I didn't get to take full advantage of the two doubleheaders scheduled Monday because I was driving back from Connecticut where I had a physical earlier in the day. Loyal readers may be relieved to know I am in good enough health to continue writing this blog, and if I were Pedro Martinez the Phillies would probably sign me.
After choosing Orleans over the previously promised Chatham, I made it to Eldridge Park in time for the end of the first game of the doubleheader. I saw Orleans third baseman Riccio Torrez from Arizona State hit a two-run double that sparked a five-run sixth inning for the Firebirds in a 6-2 seven-inning win. Orleans also won the second game 2-1 on a walk-off wild pitch.
I only got to see Orleans left-handed Game 1 starter Jimmy Reyes from Elon throw three pitches, but the curveball he threw looked excellent.
Right-handed reliever Alex Hassan from Duke, the Red Sox' 20th-round pick last month, closed out the first game for the Firebirds. Also a starting outfielder for Orleans, Hassan is above-average height with a thin, athletic build at 6'3" 200. He throws easily, but he tends to short arm his pitches a little bit. Hassan had good command of an 88-91 mph fastball, and threw a 71-73 mph curveball with inconsistent results. When Hassan finished his curveball, once every two or three times he threw it, it was a really effective pitch. The other times he just spun it and it stayed high out of the zone.
Orleans right-handed Game 2 starter Jorge Reyes from Oregon State, the Padres' 17th-round pick last month, was one of my top-rated Cape League starters when he pitched for Falmouth last year, and while he was decent Monday I can't really remember what made me think he was so special in 2008. Reyes is average height for a pitcher with a thin, athletic build at 6'2" 200. He is a quick worker who throws easily with smooth arm action. When Reyes spots his 89-91 mph fastball he is really effective, but his command comes and goes from one inning to the next. He also threw an average 83-85 mph slider that had tight break but which didn't really move all that much.
Bourne right-handed starter Alex Wimmers from Ohio State came to the Cape as a fairly highly-touted prospect, and he looked very good on Monday. Wimmers is average height for a pitcher with an athletic build but a slightly small frame at 6'2" 195. He throws with some effort and falls off the mound toward first. Wimmers' fastball sat in the 88-92 mph range, but his best pitch was definitely his 74-75 mph curveball with really good downward break. The curve's late break fooled a lot of Bourne hitters as it dropped into the strike zone. Wimmers also has a good 76-78 mph changeup with good downward movement.
Orleans designated hitter Gary Brown from Cal State Fullerton hit a deep home run off Wimmers, one of only two hits off of him. Brown doesn't look like he would have much pop at a slight 6'1" 185, but he put such a good swing on the ball that it carried a long way. I know some scouts aren't high on Brown for some reason, but I think he is a really good all-around player. He has tremendous speed, and has been clocked at as fast as 4.0 seconds to first base. He has a really smooth swing with quick hands and he covers a lot of ground in the outfield.
I will be at Chatham at Hyannis on Tuesday.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Y-D 5 Harwich 3: Left-handed starter Mario Hollands from UC Santa Barbara pitched seven strong innings for Y-D, and catcher Micah Gibbs from LSU and third baseman Brian Hernandez from UC Irvine each hit a home run. Shortstop Levi Michael from UNC went 2-for-3 for Harwich.
Hyannis 4 Chatham 3: First baseman Ryan Cuneo from Delaware went 2-for-5 with a home run for Hyannis. Rick Oropesa from USC, Mike Murray from Wake Forest and Dean Green from Oklahoma State each had two hits for Chatham.
Wareham 3 Cotuit 3, Wareham 3 Cotuit 3: Wareham and Cotuit tied both games of a double header by the same score. Wareham right-handed starter Jack Armstrong struck out eight in six strong innings and Game 1.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? E-Mail me at schimmeldbk@gmail.com
Want to be alerted every time I update this blog? Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel
Showing posts with label Gary Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gary Brown. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
July 1 for June 30 Update
I made the drive up to Orleans on Tuesday night to see Orleans take on Wareham. It was really foggy and about 30 degrees colder than it was in Hyannis in the afternoon, but the Orleans fans were really impressive with their loud support and general knowledge about their team.
I spoke with one elderly gentleman during batting practice who asked my opinion about several players on Orleans, nodded, then politely responded "I've been coming here for many years, and between you and me this year's team is a little thin." He then wistfully told me about the time he saw Mark Teixeira hit a home run off a big rock beyond the 434 sign in dead centerfield and said the players don't look as big to him as they used to.
The starting pitching matchup is what brought me to Eldridge Park, as I had heard good things about Wareham starter Matt Barnes from UConn and Orleans starter Cole Cook from Pepperdine. Both pitched very well and showed good stuff on Tuesday. Orleans won 4-2.
Cook is very tall with a thin, athletic build at 6'7" 215. He has a really jerky motion in which he moves his hands all over the place and then speeds up everything right before he delivers. He throws with a lot of effort for a guy who is so big. Cook's fastball sat in just the 88-89 mph range, but it had really good sinking action that got him a lot of ground balls. In fact, Cook induced 12 ground ball outs in his eight innings of work. Cook also threw a very good 77-78 mph slider with really tight break. He relied mostly on two pitches, and they were enough for him as he kept everything down in the zone and threw a lot of strikes. If Cook smoothed out his mechanics he could be even better.
Barnes was also really impressive and had one of the Top 5 arms I have seen so far. He just turned 19 earlier this month, and there are indications that he has not even reached his full potential. Barnes has good size at 6'4" and a thin, very projectable 185-pound frame. He throws with really smooth arm action and makes everything look natural and easy. Barnes' fastball sat in the 90-93 mph range, and for the most part he spotted it really well and worked both sides of the plate. He threw a very good 75-76 mph curveball with tight break that he was able to throw for strikes, and also showed a good 83-84 mph changeup with sharp downward movement. Barnes is definitely a freshman to watch.
Among the position players, Wareham rightfielder Brett Eibner from the University of Arkansas is somebody who has made big strides since last summer. Eibner always had raw power, and he is clearly an athletic kid with a strong arm in the outfield, but he never had any approach at the plate and he struck out far too often last summer. He did strike out to end the game Tuesday, but he had three quality at-bats and ended up 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk. He appears to have shortened up his stroke a little bit and is a little more patient in the batter's box. His opposite field home run, which plated the only run scored against Cook, showed he still has some pop.
Orleans third baseman Riccio Torrez, who was playing in his second game after arriving late from Arizona State, also looked good. He had two hits, hit the ball hard another time, and made a couple of athletic plays in the field.
Orleans first baseman Jaren Matthews from Rutgers is still impressive as well, as he can really turn on the ball and drive it, and Orleans centerfielder Gary Brown from Cal St. Fullerton showed incredible 4.0 second speed down to first base from the right side of the plate.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Harwich 1 Brewster 0: Harwich Left-handed starter Aaron Meade from Missouri State pitched seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out 12. Brewster left-handed starter Matt Lujan from the University of San Francisco allowed one run on three hits in seven innings pitched.
Chatham 2 Falmouth 0, 6 innings: Chatham right-handed starter Patrick Johnson from North Carolina pitched five no-hit innings in a game shortened by fog. Leftfielder Steven Brooks from Wake Forest had two hits for Chatham.
Bourne 3 Hyannis 2: Leftfielder Stefen Romero from Oregon State and designated hitter Nick Schwaner from the University of New Orleans and San Francisco's 42nd round pick each went 2-for-4 for Bourne. Second baseman Nick Crawford from UAB and third baseman Dustin Harrington from East Carolina each went 2-for-4 for Hyannis.
Yarmouth-Dennis 7 Cotuit 3: Centerfielder Jonathan Jones from Long Beach State went 3-for-5 and designated hitter Mickey Wiswall from Boston College went 2-for-4 with a home run for Y-D. Zach Cone from the University of Georgia hit a pinch-hit three-run home run for Cotuit.
