I went to Cotuit on Saturday evening, and saw a Cotuit team that is really struggling lose its sixth game in a row, 5-1, to Bourne. Bourne has won three straight and leads the Western Division.
I unexpectedly caught Cotuit right-handed starter Justin Grimm again, whom I had already seen twice before with varying results. Grimm looked like one of best pitchers on the Cape the first time I saw him, and he looked really bad the second time I saw him. He fell somewhere in between Saturday, but was probably closer to the good form of his first outing. It has become pretty clear that when Grimm is on, he has the stuff to be a really good prospect. But he falls into lapses of poor concentration, his command comes and goes, and he doesn't always finish his breaking pitches. When he's at his best, Grimm's fastball sits in the 92-93 mph range, he can throw a really good overhand curveball, and he shows a good 80-82 mph changeup that is really effective when he keeps it down. Grimm will likely be a high pick next year if he finds a way to perform more consistently.
A couple of Cotuit relievers came in and were really ineffective, right-handed reliever Mike Nesseth from the University of Nebraska came in and showed a live arm, though he did give up an absolute bomb to Bourne designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina. Nesseth, the Angels' 15th-round pick last month, is tall and lanky with a projectable frame at 6'5" 213. He has a jerky, awkward motion, and he tends to throw across his body and fall off the mound toward first base. His fastball sat in the 90-93 mph range, and he threw an 83-86 mph slider with good run. With more developement Nesseth has a shot to be a productive reliever.
Right-handed starter Turner Phelps from James Madison had a very good start for Bourne, allowing one run on four hits and striking out six in 6.1 innings pitched. Phelps has just average stuff though. Phelps is above average height with a husky build at 6'3" 205, and he looks surprisingly unathletic on the mound and struggles to field his position. His fastball sat around 86-87 mph, he threw an average 73-75 mph curveball with sweeping break and floated a 75-77 mph changeup. Phelps has put up good numbers so far this summer, but on Saturday he was helped out a lot by overanxious Cotuit hitters chasing bad pitches.
The usual Bourne position players caught scouts' eyes on Saturday. I heard the usual comments about second baseman Pierre LePage from UConn and his hustle and 4.1 speed down to first. Rightfielder Ben Klafczynski from Kent State showed off his tremendous athleticism again and made another spectacular catch, this time diving to grab a quickly falling shallow fly ball. And for the third consecutive time I've seen Bourne, a different scout admiringly said something like "That's a beautiful swing," about third baseman Rob Segedin from Tulane, who is proving himself to be one of the best right-handed hitters in the Cape League.
For Cotuit, I was interested to see the continued struggles of first baseman Tony Plagman from Georgia Tech. Plagman has a lot of ability, and shows some good pop when he is able to connect at the plate. But Plagman has terrible pitch recognition, and really looked bad in a couple of his plate appearances Saturday when he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. In his first strikeout, he swung comically late at one of Phelps' mediocre fastballs, then he waved at a breaking pitch to strike out in his third at-bat.
I also got my first look at Cotuit rightfielder Kevin Keyes from the University of Texas. Keyes has a good right-handed stroke and he can drive the ball to all fields. He is an incredibly slow runner, though.
I will be at Wareham at Y-D on Sunday.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Yarmouth-Dennis 8 Chatham 1: Right-handed starter John Leonard from Boston College pitched seven shutout innings for Y-D, allowing four hits and striking out three.
Falmouth 10 Hyannis 2: Centerfielder Todd Cunningham from Jacksonville State went 4-for-5 for Falmouth, shortstop B.A. Vollmuth from Southern Mississippi went 3-for-5 and finished a double short of the cycle. First baseman Hunter Morris from Auburn also homered for Falmouth.
Orleans 9 Brewster 4: Designated hitter Gary Brown from Cal State Fullerton went 3-for-5 and leftfielder Jeremy Gould from Duke homered for Orleans. Rightfielder Tant Shepherd from the University of Texas homered for Brewster.
Harwich 9 Wareham 7: First baseman Connor Powers from Mississippi State, the Dodgers' 11th round pick went 3-for-5 with a home run for Harwich. First baseman Brett Eibner from the University of Arkansas went 3-for-5 for Wareham.
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Showing posts with label Justin Grimm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justin Grimm. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
July 6 for July 5 Update
I went to Cotuit on Sunday evening mainly to see right-handed starter Justin Grimm from the University of Georgia pitch for the Kettleers, but ended up being much more impressed by two of the last late-arriving position players who I hadn't seen yet.
Grimm entered the game with a 0.57 ERA, and I was considering placing him among my Top 5 pitching prospects after seeing him a couple of weeks ago in Hyannis. But he made me question that decision when really struggled Sunday and Falmouth exposed all of his potential weaknesses. Terrible defense by Cotuit made things a lot worse and Falmouth won 14-9.
