during most of it (always good to name drop). It was almost an uncomfortable situation for the league when the first couple of guys struggled to find their home run swings. Congratulations to Powers, who beat Rupp in the finals.
Because each pitcher only threw one inning, I spent the game focusly mostly on them. Like many scouts I went to a section farther from the plate so I could sit under cover during the game, and I had to rely on the stadium radar gun for pitchers' velocities. As far as I can tell it was accurate compared to velocities I had seen from most guys earlier in the summer, considering each guy could let loose for his short appearance.
Wareham righthander Brandon Workman from the University of Texas looked like an All-Star starter in his inning of work. His fastball sat in the 94-95 mph range, and his 77-78 mph hammer curveball looked tremendous even from a more distant vantage point. Barring injury I would be very surprised if he didn't go in the first round of next June's draft.
Orleans lefthander Rob Rasmussmen from UCLA impressed me in my first live look of him since last summer. He is the only All-Star who appeared yesterday who I hadn't seen yet, and I had been meaning to catch him since one American League front office guy said earlier this summer that Rasmussen is a "Randy Wolf clone." Rasmussen is undersized at 5'11" 160, but he has tight mechanics and good arm action and throws with some effort but not extreme effort. His fastball sat in the 92-93 mph range and touched 94. His 81-82 mph curveball was a good pitch with tight break and it complemented his 85-87 mph slider well. He also threw a good 83 mph changeup with good tailing action down and in on left-handed hitters. He is another guy who should go in the first few rounds next year.
Wareham righthander Jack Armstrong from Vanderbilt put up the best velocity numbers of the day, as his fastball sat in the 95-96 mph range and he did a great job pounding it in on hitters' hands. His 83 mph changeup is a good pitch he is able to throw for strikes. He only threw one 78 mph slider with hard run, and he threw two curveballs, one at 80 mph and the other at 81. The one curveball he threw well had really impressive downward break.
Brewster righthander Kyle Blair from the University of San Diego struggled with his control. He was throwing across his body which really hurt his command. Blair's fastball sat around 92 mph, his 78 mph slider had good, hard run, his 79-81 mph changeup tailed in on right-handed hitters and he threw a decent 77 mph curve with steep break.
Wareham lefthander Eric Pfisterer from Duke still strikes me as more of a good college pitcher but he pitched effectively in his inning of work. His fastball sat in the 86-88 mph range and once touched 90. He threw a 78 mph curveball with sweeping 3/8 break and an average 81 mph slider with harder break. His best pitch is a deceptive 78-79 mph changeup with good downward movement.
Y-D lefthander Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast was the East Division MVP, but his inning was so quick we didn't get to see much from him. His goofy, deceptive motion is probably still his best asset, as the tall and very thin Sale flies at the hitter with all arms and legs. Sale's fastball sat in the 93-94 mph range and he also showed a good 80 mph slider. He is another guy scouts are talking about as a potential high pick next year.
Hyannis righthander Dallas Gallant from Sam Houston State pitched a quick fourth inning. His fastball sat around 93 mph and had good tailing action in on right-handed hitters. He showed a 79-80 mph curveball with sweeping break and a really good, hard 85 mph slider.
Orleans lefthander Elliot Glynn from UConn was probably the pitcher who impressed me the least, even though he didn't allow a run in his inning. He slings his pitches and has slight balance issues. His fastball sat around 87 mph and he threw an average slider that would run out of the strike zone.
Finally, Bourne righthander Stephen Harrold from UNC Wilmington came in and struggled with his control before a double play bailed him out to preserve the win. His fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range and had some tail in on right-handed hitters. His 80-82 mph slider had sharp break and he also showed an 80-81 mph curveball.
To me, Workman was the most impressive pitcher, followed by Armstrong, Rasmussen and Sale in that order.
It is also worth mentioning Cotuit third baseman Zack Cox looked great in his two at-bats which earned him the West Division MVP award. He crushed a triple off the centerfield fence against Rasmussen. It hit right near the garage door and must have travelled about 400 feet. He then went with an outside pitch for a single to left in his second at-bat. I like Cox's aggressive approach at the plate and he often swings at the first good pitch he sees and hits it well. It has been a struggle for me for the past couple of weeks now whether to make him or Gibbs my No. 1 position player prospect.
I will most likely be at Chatham at Y-D on Friday.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? E-Mail me at schimmeldbk@gmail.com
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Monday, July 20, 2009
July 21 for July 20 Update
I went to Hyannis on Monday night to watch Hyannis play Cotuit. An e-mailer, a fellow scout and the league's ERA leaderboard persuaded me to catch right-handed starter Jake Buchanan from North Carolina State pitch for Cotuit, and sure enough he pitched a complete-game,three-hit shutout and struck out 10. Cotuit won 3-0.
Buchanan, whose ERA was 0.67 before he pitched a shutout Monday, didn't have tremendous stuff, but he had a good feel for four solid pitches and he wasn't afraid to throw any of them in any count. In the middle innings of his start, one American League scout said "This guy doesn't ever throw the same pitch twice in a row." Hyannis' hitters were off-balance the entire game, and only four balls left the infield. Buchanan is average height with a stocky build at 6'0" 205. He short-arms his pitches a little but throws easy and has good balance. Buchanan's fastball sat in the 88-90 mph range but hitters always seemed unsure of when it was coming and therefore it was effectively faster than its actual speed. Buchanan's best pitch was probably his tumbling 74-77 mph curveball with very good, sharp break. He also threw a 76-80 mph slider with good run and a good 76-79 mph changeup with nice downward movement. None of Buchanan's pitches, other than maybe his curveball, was sensational on its own but his full repertoire was very effective. He could certainly be drafted in the first few rounds next June.