Questions? Comments? E-Mail schimmeldbk@gmail.com
Want to be alerted every time I post an update? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel
I spoke with one elderly gentleman during batting practice who asked my opinion about several players on Orleans, nodded, then politely responded "I've been coming here for many years, and between you and me this year's team is a little thin." He then wistfully told me about the time he saw Mark Teixeira hit a home run off a big rock beyond the 434 sign in dead centerfield and said the players don't look as big to him as they used to.
The starting pitching matchup is what brought me to Eldridge Park, as I had heard good things about Wareham starter Matt Barnes from UConn and Orleans starter Cole Cook from Pepperdine. Both pitched very well and showed good stuff on Tuesday. Orleans won 4-2.
Cook is very tall with a thin, athletic build at 6'7" 215. He has a really jerky motion in which he moves his hands all over the place and then speeds up everything right before he delivers. He throws with a lot of effort for a guy who is so big. Cook's fastball sat in just the 88-89 mph range, but it had really good sinking action that got him a lot of ground balls. In fact, Cook induced 12 ground ball outs in his eight innings of work. Cook also threw a very good 77-78 mph slider with really tight break. He relied mostly on two pitches, and they were enough for him as he kept everything down in the zone and threw a lot of strikes. If Cook smoothed out his mechanics he could be even better.
Barnes was also really impressive and had one of the Top 5 arms I have seen so far. He just turned 19 earlier this month, and there are indications that he has not even reached his full potential. Barnes has good size at 6'4" and a thin, very projectable 185-pound frame. He throws with really smooth arm action and makes everything look natural and easy. Barnes' fastball sat in the 90-93 mph range, and for the most part he spotted it really well and worked both sides of the plate. He threw a very good 75-76 mph curveball with tight break that he was able to throw for strikes, and also showed a good 83-84 mph changeup with sharp downward movement. Barnes is definitely a freshman to watch.
Among the position players, Wareham rightfielder Brett Eibner from the University of Arkansas is somebody who has made big strides since last summer. Eibner always had raw power, and he is clearly an athletic kid with a strong arm in the outfield, but he never had any approach at the plate and he struck out far too often last summer. He did strike out to end the game Tuesday, but he had three quality at-bats and ended up 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk. He appears to have shortened up his stroke a little bit and is a little more patient in the batter's box. His opposite field home run, which plated the only run scored against Cook, showed he still has some pop.
Orleans third baseman Riccio Torrez, who was playing in his second game after arriving late from Arizona State, also looked good. He had two hits, hit the ball hard another time, and made a couple of athletic plays in the field.
Orleans first baseman Jaren Matthews from Rutgers is still impressive as well, as he can really turn on the ball and drive it, and Orleans centerfielder Gary Brown from Cal St. Fullerton showed incredible 4.0 second speed down to first base from the right side of the plate.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Harwich 1 Brewster 0: Harwich Left-handed starter Aaron Meade from Missouri State pitched seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out 12. Brewster left-handed starter Matt Lujan from the University of San Francisco allowed one run on three hits in seven innings pitched.
Chatham 2 Falmouth 0, 6 innings: Chatham right-handed starter Patrick Johnson from North Carolina pitched five no-hit innings in a game shortened by fog. Leftfielder Steven Brooks from Wake Forest had two hits for Chatham.
Bourne 3 Hyannis 2: Leftfielder Stefen Romero from Oregon State and designated hitter Nick Schwaner from the University of New Orleans and San Francisco's 42nd round pick each went 2-for-4 for Bourne. Second baseman Nick Crawford from UAB and third baseman Dustin Harrington from East Carolina each went 2-for-4 for Hyannis.
Yarmouth-Dennis 7 Cotuit 3: Centerfielder Jonathan Jones from Long Beach State went 3-for-5 and designated hitter Mickey Wiswall from Boston College went 2-for-4 with a home run for Y-D. Zach Cone from the University of Georgia hit a pinch-hit three-run home run for Cotuit.
Questions? Comments? E-Mail schimmeldbk@gmail.com
Want to be alerted every time I post an update? Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)