Grimm's fastball still sat in the 91-93 mph range, but it was a lot flatter than I remembered it. He threw a 75 mph curveball with big break and a good 81-83 mph changeup with downward movement. Grimm has good stuff and good size with a thin, athletic build at 6'4" 195, but he threw a lot of pitches over the middle of the plate and Falmouth took advantage. Once Falmouth started reaching on some bloopers and misplayed balls, Grimm seemed to lose his concentration, showing poor body language and failing to hit his spots. He really struggled to miss bats, and once the ball was put in play it was bad news for Cotuit.
The two late-arriving position players who immediately stand out as two of the best players in the league are Cotuit third baseman Zack Cox from the University of Arkansas and Falmouth first baseman Hunter Morris from Auburn.
Cox, who will be a draft-eligible sophomore next summer, is probably the best all-around player on the Cape. He went 3-for-5 on Sunday and is the closest thing to a five-tool prospect that I've seen. Cox has a solid, mature body at 6'0 215, but he is really athletic as well. He shows good balance at the plate, has strong hands and is really quick to the ball. He shows good plate coverage and is not afraid to use the whole field as all three of his hits Sunday went to the opposite field. He also showed some pop during batting practice. Cox is an average runner with 4.3 speed from the left side of the plate, and he is also a very good defensive player. Cox has smooth hands, and he showed off his range Sunday with a diving stop on a hard-hit ground ball. He's got a strong arm too. I'm hearing good things about Yarmouth-Dennis catcher Micah Gibbs from LSU, but until I see Gibbs in person later this week Cox is my No. 1 overall position player.
Morris has the best raw power on the Cape, and he can really crush a fastball. He put on the best power display I've seen this summer in his batting practice session on Sunday, and absolutely demolished a Grimm fastball for a home run that must have traveled farther than 400 feet. Morris has a powerful body at 6'4" 205, and he looks like he still has more room to fill out. He swings hard with a slight uppercut but he has good balance and is generally in control at the plate, though he does tend to get out in front of good off-speed pitches. He's not very athletic in the field but he's servicable as a first baseman. Morris, like Cox, is very likely to be a first-round pick next year.
Falmouth centerfielder Todd Cunningham from Jacksonville State also stood out Sunday when he went 3-for-5 with a walk. With his .364 batting average entering the game he has been one of the best hitters in the league in the first third of the season. Cunningham has a slightly long swing, but it doesn't prevent him from making contact as he has a pretty low strikeout rate. He is not afraid to hit the ball where it is pitched and he can hit with authority to all fields. He could be another Jacksonville State product who makes a name for himself in Falmouth after right-handed reliever Ben Tootle did it when he touched 98 mph as the Commodores' closer last summer.
Rightfielder Brian Fletcher from Auburn also had three hits for Falmouth. He's a free-swinger who swings hard to the point where he bucks his head upon contact, but when he connects he can drive the ball. Sticking with Auburn, designated hitter Kevin Patterson struggled for Cotuit, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. He got way out in front of several off-speed pitches, and continually looked bad waving at changeups. Patterson has good raw power, but he needs to learn to stay within himself at the plate.
The 23 runs and 28 hits make me feel like I don't want to discuss any of the other pitchers today besides Grimm. None was that good.
I've now gotten multiple requests to mention where I'm going to be the following day. Right now the plan is to catch one or both games of the Wareham at Hyannis doubleheader on Monday, then go see Gibbs play for Y-D in Orleans on Tuesday.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Chatham 1 Orleans 0: Left-handed pitcher Tyler Lyons from Oklahoma State, the Yankees' 10th round pick last month, pitched seven shutout innings for Chatham, allowing two hits and striking out one. Centerfielder Steven Brooks from Wake Forest went 2-for-3 for Chatham and third baseman Michael Olt from UConn went 2-for-3 for Orleans.
Bourne 8 Wareham 5: Designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina homered for Bourne and third baseman Shea Vucinich from Washington State homered for Wareham.
Y-D 9 Hyannis 8: Y-D catcher Micah Gibbs from LSU hit two home runs, finishing 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Hyannis first baseman Ryan Cuneo from Delaware went 3-for-5 including a grand slam and finished with six RBIs. Leftfielder Steve Chatwood went 3-for-4 for Y-D.
Brewster 5 Harwich 3: First baseman Lyle Allen from Georgia homered for Brewster.
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Grimm entered the game with a 0.57 ERA, and I was considering placing him among my Top 5 pitching prospects after seeing him a couple of weeks ago in Hyannis. But he made me question that decision when really struggled Sunday and Falmouth exposed all of his potential weaknesses. Terrible defense by Cotuit made things a lot worse and Falmouth won 14-9.
