Official League Website
League
Strength: ****
Cape Cod League top 100 prospects (list)
While
it wasn’t readily apparent during much of the 2011 season that the
Harwich Mariners had the deepest and most-talented team in the Cape
Cod League, that point was driven home in post-season play.
The
Mariners got hot at the right time, overcoming a second-place finish
in the Eastern Division standings to go 6-1 in the Cape’s
three-tiered playoff and sew up their second league title in four
years. They beat the Falmouth Commodores 7-5 in the deciding game of
the final series to complete a two-game sweep.
Harwich
went just 24-19-1 during the regular season, and was ninth in the
10-team league in batting average at .238 and sixth in ERA at 3.35.
And yet the Mariners dominate the accompanying list of the league’s
100 best prospects with a total of 17 selections.
So
deep was the team’s roster that it was the performance of two
players who didn’t even crack the top 100 that pushed the team over
the top in the end, though in somewhat of clumsy ways.
Two-way
player Jake Davies (Georgia Tech), who had worked just six innings in
the regular season, was called on to start the biggest game of the
season for the Mariners and their depleted pitching staff. While he
didn’t make it out of the second inning after giving up three hits
and three walks, Davies allowed just one run, and it was his pivotal
run-scoring double in the seventh inning that put Harwich ahead for
good. He later came around to score an insurance run.
But
Harwich’s run to a title wasn’t without some
bottom-of-the-ninth-inning drama as Falmouth loaded the bases with
none out against righthander Chris Overman (North Carolina State),
who saved only one game for the Mariners in the regular season.
Overman managed to get out of the jam unscathed, however, preserving
his team’s 7-5 lead and securing a championship.
In
the process, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Overman preserved his own
remarkable streak of not allowing an earned run all summer on the
Cape. He had a perfect 0.00 ERA in 19 regular-season relief
appearances covering 28 innings, mostly in a set-up role, and was
unscored on in four playoff appearances.
Harwich’s
strength all season was its deep, dominant bullpen. The Mariners
never had a set closer, but utilized the likes of righthanders Carter
Capps (3-1, 0.39, 2 SV) and Overman, both of whom were selected to
play in the league all-star game, along with hard-throwing Blake
Hauser (Virginia Commonwealth) and Eddie Butler (Radford), in
mix-and-match roles to get the job done. Come playoff time, the two
North Carolina pitching products were entrusted with different
responsibilities and responded admirably.
Capps,
a third-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners out of Division II
Mt. Olive, was called upon to make his only start of the season and
was dominant in a six-inning outing, while Overman was installed as
the team’s primary closer and had three saves, including his
nail-biter in the deciding contest. Capps signed with the Mariners
following his start.
With
a fastball that peaked at 97 mph, the best-recorded velocity at the
Cape all-star game, Capps factors prominently on the list of the
league’s top prospects; with a fastball that hovered at 87-88,
Overman does not and profiles as a mid-round pick in the 2012 draft.
Together,
as relievers, Capps and Overman contributed as much to Harwich’s
success as anyone as the Mariners didn’t have a player who ranked
among the league’s top 18 hitters, or a starting pitcher who won
more than two games or had enough innings to even qualify among the
league ERA leaders.
Most
of Harwich’s better prospects, in truth, made only marginal
contributions to the team’s success, with several playing an
abbreviated schedule, though their raw talent was not lost on the
large volume of scouts who frequent the Cape Cod League each summer.
Harwich’s
top prospect, Stanford outfielder Austin Wilson, hit just .204-1-13.
Two Louisiana State products, righthander Kevin Gausman and infielder
Jacoby Jones, ranked 2-3, even though Gausman made just two
appearances and Jones garnered just 47 at-bats while hitting a meager
.234-0-5. All are rising college sophomores and the professional
upside of all three players is unmistakable.
There
wasn’t a player in the league with a more athletic, more
projectable frame than the gifted 6-foot-4, 235-pound Wilson; or
threw consistently harder than Gausman, or had more potential
five-tool ability than Jones. Gausman’s season was interrupted by
his tour of duty with USA Baseball’s college national team, while
it’s just going to take time for the manifesting talent in Wilson
and Jones to rise to the surface.
Overall,
the talent level on the Cape was considered slightly down from past
years. That was most evident in the modest crop of starting pitchers.
If anything, there was a nice assortment of power bats and relievers
with power arms.
Many
of those players did not play a full season on the Cape, however,
either because of injury, or due to their college team’s
participation in the College World Series that cut deeply into the
first-half schedule, or their own participation with Team USA’s
college national team, whose schedule carved into the middle portion
of the Cape season and led to several top prospects electing to shut
it down for the balance of the summer.
The
league all-star game, played in late July, graphically pointed out
the disjointed state of the Cape Cod League this season. A premium
was placed on performance to date in the selection of players to
participate in the contest, rather than an attempt on the part of the
league to identify the best projectable talent available.
Consequently,
only four of the top 16 prospects listed below made their way into
the contest. In somewhat of a curious irony, there may have been more
raw talent in the impressive array of players who were chosen to
participate only in the one-dimensional league Home Run Derby
(Wilson, Chatham’s Richie Shaffer, Hyannis’ Adam Brett Walker
specifically) than there was among the position players who played in
the game itself.
