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 12 for July 11 Update

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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July 9 for July 8 Update

I went to Bourne on Wednesday evening, and the weather randomly decided to be cold again even though it was July 8th. After all the rainouts we've had I would say "at least it wasn't raining," but it drizzled during part of the game too.

Bourne used five different pitchers in its 3-1 win over Falmouth, and all five are at least worth talking about.

Right-handed starter Seth Maness from East Carolina was probably the least impressive of the five, but was still decent. Maness has kind of a small frame at 6'0" 182, but he throws with good arm action. He tends to rush through his motion a little bit. Maness' fastball sat mostly in the 89-90 mph range, and he worked almost exclusively on the outer half of the plate. He also threw a decent 81 mph changeup with good movement. He showed both an 80 mph slider and a 75 mph curveball, but neither was better than a Cape League-average -pitch.

Right-handed reliever Alex Wimmers from Ohio State came in next, and he entered the game with a small amount of buzz among scouts as another Team USA Trials late-arriver. One American League scout said before the game he was glad he caught this game because he was told during batting practice that Wimmers would throw an inning. Wimmers has an athletic build at 6'2" 195. He is a quick worker who throws with some effort. Wimmers' fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range, and he threw a good 74-75 mph curveball with big downward break. He also showed a 77 mph changeup.

Right-handed reliever Justin Poovey from the University of Florida pitched the seventh inning. Poovey is another guy who has a bit of a small frame for a pitcher at 6'1" 190. He throws with some effort and tends to throw across his body. Poovey's fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range and he also showed an 83 mph slider.

Right-handed reliever Stephen Harrold from UNC Wilmington is usually Bourne's closer, but he pitched the eighth inning Wednesday. Harrold is also average size at 6'1" 200. He appears to stop himself as he delivers, and doesn't drive his body all the way threw the pitch. His 89-92 mph fastball is the only pitch I caught during his inning of work.

Finally, right-handed reliever Kevin Munson from James Madison pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for Bourne and picked up the save. I had seen Munson earlier in the year, but his stuff was a lot more memorable this time. Munson is also average size for a pitcher at 6'2" 200. He needs to tighten up his motion, and he throws with some effort, but he has two good pitches that really work for him in a bullpen role. Munson's fastball sat in the 93-94 mph range Wednesday and he spotted it well. He also threw an 80-83 mph slider with good run that he both throw for strikes and get hitters to chase out of the zone. His appearance was probably the most impressive of the seven pitchers who appeared in Wednesday's game.

One hitter worth discussing is Bourne third baseman Rob Segedin from Tulane, who recently joined the Braves after Team USA Trials. Segedin has lost some weight since last summer when he played for Falmouth, but he is still a solid 6'3" 225. He has a quick bat and a short stroke from the right side of the plate, and he hit the ball hard in all four of his at-bats Wednesday when he went 2-for-4.

Another position player of note Wednesday was Bourne rightfielder Ben Klafczynski from Kent State, who made perhaps the defensive play of the season when he leaped high over the short fence in right to rob a sure home run from Falmouth leftfielder Brian Fletcher from Auburn.

I will be at Chatham at Brewster on Thursday.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Harwich 5 Cotuit 2: Rightfielder Dan Grovatt from the University of Virginia and first baseman Connor Powers from Mississippi State, the Dodgers' 11th round pick, each had two hits for Harwich. Third baseman Zack Cox went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Cotuit.

Hyannis 3 Orleans 0: Right-handed pitchers Austin Hudson from Central Florida, Seattle's 27th round pick, and Dallas Gallant from Sam Houston State combined on a five-hit shutout for Hyannis. Gallant struck out eight in his three innings of work.

Wareham 5 Chatham 1: Left-handed starter Eric Pfisterer from Duke allowed no earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched, and designated hitter Zach Wilson from Arizona State had two hits for Wareham.

Brewster 5-Y-D 1: Right-handed starter Sean Hoelscher from TCU pitched 6.1 shutout innings for Brewster, allowing four hits and striking out three. Centerfielder Jordan Casas from Long Beach State, third baseman Tyler Hanover from LSU and leftfielder Steve Chatwood from the University of San Diego each had two hits for Yarmouth-Dennis.

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