Grimm's fastball still sat in the 91-93 mph range, but it was a lot flatter than I remembered it. He threw a 75 mph curveball with big break and a good 81-83 mph changeup with downward movement. Grimm has good stuff and good size with a thin, athletic build at 6'4" 195, but he threw a lot of pitches over the middle of the plate and Falmouth took advantage. Once Falmouth started reaching on some bloopers and misplayed balls, Grimm seemed to lose his concentration, showing poor body language and failing to hit his spots. He really struggled to miss bats, and once the ball was put in play it was bad news for Cotuit.
The two late-arriving position players who immediately stand out as two of the best players in the league are Cotuit third baseman Zack Cox from the University of Arkansas and Falmouth first baseman Hunter Morris from Auburn.
Cox, who will be a draft-eligible sophomore next summer, is probably the best all-around player on the Cape. He went 3-for-5 on Sunday and is the closest thing to a five-tool prospect that I've seen. Cox has a solid, mature body at 6'0 215, but he is really athletic as well. He shows good balance at the plate, has strong hands and is really quick to the ball. He shows good plate coverage and is not afraid to use the whole field as all three of his hits Sunday went to the opposite field. He also showed some pop during batting practice. Cox is an average runner with 4.3 speed from the left side of the plate, and he is also a very good defensive player. Cox has smooth hands, and he showed off his range Sunday with a diving stop on a hard-hit ground ball. He's got a strong arm too. I'm hearing good things about Yarmouth-Dennis catcher Micah Gibbs from LSU, but until I see Gibbs in person later this week Cox is my No. 1 overall position player.
Morris has the best raw power on the Cape, and he can really crush a fastball. He put on the best power display I've seen this summer in his batting practice session on Sunday, and absolutely demolished a Grimm fastball for a home run that must have traveled farther than 400 feet. Morris has a powerful body at 6'4" 205, and he looks like he still has more room to fill out. He swings hard with a slight uppercut but he has good balance and is generally in control at the plate, though he does tend to get out in front of good off-speed pitches. He's not very athletic in the field but he's servicable as a first baseman. Morris, like Cox, is very likely to be a first-round pick next year.
Falmouth centerfielder Todd Cunningham from Jacksonville State also stood out Sunday when he went 3-for-5 with a walk. With his .364 batting average entering the game he has been one of the best hitters in the league in the first third of the season. Cunningham has a slightly long swing, but it doesn't prevent him from making contact as he has a pretty low strikeout rate. He is not afraid to hit the ball where it is pitched and he can hit with authority to all fields. He could be another Jacksonville State product who makes a name for himself in Falmouth after right-handed reliever Ben Tootle did it when he touched 98 mph as the Commodores' closer last summer.
Rightfielder Brian Fletcher from Auburn also had three hits for Falmouth. He's a free-swinger who swings hard to the point where he bucks his head upon contact, but when he connects he can drive the ball. Sticking with Auburn, designated hitter Kevin Patterson struggled for Cotuit, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. He got way out in front of several off-speed pitches, and continually looked bad waving at changeups. Patterson has good raw power, but he needs to learn to stay within himself at the plate.
The 23 runs and 28 hits make me feel like I don't want to discuss any of the other pitchers today besides Grimm. None was that good.
I've now gotten multiple requests to mention where I'm going to be the following day. Right now the plan is to catch one or both games of the Wareham at Hyannis doubleheader on Monday, then go see Gibbs play for Y-D in Orleans on Tuesday.
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
Chatham 1 Orleans 0: Left-handed pitcher Tyler Lyons from Oklahoma State, the Yankees' 10th round pick last month, pitched seven shutout innings for Chatham, allowing two hits and striking out one. Centerfielder Steven Brooks from Wake Forest went 2-for-3 for Chatham and third baseman Michael Olt from UConn went 2-for-3 for Orleans.
Bourne 8 Wareham 5: Designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina homered for Bourne and third baseman Shea Vucinich from Washington State homered for Wareham.
Y-D 9 Hyannis 8: Y-D catcher Micah Gibbs from LSU hit two home runs, finishing 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Hyannis first baseman Ryan Cuneo from Delaware went 3-for-5 including a grand slam and finished with six RBIs. Leftfielder Steve Chatwood went 3-for-4 for Y-D.
Brewster 5 Harwich 3: First baseman Lyle Allen from Georgia homered for Brewster.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? E-Mail me at schimmeldbk@gmail.com
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Sunday, June 21, 2009
June 21 for June 20 Update
I went to Hyannis on Saturday to see Hyannis play Cotuit at Mckeon Park. There were two major league scouts in attendance and Hyannis won 4-2 in an incredibly sloppy game during which Cotuit made five errors.