With
Harwich not always playing consistently well during the course of the
season and its depth of talent perhaps not being so readily apparent
at the time, the team that grabbed most of the limelight during the
regular season was the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, who brought up the rear
in the Cape in each of the last two seasons with a combined 30 wins.
The Hawks nearly duplicated that victory total in 2011 alone with 29,
but were promptly bounced in the first round of the playoffs.
In
somewhat of a parallel, but reverse scenario, the Cotuit Kettleers
won the league championship a year ago and promptly fell on hard
times this season by not even qualifying as one of eight teams that
made the Cape’s 10-team playoff field.
Cotuit
still had the Cape League’s best overall prospect in shortstop
Deven Marrero (Arizona State), whose season was compromised in the
middle by his appearance with Team USA and at the end by a disabling
hand injury after he was hit by a pitch.
The
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox also struggled to keep their head above water
in the regular season and quickly bit the dust in the playoffs,
despite the presence of the league’s best pitching prospect in
righthander Mark Appel. Another Team USA invitee, his Cape season was
limited to two regular-season appearances and one superior playoff
outing.
Led
by the slick-fielding Marrero and hard-throwing Appel, Cotuit and
Yarmouth-Dennis each had four prospects ranked among the league’s
top 14. By contrast, the first Hyannis prospect recognized was the
power-hitting Walker, at No. 15 overall—somewhat surprising
considering the team’s wire-to-wire run in the regular season.
But
in the somewhat unpredictable and often-misunderstood world of summer
college baseball, where prospect rankings can vary greatly from
on-field success, Harwich at least lent some sense of normalcy to the
equation by winning a championship with the league’s most-talented
team.
FAST
FACTS
Year
League Established: 1885.
States
Represented in League: Massachusetts.
No.
of Teams in League: 10.
Regular-Season
Champion (best overall record):
Hyannis Harbor Hawks.
Post-Season
Champion: Harwich Mariners.
Teams,
PG CrossChecker Summer 50/Final Ranking:
No. 3 Harwich Mariners; No. 8 Hyannis Harbor Hawks; No. 17 Orleans
Firebirds; No. 21 Wareham Gatemen; No. 39 Bourne Braves.
No.
1 Prospect, 2010 (per PG CrossChecker):
George Springer, of, Wareham Gatemen (Connecticut; Astros/1st round, 11th pick).
First
2010 Player Selected, 2011 Draft:
George Springer, of, Wareham Gatemen (Connecticut; Astros/1st round, 11th pick).
Most
Valuable Player: Travis Jankowski,
of, Bourne Braves.
Outstanding
Pitcher: Ryan Eades, rhp, Bourne
Braves.
Top
Prospect (as selected by league):
Victor Roache, of, Cotuit Kettleers.
BATTING
LEADERS (League games only)
Batting
Average: Steve Piscotty, 1b/3b,
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (.349).
Slugging
Percentage: James Ramsey, of,
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (.571).
On-Base
Average: Victor Roache, of, Cotuit
Kettleers (.457).
Home
Runs: D.J. Hicks, 1b, Bourne Braves
(7).
RBIs:
Dane Phillips, c, Chatham Anglers (34).
Stolen
Bases: Kyle Wren, of, Cotuit
Kettleers (18).
PITCHING
LEADERS (League games only)
Wins:
Several tied at 4.
ERA:
Scott Firth, rhp, Hyannis Harbor Hawks (1.15).
Saves:
Trevor Gott, rhp, Orleans Firebirds; Konnor Wade, rhp, Wareham
Gatemen (12).
Opponent
Batting Average: Justin Amlung, rhp,
Wareham Gatemen (.153).
Strikeouts:
Joe Bircher, lhp, Falmouth Commodores (48).
BEST
TOOLS
Best
Athlete: 1. Austin Wilson, of,
Harwich Mariners; 2. Brandon
Thomas, of, Wareham Gatemen; 3.
Adam Brett Walker, of, Hyannis Harbor Hawks; 4.
Jake Stewart, of, Orleans Firebirds; 5.
Josh Conway, rhp/3b, Bourne Braves.
Best
Hitter: 1.
Steve Piscotty, 1b/3b,
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox; 2.
Mike Zunino, c, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox; 3.
Jason Monda, of, Brewster Whitecaps;
4. Dane
Phillips, c, Chatham Anglers; 5.
Travis Jankowski, of, Bourne Braves.
Best
Power: 1.
Austin Wilson, of, Harwich Mariners;
2. Victor
Roache, of, Cotuit Kettleers; 3.
Adam Brett Walker, 1b/of, Hyannis Harbor Hawks; 4.
Richie Schaffer, 1b/3b, Chatham Anglers; 5.
Kris Bryant, 1b/3b, Chatham Anglers.
Fastest
Base Runner: 1.
Krey Bratsen, of, Cotuit Kettleers;
2. Andrew
Toles, of, Brewster Whitecaps; 3.
Brandon Thomas, of, