August 4 for August 3 Update

I went to Bourne on Monday for both ends of a doubleheader between Bourne and Brewster. Bourne won both games to secure a playoff spot and knock Brewster out of contention.

Right-handed starter Kendal Volz from Baylor started for Brewster and showed he is still struggling to regain the dominant form he displayed as Team USA's closer in 2008. The Red Sox selected Volz in the ninth round of this year's draft, and had a very high ranking member of their front office scouting Volz on Monday. Volz is big with a solid build at 6'4" 220, but he is short-arming his pitches and landing on a stiff front foot which is limiting his velocity. Volz was known to touch 97 mph with his fastball last summer, but it sat between 87-90 mph on Monday and only once touched 91. He threw a 77-79 mph curveball that was very good when he threw it well, but that was only once every three or four times he threw it. The curve simply spun and stayed up in the zone too often, and Bourne's hitters were able to get to it. Volz also threw an 83 mph changeup and a hard slider that had tight break but which didn't move a whole lot. Volz clearly needs to find his velocity again to maximize his effectiveness, but he has shown potential in the past.

Bourne's Game 1 starter was Robert Morey from the University of Virginia. Morey is average height with a thin frame at 6'1" 185. He comes almost straight over the top when he throws and throws with some effort. His fastball sat in the 88-90 mph range, and he threw a good curveball with tight overhand break which he could throw for a strike. Morey also threw an 84 mph slider with tight break but which didn't a lot and had the effect of a cutter. He rarely showed a 79 mph changeup. Morey is decent but his stuff is not outstanding.

Righthander Michael Dimock from Wake Forest got a spot start for Bourne in Game 2. Dimock is also average height with a thin frame at 6'1" 185. He throws with some effort but gets good extension and has good arm action. Dimock is not afraid to throw his fastball over both sides of the plate. He has an average slider with sharp run, a curveball with slow, overhand break and an average changeup with downward movement. Morey and Dimock were really quite similar, aside from just the identical height and weight. Both were solid, both knew what they were doing on the mound, but neither had exceptional stuff.

The offensive hero of the day was Bourne first baseman/designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina. Roller has put up monster numbers this season and is the odds-on favorite to win the league's MVP award. Roller wasn't selected until the 47th round of the draft by Oakland, but the Red Sox executive said he was surprised Roller lasted that long. That comment begged the question why didn't the Red Sox just take him, but the answer is perhaps that Roller might not be more than a DH in professional ball. But Roller can hit. He smashed an outside fastball for a double to the left-centerfield gap and hit a moon shot grand slam in the first game, then smoked a single up the middle in the second game. Roller is slow and is not very good in the field, but he is making himself some money with the display he has put on this summer.

Bourne rightfielder Ben Klafczynski from Kent State also had a big day at the plate. Klafczynski has proven to be a tremendous athlete in the outfield, but he has struggled to hit all summer. He hit two ground-rule doubles and hit a third double toward the fence Monday. Klafczynski has quick hands but he has kind of a one-plane swing that makes him prone to strikeouts. Still, Klafczynski has good size and great athleticism and will get a lot of looks next spring. He was an All-American coming out of high school in 2007.

Brewster third baseman/second baseman Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia still looked uncomfortable in the infield but he is continuing to prove he is a really good hitter. Gyorko steps in the bucket and never fully closes his open stance which leaves him susceptible to outside pitches, but he still manages to get his bat to the ball and make solid contact more often than not. He has good pitch recognition and does well sitting back on breaking pitches. His biggest issue is his lack of position in the field.

I will be at Harwich at Brewster for a few innings and then over to Bourne at Hyannis on Tuesday.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Y-D 3 Falmouth 0: Four pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout for Y-D. Third baseman Steve Chatwood from the University of San Diego went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Chatham 5 Harwich 4: Third baseman Matt Duffy from Tennessee went 2-for-4 with a home run for Chatham. Leftfielder Leon Landry from LSU went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for Harwich.

Orleans 6 Hyannis 5, 11 innings: Right-handed pitcher Matt Hiserman from Santa Clara pitched 5.1 shutout innings in relief for Orleans, allowing one hit and striking out one. Designated hitter Ryan Cuneo from the University of Delaware went 3-for-6 for Hyannis.

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July 10 for July 9 Update

I went to Brewster on Thursday for another unseasonably cool evening and watched Chatham beat Brewster 5-3. The loss snapped the Whitecaps' four-game winning streak which started immediately after manager Tom Myers threw first base in protest of an umpire's call earlier this week.

The story of this game from a scout's perspective was unquestionably Chatham's right-handed reliever Jesse Hahn from Virginia Tech. Hahn had scouts salivating and double checking each other's radar guns when his fastball sat between 96-98 mph. Hahn is tall with a solid, athletic build at 6'5" 195, and he gets a tremendously powerful drive from his lower body. He also throws a decent 75-76 mph curveball and an 83-84 mph change. Hahn subtly tips his pitches by opening up his front side a little too soon on his curveball and changeup, but his fastball is simply overpowering. If he can stay healthy Hahn could be a first round draft pick next June.

Chatham's right-handed starter Logan Verrett from Baylor wasn't bad either. He's average size for a pitcher at 6'2" 180, but he throws easily. He has slightly stiff arm action and he stands up straight in his delivery. Verrett's fastball sat mostly in the 90-93 mph range, and he worked mostly on the outer half of the plate. He threw a very good 82-84 mph slider with good late break that got some swings and misses. His 79 mph curveball was not quite as good, and he rarely threw his changeup. His fastball-slider combo got him through five innings during which he allowed just one hit and struck out eight.

For Brewster, left-handed starter Matt Lujan from the University of San Francisco was just so-so. Lujan was average height with a solid build at 6'1" 200. He threw with some effort and occasionally dropped his arm angle down and threw sidearm. His fastball sat in the 87-90 mph range and none of his secondary stuff was that good. He spun an 80-83 mph slider, through an occasional 81-84 mph changeup that wasn't especially deceptive and also showed a 74 mph curve. Lujan was respectable, and probably is worth a late-round pick next year.

Offensively, second baseman Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia continued to impress for Brewster. He crushed a no-doubt home run on a low-90s fastball, and he couldn't get around on it but he drove a Hahn high-90s heater for a deep fly ball to right field. Gyorko still doesn't have a true position, but he just might be the best hitter in the Cape League.

Another intriguing position player was designated hitter Ricky Oropesa from USC, who was playing in his third game of the summer for Chatham. Oropesa is a big guy at 6'3" 225, and he was hitting bombs during batting practice with his hard all-or-nothing swing. It's clear though that Oropesa struggles against breaking pitches, as pretty much all Brewster threw at him was junk and he looked uncomfortable.

I plan to hit Y-D at Bourne on Friday, hoping to catch Bourne left-handed starter Bryan Morgado from Tennessee, who was drafted in the third round last month by the White Sox.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Y-D 9 Cotuit 1: Left-handed starter Chris Sale from Florida Gulf Coast pitched six shutout innings for Y-D, allowing four hits and striking out eight. Right-handed starter Navery Moore from Vanderbilt did not record an out for Cotuit, walking three batters and hitting one with a pitch before he was taken out. Designated hitter Josh Rutledge from the University of Alabama had three hits for Y-D.

Falmouth 6 Wareham 2: Left-handed starter Taylor Wall from Rice pitched six shutout innings for Falmouth, allowing two hits and striking out six. Rightfielder Ryan Jones from Wichita State had three hits for Falmouth, and first baseman Hunter Morris from Auburn homered in the win.

Hyannis 5 Harwich 0: Right-handed starter Seth Rosin from the University of Minnesota pitched five shutout innings for Hyannis, allowing three hits and striking out six. Designated hitter Cody Hawn from Tennesse and rightfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. from the University of South Carolina each had two hits for Hyannis.

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July 5 for July 4 Update

I spent my July 4th at Brewster, mainly to see Harwich right-handed starter Rob Gariano from Fairfield, the reigning Cape League Pitcher of the Week who entered the game with a 0.73 ERA.

Multiple readers had e-mailed me after Gariano's last start to ask what I thought of him, and unfortunately he was a big disappointment. Gariano gave up five runs on eight hits in just 1.1 innings pitched and Brewster won 7-4.

Gariano is undersized at 5'10" 180, so I figured maybe either the size of his body or the size of his school prevented the junior from being drafted last month. But the truth is his stuff just isn't good enough for him to win consistently against top collegiate players. Gariano's fastball sat in 87-89 mph range, and he left it up in the zone Saturday where Brewster hitters just crushed it. Gariano allowed five extra base hits, and almost got his head taken off by another sharp single up the middle. He did have a good 78-81 mph curveball with tight downward break, but he wasn't able to establish the fastball enough to make his curve effective. He also showed a 79 mph changeup. He has a lot of effort in his delivery and falls off the mound toward first when he releases. He also has a strange hitch in his motion. Gariano probably isn't as bad as his results were today, but he's definitely not as good as the results he posted in his first two starts for Harwich. I don't see him being a legitimate professional prospect.

