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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Showing posts with label Kevin Patterson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kevin Patterson. Show all posts
Sunday, July 5, 2009
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.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
June 18 for June 17 Update
Wednesday night brought me to Harwich for an opening day makeup/2008 championship rematch between Harwich and Cotuit. While very few players remained from last year, Cotuit exacted some revenge for last year's sweep with a 7-0 victory.
There was only one major league scout in attendance even though there was only one other game last night, but there were a couple notable Major League ties to the game.
Cotuit manager Mike Roberts, father of Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts, showed his propensity for being aggressive on the bases. Cotuit stole six bases, was caught three other times, and successfully pulled off a safety squeeze.
More interestingly, Cotuit leftfielder Cory Vaughn, son of former Major Leaguer Greg Vaughn, was the offensive hero for the Kettleers. The San Diego State Aztec was 1-for-13 coming into the game but went 3-for-4 and crushed a grand slam into the woods well beyond the left field fence. Vaughn is big (6'3" 225) and athletic, and was probably the most talented player on the field Wednesday. He's a bit of a free swinger, and has struck out 7 times in his first 17 at-bats, but he swings hard and has some tools.
Cotuit's right-handed starter Brandon Cumpton from Georgia Tech shares Player of the Game honors with Vaughn. Cumpton is just average height and has a thin frame at 6'1 190, but he has smooth mechanics and good arm action and he was able to run his fastball up to 93 mph. Cumpton's heater sat in the 91-93 range, and he was still throwing it by hitters late in his eight-inning no-run, three-hit performance. Cumpton also showed a good 74 mph curveball and a decent 80-83 mph changeup that he tended to float up in the zone but he could also throw for strikes.
Cotuit's Rico Noel also had a huge game. The diminuitive (5'9 165) second baseman from Coastal Carolina did a little bit of everything. He went 3-for-4, turned on a fastball for a deep home run to left-center, stole three bases including one steal of third and made a very athletic turn on a double play with a runner bearing down on him. If scouts are not turned off by his size, they'll see pretty clearly that he can play.
Cotuit also had three other players who showed some pop during batting practice. Riley Cooper, who was just selected in the 25th round of the 2009 MLB draft by Texas, and who played wide receiver for the University of Florida's football team, drove the ball with a power hitter's slight uppercut swing. He struggled against live hitting though and went 0-for-3 with a walk out of the No. 9 hole in the game.
Kevin Patterson from Auburn, an All-Star for Cotuit last summer who was just getting the day off, and Devin Harris from East Carolina, an 8th round pick by Baltimore, both showed home run power during BP but didn't play in the game.
Right-handed reliever Brian Dupra from Notre Dame was the main standout for Harwich. Dupra was a Cape League All-Star last summer. He had good command of a 92-93 mph fastball, and threw a very good 78-80 mph curveball with tight downward break and late life. He also showed an occasional 84 mph changeup. Dupra has good size at 6'3" 205, but he has some effort in his delivery as he speeds up his body late in his motion and tends to throw across his body. He also falls off the mound toward first base. With some tightening of his mechanics, Dupra could be very good.
Harwich second baseman Chris Wade from the University of Kentucky, an 11th round pick of the Florida Marlins, also played well, smoking a triple over the centerfielder's head with his smooth righthanded swing, and also made two tremendous diving stops on hard hit ground balls up the middle.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Chatham 5 Wareham 4 10 innings: Pinch runner Brian Harris from Vanderbilt scored the winning run for Chatham on a passed ball as the Anglers improved to 4-1 on the year. Second baseman Tom Belza from Oklahoma State went 2-for-4 and designated hitter Nick Schwaner, a 42nd round pick of San Francisco, from New Orleans went 2-for-5 for Chatham. Designated hitter Chris Hannick from Cal St. Northridge went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs for Wareham.
There was only one major league scout in attendance even though there was only one other game last night, but there were a couple notable Major League ties to the game.
Cotuit manager Mike Roberts, father of Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts, showed his propensity for being aggressive on the bases. Cotuit stole six bases, was caught three other times, and successfully pulled off a safety squeeze.
More interestingly, Cotuit leftfielder Cory Vaughn, son of former Major Leaguer Greg Vaughn, was the offensive hero for the Kettleers. The San Diego State Aztec was 1-for-13 coming into the game but went 3-for-4 and crushed a grand slam into the woods well beyond the left field fence. Vaughn is big (6'3" 225) and athletic, and was probably the most talented player on the field Wednesday. He's a bit of a free swinger, and has struck out 7 times in his first 17 at-bats, but he swings hard and has some tools.
Cotuit's right-handed starter Brandon Cumpton from Georgia Tech shares Player of the Game honors with Vaughn. Cumpton is just average height and has a thin frame at 6'1 190, but he has smooth mechanics and good arm action and he was able to run his fastball up to 93 mph. Cumpton's heater sat in the 91-93 range, and he was still throwing it by hitters late in his eight-inning no-run, three-hit performance. Cumpton also showed a good 74 mph curveball and a decent 80-83 mph changeup that he tended to float up in the zone but he could also throw for strikes.
Cotuit's Rico Noel also had a huge game. The diminuitive (5'9 165) second baseman from Coastal Carolina did a little bit of everything. He went 3-for-4, turned on a fastball for a deep home run to left-center, stole three bases including one steal of third and made a very athletic turn on a double play with a runner bearing down on him. If scouts are not turned off by his size, they'll see pretty clearly that he can play.
Cotuit also had three other players who showed some pop during batting practice. Riley Cooper, who was just selected in the 25th round of the 2009 MLB draft by Texas, and who played wide receiver for the University of Florida's football team, drove the ball with a power hitter's slight uppercut swing. He struggled against live hitting though and went 0-for-3 with a walk out of the No. 9 hole in the game.
Kevin Patterson from Auburn, an All-Star for Cotuit last summer who was just getting the day off, and Devin Harris from East Carolina, an 8th round pick by Baltimore, both showed home run power during BP but didn't play in the game.
Right-handed reliever Brian Dupra from Notre Dame was the main standout for Harwich. Dupra was a Cape League All-Star last summer. He had good command of a 92-93 mph fastball, and threw a very good 78-80 mph curveball with tight downward break and late life. He also showed an occasional 84 mph changeup. Dupra has good size at 6'3" 205, but he has some effort in his delivery as he speeds up his body late in his motion and tends to throw across his body. He also falls off the mound toward first base. With some tightening of his mechanics, Dupra could be very good.
Harwich second baseman Chris Wade from the University of Kentucky, an 11th round pick of the Florida Marlins, also played well, smoking a triple over the centerfielder's head with his smooth righthanded swing, and also made two tremendous diving stops on hard hit ground balls up the middle.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Chatham 5 Wareham 4 10 innings: Pinch runner Brian Harris from Vanderbilt scored the winning run for Chatham on a passed ball as the Anglers improved to 4-1 on the year. Second baseman Tom Belza from Oklahoma State went 2-for-4 and designated hitter Nick Schwaner, a 42nd round pick of San Francisco, from New Orleans went 2-for-5 for Chatham. Designated hitter Chris Hannick from Cal St. Northridge went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs for Wareham.
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