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.
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Showing posts with label Chris Sale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Sale. Show all posts
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
June 29 for June 28 Update
I went to Yarmouth-Dennis again on Sunday afternoon in another attempt to catch Y-D's right-handed ace Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast pitch against Falmouth.
I saw Sale throw an inning in an exhibition game a few weeks ago, and talked to him briefly at a game the following week about cold weather and the proper way to tilt my BlackBerry so the screen works, but I hadn't gotten another look at him yet. Sale extended his streak of innings without allowing a run to 20 before he gave up three in the seventh inning of Y-D's 6-3 win.
Sale didn't appear to have his best stuff Sunday but he still looked good. Sale is tall and strikingly thin at 6'6" 185, and he has a jerky, deceptive motion in which his long limbs flail toward the hitter. He throws from a low three-quarter arm angle. Sale's fastball sat in the 89-92 range and had really good sinking action. The pitch gets him a lot of ground ball outs. He also showed an average 77-78 mph slider and a good 77-80 mph changeup that also had really good downward movement. Sale needs to bulk up, but he has good stuff and has been one of the more effective pitchers so far this summer.
Falmouth's starter was righthander Nick Tepesch from the University of Missouri. Tepesch had good stuff but he got knocked around pretty well Sunday as Y-D hitters just sat back on his breaking pitches which he threw fairly often. Tepesch is tall with a big frame at 6'5" 219 and he still has room to fill out. He stands tall in his motion with his back stiff and he doesn't always follow all the way through, which led to his trouble leaving balls up in the zone. Tepesch's fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range and had some tailing action in on right-handed hitters. He threw an 85-87 mph slider with good bite to it. The slider didn't have a lot of lateral movement, but its velocity made it a nice complement to his fastball and gave it the effect of a cutter. He also threw a good 78-80 mph curveball that gave an effect of it stopping in midair and darting in a different direction. He also threw an occasional average 84 mph changeup. Tepesch's stuff was better than his performance, and he could be good with improved command.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Y-D 4 Falmouth 0: In the second game of the doubleheader, Y-D right-handed starter John Leonard from Boston College threw six shutout innings allowing just one hit. First baseman Mickey Wiswall from Boston College went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI for Y-D.
Bourne 6 Harwich 3: First baseman Stefan Romero from Oregon State went 3-for-3 with a home run and 4 RBI and catcher Chris Wallace from the University of Houston went 2-for-3 with a home run for Bourne. Centerfielder Trent Mummey from Auburn and third baseman Stuart Tapley from Florida State each went 2-for-3 for Harwich.
Harwich 8 Bourne 1: In the second game of the doubleheader, second baseman Phil Gosselin from the University of Virginia had two hits for Harwich and first baseman Kyle Roller from East Carolina, Oakland's 47th round pick, had two hits for Bourne.
Orleans 2 Chatham 1: Orleans left-handed starter Jimmy Reyes from Elon allowed just one unearned run on three hits and struck out nine in seven innings for Orleans. Designated hitter Joey Terdoslavich from the University of Miami had two hits for Chatham.
Cotuit 2 Hyannis 1: Cotuit right-handed reliever Ben Rowen from Virginia Tech got the win in relief after pitching three shutout innings and striking out four. Second baseman Nick Crawford from UAB and third baseman Dustin Harrington from East Carolina each had two hits for Hyannis.
Wareham 10 Brewster 2: Leftfielder George Springer from UConn went 3-for-5 with two RBI and centerfielder Ryan LaMarre from the University of Michigan went 2-for-3 with two RBI for Wareham. Second baseman Colin Walsh from Stanford and designated hitter Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia each had two hits for Brewster.
E-mail: schimmeldbk@gmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel
I saw Sale throw an inning in an exhibition game a few weeks ago, and talked to him briefly at a game the following week about cold weather and the proper way to tilt my BlackBerry so the screen works, but I hadn't gotten another look at him yet. Sale extended his streak of innings without allowing a run to 20 before he gave up three in the seventh inning of Y-D's 6-3 win.
Sale didn't appear to have his best stuff Sunday but he still looked good. Sale is tall and strikingly thin at 6'6" 185, and he has a jerky, deceptive motion in which his long limbs flail toward the hitter. He throws from a low three-quarter arm angle. Sale's fastball sat in the 89-92 range and had really good sinking action. The pitch gets him a lot of ground ball outs. He also showed an average 77-78 mph slider and a good 77-80 mph changeup that also had really good downward movement. Sale needs to bulk up, but he has good stuff and has been one of the more effective pitchers so far this summer.