Brewster left-handed starter Scott Alexander from Pepperdine pitched very well, allowing two runs on just two hits in seven innings. I wrote about Alexander in my June 28 for June 27 update, but he was definitely more effective today. His fastball sat mostly in the 90-92 mph range, his slider sat 78-79 and his good changeup sat between 78-81.

Right-handed reliever David Goforth from Ole Miss showed one of the best arms in the league pitching the eighth and ninth for Brewster. Goforth is a little small for a pitcher at an athletic 5'11" 185, and he throws with a lot of effort in his delivery. But Goforth's fastball repeatedly touched 95 mph, sitting in the 93-95 mph range for both of his two innings. His heater is straight, though, and his command comes and goes. His most impressive batter faced was when he broke Harwich's star right fielder Dan Grovatt's bat with a fastball in on Grovatt's hands. Goforth also showed an average 83 mph slider with sweeping break that he could throw for strikes and the occasional changeup. His consistent velocity alone makes him one of the better relievers in the league.

Pitching effectively with a much different style than Goforth was Harwich reliever Eric Jokisch from Northwestern. Jokisch is above average height with a thin, athletic build at 6'2" 182. He throws with ease and has good, smooth arm action. Jokisch showed very good command of an 84-87 mph fastball with really good tailing action. He threw a 77 mph curveball and floated a good 77 mph changeup. Jokisch really knows how to pitch and projects to throw harder in the future.

Right-handed reliever Matt Price from Virginia Tech also showed a good arm for Harwich, but he struggled with his command and an inconsistent release point. Price is thin with a projectable frame at 6'2" 185. He throws with good loose arm action but he throws across his body and as previously noted frequently changes his release point. Price's fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range Saturday and touched 93. He threw a 79 mph slider that was good when he threw it well, but he didn't throw it well each time He also showed a good changeup with nice downward movement.

Among the hitters, Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia stood out again for Brewster. Gyorko still doesn't really have a position, and he was playing second base tonight, but he is a great hitter. He turned on a mediocre Gariano fastball and crushed a no-doubt home run to left-centerfield, then later in the game went very nicely with an outside pitch and stroked a single to right. Gyorko is still a little small despite his muscular build at 5'10" 180, and he needs to find a place to play, but someone will draft him high next year if he keeps hitting like this.

Harwich centerfielder Trent Mummey from Auburn went 0-for-4, but he impressed me for the second day in a row and is making a major case to crack my top 15 position players. He has really quick hands, puts the ball on the ground and showed 4.1 speed to first base from the left side of the plate. He's also a very good defensive outfielder.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Bourne 9 Wareham 1: Leftfielder Nick Schwaner from the University of New Orleans, the Giants' 42nd round pick, went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and rightfielder Ben Klafczynski from Kent State went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Bourne. Shortstop Derek Dietrich from Georgia Tech went 2-for-4 for Wareham.

Orleans 1 Chatham 0, 10 innings: Orleans left-handed starter Rob Rasmussen from UCLA pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven. Chatham right-handed starter Matt Harvey pitched six shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out six. Right-handed reliever Jesse Hahn from Virginia Tech pitched three shutout innings for Chatham, allowing one hit and striking out five.

Cotuit 5 Falmouth 1: Right-handed starter Seth Blair from Arizona State pitched a complete game for Cotuit, allowing one run on five hits and striking out six. Third baseman Zack Cox from the University of Arkansas went 2-for-4 and designated hitter Kevin Patterson from Auburn homered for Cotuit.

Hyannis 6 Y-D 4: Designated hitter Cody Hawn from the University of Tennessee homered twice for Hyannis, finishing 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Second baseman Nick Crawford from Alabama-Birmingham went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Hyannis. Rightfielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech went 4-for-5 for Y-D, and first baseman Brian Hernandez, Cleveland's 39th round pick last month, went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

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June 30 for June 29 Update

I went to Brewster on Monday evening, and before I talk about some of the players I saw in Brewster's 9-8 win over Chatham I would like to congratulate myself on winning a 50/50 raffle prize the first time I decided to buy some raffle tickets. If any of my readers--I was going to say female readers but I don't know if there are any--is interested in joining me for a complimentary 1-hour Hyannisport Harbor Cruise for two, courtesy of the Brewster Whitecaps, applications are being accepted through the e-mail address listed at the bottom of this post.