Even though he was outdueled by Hyannis' Cole Johnson and became a victim of the bad defense, Cotuit's right-handed starter Justin Grimm from Georgia was the best pitcher last night. Grimm has good size and an athletic build at 6'4 195. He has a sort of jerky motion that has a lot of parts to it, and he had a tendency to speed up his arm and overthrow early in the game. Once he settled in and found more consistency in his mechanics he was very good. His fastball sat in the 92-93 mph range, and he threw a very good curveball with nice overhand break that he could throw for strikes. He also showed a good changeup.
Johnson from Notre Dame had a good start, allowing one run on three hits in seven innings, but his stuff didn't impress me as much as it did when I saw him throw an inning in an exhibition game a week and a half ago. He has a smooth motion and good loose arm action as he simply rocks back and fires. His fastball velocity was inconsistent, coming in anywhere between 85 and 90. He threw a 71-72 mph curveball and an 80 mph slider with similar, spinning movement. Neither pitch was outstanding but they complimented each other well and he got outs with them. He also floated in an occasional changeup.
Cotuit first baseman Kevin Patterson from Auburn turned on an inside fastball to hit his second home run of the season Saturday. Patterson has a big, powerful body at 6'4" 220, and he has some serious pop. He swings hard every time, but he's really cut down on his strikeouts so far this season after whiffing far too often when he played for Cotuit last summer (47 times in 152 at-bats). Patterson did struggle in the field, as he had trouble handling a couple of low throws and overran a pop up that landed foul.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Orleans 8 Brewster 2: Matt Koch from Loyola Marymount hit a pinch-hit grand slam for Orleans and left fielder Kevin Muno from the University of San Diego went 3-for-5. Mark Canha from Cal-Berkeley hit his league-leading third home run of the season for Brewster.
Chatham 4 Harwich 3: Catcher Mike Murray from Wake Forest went 3-for-5 and hit a walk-off single for Chatham. Rightfielder Keenan Wiley from Kentucky went 4-for-5 for Harwich.
Falmouth 5 Wareham 0: Right-handed starter Nick Tepesch from Missouri allowed just two hits over six innings pitched for Falmouth. First baseman Murray Watts from Arkansas State went 2-for-4 with a home run.
Bourne 8-Y-D 2: Designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina, Oakland's 47th round draft pick, went 4-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI for Bourne. Left fielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech had a difficult to achieve 4-0-4-0 statline for Yarmouth-Dennis.
Even though he was outdueled by Hyannis' Cole Johnson and became a victim of the bad defense, Cotuit's right-handed starter Justin Grimm from Georgia was the best pitcher last night. Grimm has good size and an athletic build at 6'4 195. He has a sort of jerky motion that has a lot of parts to it, and he had a tendency to speed up his arm and overthrow early in the game. Once he settled in and found more consistency in his mechanics he was very good. His fastball sat in the 92-93 mph range, and he threw a very good curveball with nice overhand break that he could throw for strikes. He also showed a good changeup.
Johnson from Notre Dame had a good start, allowing one run on three hits in seven innings, but his stuff didn't impress me as much as it did when I saw him throw an inning in an exhibition game a week and a half ago. He has a smooth motion and good loose arm action as he simply rocks back and fires. His fastball velocity was inconsistent, coming in anywhere between 85 and 90. He threw a 71-72 mph curveball and an 80 mph slider with similar, spinning movement. Neither pitch was outstanding but they complimented each other well and he got outs with them. He also floated in an occasional changeup.
Cotuit first baseman Kevin Patterson from Auburn turned on an inside fastball to hit his second home run of the season Saturday. Patterson has a big, powerful body at 6'4" 220, and he has some serious pop. He swings hard every time, but he's really cut down on his strikeouts so far this season after whiffing far too often when he played for Cotuit last summer (47 times in 152 at-bats). Patterson did struggle in the field, as he had trouble handling a couple of low throws and overran a pop up that landed foul.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Orleans 8 Brewster 2: Matt Koch from Loyola Marymount hit a pinch-hit grand slam for Orleans and left fielder Kevin Muno from the University of San Diego went 3-for-5. Mark Canha from Cal-Berkeley hit his league-leading third home run of the season for Brewster.
Chatham 4 Harwich 3: Catcher Mike Murray from Wake Forest went 3-for-5 and hit a walk-off single for Chatham. Rightfielder Keenan Wiley from Kentucky went 4-for-5 for Harwich.
Falmouth 5 Wareham 0: Right-handed starter Nick Tepesch from Missouri allowed just two hits over six innings pitched for Falmouth. First baseman Murray Watts from Arkansas State went 2-for-4 with a home run.
Bourne 8-Y-D 2: Designated hitter Kyle Roller from East Carolina, Oakland's 47th round draft pick, went 4-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI for Bourne. Left fielder Austin Wates from Virginia Tech had a difficult to achieve 4-0-4-0 statline for Yarmouth-Dennis.
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