Falmouth's starter was righthander Nick Tepesch from the University of Missouri. Tepesch had good stuff but he got knocked around pretty well Sunday as Y-D hitters just sat back on his breaking pitches which he threw fairly often. Tepesch is tall with a big frame at 6'5" 219 and he still has room to fill out. He stands tall in his motion with his back stiff and he doesn't always follow all the way through, which led to his trouble leaving balls up in the zone. Tepesch's fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range and had some tailing action in on right-handed hitters. He threw an 85-87 mph slider with good bite to it. The slider didn't have a lot of lateral movement, but its velocity made it a nice complement to his fastball and gave it the effect of a cutter. He also threw a good 78-80 mph curveball that gave an effect of it stopping in midair and darting in a different direction. He also threw an occasional average 84 mph changeup. Tepesch's stuff was better than his performance, and he could be good with improved command.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Y-D 4 Falmouth 0: In the second game of the doubleheader, Y-D right-handed starter John Leonard from Boston College threw six shutout innings allowing just one hit. First baseman Mickey Wiswall from Boston College went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI for Y-D.
Bourne 6 Harwich 3: First baseman Stefan Romero from Oregon State went 3-for-3 with a home run and 4 RBI and catcher Chris Wallace from the University of Houston went 2-for-3 with a home run for Bourne. Centerfielder Trent Mummey from Auburn and third baseman Stuart Tapley from Florida State each went 2-for-3 for Harwich.
Harwich 8 Bourne 1: In the second game of the doubleheader, second baseman Phil Gosselin from the University of Virginia had two hits for Harwich and first baseman Kyle Roller from East Carolina, Oakland's 47th round pick, had two hits for Bourne.
Orleans 2 Chatham 1: Orleans left-handed starter Jimmy Reyes from Elon allowed just one unearned run on three hits and struck out nine in seven innings for Orleans. Designated hitter Joey Terdoslavich from the University of Miami had two hits for Chatham.
Cotuit 2 Hyannis 1: Cotuit right-handed reliever Ben Rowen from Virginia Tech got the win in relief after pitching three shutout innings and striking out four. Second baseman Nick Crawford from UAB and third baseman Dustin Harrington from East Carolina each had two hits for Hyannis.
Wareham 10 Brewster 2: Leftfielder George Springer from UConn went 3-for-5 with two RBI and centerfielder Ryan LaMarre from the University of Michigan went 2-for-3 with two RBI for Wareham. Second baseman Colin Walsh from Stanford and designated hitter Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia each had two hits for Brewster.
E-mail: schimmeldbk@gmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel
Sunday, June 14, 2009
June 14 for June 13 Update
I spent Saturday evening in Bourne where Yarmouth-Dennis beat Bourne 3-2 after an eighth inning rally fueled by three walks and a hit by pitch.
Two major league scouts were in attendance, and I talked with Y-D pitcher Chris Sale who makes his third blog appearance of the week for discussing our shared model of BlackBerry with me.
Once again pitching ruled the day, and several arms brought something to the table.
Y-D right-handed starter Jared Ray from the University of Houston was the best of the day as he showed four quality pitches and was not afraid to throw any of them in any count. Ray's fastball sat in the low 90s, he threw a 73 mph curveball with big break, an 81-82 mph slider with tight movement and a good 79 mph changeup with nice tailing action. Ray's stuff was not overpowering but he really knew how to pitch.
The other Y-D pitcher who looked good was closer Tyler Burgoon of the University of Michigan. Burgoon is undersized at 5'10", 165, and his fastball sat mostly in the 88-90 range, but he had a very good slider that missed a lot of bats. Burgoon struck out five batters in his two innings of work Saturday.
For Bourne, left-handed starter Cameron Roth from UNC-Wilimington was pretty good. He has kind of a thin frame, but his fastball sat mostly in the 89-91 mph range and he really attacked the strike zone with it. Roth's secondary stuff was just average as he threw a 78 mph slider with tight break but not too much movement and an 81 mph changeup he tended to leave up in the zone. He also threw the occasional 81-82 mph cutter.
Bourne reliever Kevin Munson from James Madison touched 93 mph with his fastball, but he has a lot of effort in his delivery and began to struggle with his control. He threw an 81-83 mph slider that he tended to spin and leave up in the zone, but when he followed through it was a quality pitch.