Anyway, Brewster and Chatham combined for 17 runs and 29 hits in what was really the first slugfust I saw all summer. They were only able to play eight innings at Stony Brook Elementary before it got dark.

Breaking from tradition, we'll talk about a few hitters first.

Brewster third baseman Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia has now played very well in three consecutive games after arriving at the Cape earlier this week, and after watching two of those three appearances he is arguably the best hitter I've seen. Gyorko went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI on Monday, and he absolutely crushed the three-run homer to left-centerfield in a pitchers' park in the first inning. Gyorko is undersized for a corner infielder at 5'10"180, and he was a shortstop for his college club, but Gyorko is solidly built and he definitely has some pop in his bat. He has good balance at the plate, and he is able to take a good, hard swing without trying to do too much. He did a nice job going with an outside pitch to drive a single to right field later in the game.

An interesting observation about Gyorko, however, that I am not quite sure what to make of. Late in the game Brewster catcher Zach Jones got spiked in the hand during a play at the plate. Jones was clearly in pain, and the entire Brewster infield gathered around him near the pitcher's mound while the trainer came out to look at him. While the trainer tested to see if Jones had broken any fingers, Gyorko stood by himself at his position, not caring to join the meeting. He also was the only infielder not to participate in a conference at the mound earlier in the game. Maybe this isn't a big deal, but it was just kind of weird and he looked standoffish.

Brewster first baseman Lyle Allen from the University of Georgia also had a big day at the plate, reaching base five times after going 2-for-2 with three walks. Allen smacked a deep home run to right field, showing a slightly long swing but one that is smooth and makes good contact when he connects. Allen was hitting .100 coming into the game, struggling to adjust to the wood bat as guys with long swings tend to do, but if he shortens up he can do some damage.

The best hitter for Chatham was first baseman Dean Green from Oklahoma State who went 2-for-4 with a double. Green has good size and a powerful build at 6'4 220, and still has more room to fill out. During batting practice, one scout took out a camcorder to record only Green's swings and nobody else's, and Green did not disappoint, driving the ball with authority with his left-handed stroke.

On the mound, the most interesting appearance was the debut performance of Chatham right-handed reliever Matt Harvey from UNC, whose stock has really plummeted among scouts after he was one of the top high school prospects in the 2007 draft. It's easy to see that Harvey is really struggling with his mechanics, and it's making his once-great stuff erratic and inconsistent. He throws with weird arm action as he has developed a serious hitch in which he almost completely stops his arm on the way back before whipping it forward. "That's severe," one National League scout who followed Harvey in high school said. "He never used to have that." Harvey also has balance issues and falls off toward first base. Harvey touched 94 mph with his fastball, but he sat around 91 mph and threw a couple of fastballs at 88 mph. Last summer he was consistenly throwing 94-96. His 75-77 mph hammer curveball is still excellent when he can control it. Harvey allowed one hit and two walks in 1/3 of an inning, and he ended up taking the loss for Chatham.

Chatham right-handed starter Shawn Tolleson from Baylor also struggled, allowing five runs in the first inning before he was removed after three. Tolleson is average height for a pitcher with a solid build at 6'2" 215. He also has balance issues, and he looks like he is about to tip over on his face when he throws. Tolleson's fastball sat in the 88-90 mph range, and he threw a decent 78-81 mph slider with tight break that he mostly struggled to control. He also showed an 82 mph changeup. Tolleson wasn't as bad as his 6-run, 8-hit performance, and he got beat by a few bloopers, but hitters didn't seem to have much trouble figuring him out.

Righthander Kyle Blair from the University of San Diego started for Brewster and looked decent in his five innings of work. Blair has good size for a pitcher at 6'3" 200 and a big frame. He tends to open up his front side too early and his arm trails behind, leading him to often throw pitches farther outside than he would like. Blair's fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range and had good tailing action in on right-handed hitters. He threw a good 76-78 mph breaking ball with tight break that really falls off the table late. Blair also showed an 81 mph changeup with good tailing action. All in all he was pretty good, and he is considered a prospect.