Hyannis' starter was righthander Austin Hudson from Central Florida, the Mariners' 27th-round pick last month. He looked better than when I saw him recently, but he still wasn't anything that special. His fastball sat in the 88-89 mph range, his 76-79 mph slider had good run to it and his 80-82 mph changeup was effective Monday. He pitched a good game but was definitely outshined by Buchanan.
Cotuit catcher Cameron Rupp from the University of Texas got the day off, but I got to watch him take batting practice and to be quite honest I didn't know what to make of it. Something about his swing looked off, but he made really good contact anyway. He hunches forward in his batting stance and has an uppercut swing. I still haven't seen him in person in a game as he has sat out each time I've seen Cotuit since his late arrival. But I get the feeling he will need to straighten out his swing to continue to hit in pro ball. From what I hear he is still one of the best catching prospects on the Cape, though.
Hyannis shortstop Elliot Soto from Creighton is now officially the best defensive player on the Cape. He just looks incredibly smooth every time the ball is hit to him. I just noticed today he hasn't made an error in 29 games this summer. If only he wasn't 5'9" 155 and a light hitter.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Bourne 4 Falmouth 3: Right-handed starter Eric Cantrell from George Washingto allowed no earned runs on four hits and struck out five in seven innings pitched. Centerfielder Scott Woodward from Coastal Carolina, Rob Segedin from Tulane and Ben Klafczynski from Kent State each had two hits for Bourne.
Wareham 3 Brewster 0: Five Wareham pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout, and rightfielder George Springer from UConn had two hits for the Gatemen.
Harwich 7 Chatham 2: Right-handed starter Mike Gipson from Florida Atlantic pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10. Leftfielder Leon Landry from LSU went 2-for-4 with a home run and rightfielder Dan Grovatt from the University of Virginia went 3-for-4 for Harwich.
Y-D 4 Orleans 1: Y-D left-handed starter Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast allowed one run on seven hits in seven innings pitched, striking out five. Leftfielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech went 2-for-4 for Y-D.
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Buchanan, whose ERA was 0.67 before he pitched a shutout Monday, didn't have tremendous stuff, but he had a good feel for four solid pitches and he wasn't afraid to throw any of them in any count. In the middle innings of his start, one American League scout said "This guy doesn't ever throw the same pitch twice in a row." Hyannis' hitters were off-balance the entire game, and only four balls left the infield. Buchanan is average height with a stocky build at 6'0" 205. He short-arms his pitches a little but throws easy and has good balance. Buchanan's fastball sat in the 88-90 mph range but hitters always seemed unsure of when it was coming and therefore it was effectively faster than its actual speed. Buchanan's best pitch was probably his tumbling 74-77 mph curveball with very good, sharp break. He also threw a 76-80 mph slider with good run and a good 76-79 mph changeup with nice downward movement. None of Buchanan's pitches, other than maybe his curveball, was sensational on its own but his full repertoire was very effective. He could certainly be drafted in the first few rounds next June.
Hyannis' starter was righthander Austin Hudson from Central Florida, the Mariners' 27th-round pick last month. He looked better than when I saw him recently, but he still wasn't anything that special. His fastball sat in the 88-89 mph range, his 76-79 mph slider had good run to it and his 80-82 mph changeup was effective Monday. He pitched a good game but was definitely outshined by Buchanan.
Cotuit catcher Cameron Rupp from the University of Texas got the day off, but I got to watch him take batting practice and to be quite honest I didn't know what to make of it. Something about his swing looked off, but he made really good contact anyway. He hunches forward in his batting stance and has an uppercut swing. I still haven't seen him in person in a game as he has sat out each time I've seen Cotuit since his late arrival. But I get the feeling he will need to straighten out his swing to continue to hit in pro ball. From what I hear he is still one of the best catching prospects on the Cape, though.
Hyannis shortstop Elliot Soto from Creighton is now officially the best defensive player on the Cape. He just looks incredibly smooth every time the ball is hit to him. I just noticed today he hasn't made an error in 29 games this summer. If only he wasn't 5'9" 155 and a light hitter.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Bourne 4 Falmouth 3: Right-handed starter Eric Cantrell from George Washingto allowed no earned runs on four hits and struck out five in seven innings pitched. Centerfielder Scott Woodward from Coastal Carolina, Rob Segedin from Tulane and Ben Klafczynski from Kent State each had two hits for Bourne.
Wareham 3 Brewster 0: Five Wareham pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout, and rightfielder George Springer from UConn had two hits for the Gatemen.
Harwich 7 Chatham 2: Right-handed starter Mike Gipson from Florida Atlantic pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10. Leftfielder Leon Landry from LSU went 2-for-4 with a home run and rightfielder Dan Grovatt from the University of Virginia went 3-for-4 for Harwich.
Y-D 4 Orleans 1: Y-D left-handed starter Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast allowed one run on seven hits in seven innings pitched, striking out five. Leftfielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech went 2-for-4 for Y-D.
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