Offensively, light-hitting temp Bourne shortstop Tom Zebroski from George Washington stepped in the bucket but hit a 301-foot home run to the opposite field that barely cleared the right field fence near the foul pole. Free-swinging Y-D first baseman Mickey Wiswall from Boston College stayed back well and drove a sharp single to center in the middle of the Red Sox' key rally. Wiswall has quick hands and a nice compact swing.
Y-D's monstruous (6'5", 225) designated hitter Chase Davidson from the University of Georgia showed the most pop during batting practice, but he doesn't really have a position and entered the game as a pinch hitter.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Chatham 4 Hyannis 1: Chatham second baseman Tom Belza from Oklahoma State went 3-for-3 with a home run as Chatham beat Hyannis. Third baseman Shane Kroker from Wake Forest went 2-for-3 for Hyannis.
Harwich 10 Falmouth 5: Harwich shortstop Chris Wade from the University of Kentucky went 3-for-5 and second baseman Connor Mach from the University of Missouri went deep for Falmouth.
Brewster 10 Orleans 8: Brewster centerfielder Bobby Coyle from Arizona and shortstop Tim Ferguson from Ole Miss each went three-for-five and Brewster scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat Orleans. Third baseman Michael Olt from UConn went two-for-five with a home run and left fielder Kevin Muno from the University of San Diego went two-for-four for Orleans.
Wareham 5 Cotuit 3: Eric Pfisterer from Duke started and pitched five hitless innings with 10 strikeouts and just two walks for Wareham.
I'll be back in Bourne this evening for Wareham at Bourne, weather permitting.
Two major league scouts were in attendance, and I talked with Y-D pitcher Chris Sale who makes his third blog appearance of the week for discussing our shared model of BlackBerry with me.
Once again pitching ruled the day, and several arms brought something to the table.
Y-D right-handed starter Jared Ray from the University of Houston was the best of the day as he showed four quality pitches and was not afraid to throw any of them in any count. Ray's fastball sat in the low 90s, he threw a 73 mph curveball with big break, an 81-82 mph slider with tight movement and a good 79 mph changeup with nice tailing action. Ray's stuff was not overpowering but he really knew how to pitch.
The other Y-D pitcher who looked good was closer Tyler Burgoon of the University of Michigan. Burgoon is undersized at 5'10", 165, and his fastball sat mostly in the 88-90 range, but he had a very good slider that missed a lot of bats. Burgoon struck out five batters in his two innings of work Saturday.
For Bourne, left-handed starter Cameron Roth from UNC-Wilimington was pretty good. He has kind of a thin frame, but his fastball sat mostly in the 89-91 mph range and he really attacked the strike zone with it. Roth's secondary stuff was just average as he threw a 78 mph slider with tight break but not too much movement and an 81 mph changeup he tended to leave up in the zone. He also threw the occasional 81-82 mph cutter.
Bourne reliever Kevin Munson from James Madison touched 93 mph with his fastball, but he has a lot of effort in his delivery and began to struggle with his control. He threw an 81-83 mph slider that he tended to spin and leave up in the zone, but when he followed through it was a quality pitch.
Offensively, light-hitting temp Bourne shortstop Tom Zebroski from George Washington stepped in the bucket but hit a 301-foot home run to the opposite field that barely cleared the right field fence near the foul pole. Free-swinging Y-D first baseman Mickey Wiswall from Boston College stayed back well and drove a sharp single to center in the middle of the Red Sox' key rally. Wiswall has quick hands and a nice compact swing.
Y-D's monstruous (6'5", 225) designated hitter Chase Davidson from the University of Georgia showed the most pop during batting practice, but he doesn't really have a position and entered the game as a pinch hitter.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Chatham 4 Hyannis 1: Chatham second baseman Tom Belza from Oklahoma State went 3-for-3 with a home run as Chatham beat Hyannis. Third baseman Shane Kroker from Wake Forest went 2-for-3 for Hyannis.
Harwich 10 Falmouth 5: Harwich shortstop Chris Wade from the University of Kentucky went 3-for-5 and second baseman Connor Mach from the University of Missouri went deep for Falmouth.
Brewster 10 Orleans 8: Brewster centerfielder Bobby Coyle from Arizona and shortstop Tim Ferguson from Ole Miss each went three-for-five and Brewster scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat Orleans. Third baseman Michael Olt from UConn went two-for-five with a home run and left fielder Kevin Muno from the University of San Diego went two-for-four for Orleans.
Wareham 5 Cotuit 3: Eric Pfisterer from Duke started and pitched five hitless innings with 10 strikeouts and just two walks for Wareham.
I'll be back in Bourne this evening for Wareham at Bourne, weather permitting.
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