Finally, right-handed reliever Steven Maxwell from TCU showed a good arm out of the bullpen for Brewster. Maxwell is average size at 6'1" 190, but he threw a 91 mph fastball with good tailing action that really bore in on right-handed hitters. He also showed a good 79 mph curveball with tight break that he could throw for strikes. Maxwell struggled with his control, but he was the best of the parade of relievers Brewster trotted out on Monday.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Bourne 2 Cotuit 1: Bourne -handed starter Bryan Morgado from the University of Tennessee pitched five shutout innings, allowing just one hit. He struck out 13 of the 17 batters he faced. Right-handed starter Jake Buchanan from N.C. State pitched six shutout innings for Cotuit, allowing six hits and striking out five.

Falmouth 4 Orleans 2: Falmouth centerfielder Todd Cunningham from Jacksonville State went 3-for-3 with a home run for Falmouth. Leftfielder Brian Fletcher from Auburn went 2-for-4, and highly-touted first baseman Hunter Morris from Auburn went 1-for-4 in his season debut for Falmouth.

Harwich 1 Y-D 0 in 13 innings: Harwich right-handed starter Mike Gipson from Florida Atlantic allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings and Y-D right-handed starter Greg Peavey from Oregon State University and Houston's 32nd round pick allowed five hits over eight shutout innings. Rightfielder Dan Grovatt from the University of Virginia, designated hitter Phil Gosselin from the University of Virginia, and leftfielder Keenan Wiley from the University of Kentucky each had two hits for Harwich.

Wareham 6 Hyannis 1: Rightfielder Brett Eibner from the University of Arkansas went 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs, and first baseman Zach Wilson from Arizona State also homered for Wareham. Catcher Dan Burkhart from Ohio State went 2-for-4 for Hyannis.

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June 28 for June 27 Update

I went to Brewster on Saturday evening for a rain-shortened game bewtween Brewster and Yarmouth-Dennis that was called because of lightning after the seventh inning. Y-D scored two runs in the top of the seventh and won 5-3.

Brewster left-handed starter Scott Alexander from Pepperdine had a good arm but was kind of difficult to figure out from a scouting perspective. He was average height for a pitcher with an unathletic build at 6'2" 190, and he has a strange motion and delivery where he just leans back and then flings the ball from a three-quarter arm angle. The first fastball Alexander threw was clocked at 88 mph, but then he sat in the 91-92 mph range for most of his start and even occasionally crept up to 93 and 94. His best pitch was his changeup, which was pretty deceptive and had some good downward movement. He also spun a 77-79 mph slider.

Y-D right-handed starter Darrin Campbell from the University of San Diego was apparently on a very short leash, and he didn't show too much before he was taken out in the third inning. Campbell had a big frame at 6-4 205, and he had good balance and body control when he threw. His fastball sat in the 89-91 mph range and looked pretty straight. His slider also wasn't very good, though he was able to get some hitters out in front of it. He showed an average changeup too. All in all this was one of the more lackluster starting pitching matchups I've seen so far.

Y-D right-handed reliever Seth Simmons had a good arm, but he doesn't have much projection to higher levels. Simmons is very undersized at just 5'9 150, he throws with some effort and he falls off the mound toward first base. His best pitch is his slider, which has really tight break and just darts out of the zone. He's somebody I would like to see again so I could get a better feel.

A few position players also stood out in this one. Brewster second baseman Colin Walsh from Stanford went 3-for-4, and really showed a smooth stroke from the left side of the plate. He also looked good in the field, showing good footwork and very nice range up the middle. Brewster designated hitter Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia also has a really nice and the ball comes off his bat well. He made his first appearance of the season yesterday and is somebody who is coming to the Cape with a lot of hype.

For Y-D, rightfielder Jonathan Jones from Long Beach State showed good speed and athleticism, and went back really well to cover a lot of ground on a deep fly ball to right.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Cotuit 3 Chatham 1: Chatham centerfielder Whit Merrifield from South Carolina went 3-for-5, second baseman Brian Harris from Vanderbilt went 2-for-5 and right fielder Steven Brooks from Wake Forest homered in the loss. Designated hitter Zach Maggard from Florida Southern went 2-for-4 for Cotuit.

Hyannis 6 Falmouth 5, 12 innings: Hyannis first baseman Cody Hawn from Tennessee went 2-for-4 with a home run and Falmouth left fielder Brian Fletcher from Auburn went 3-for-6. Hyannis right-handed starter Seth Rosin from the University of Minnesota struck out seven in five innings of work.

In the least surprising development ever, two more games were rained out. Wareham at Harwich and Bourne at Orleans were the most recent washouts.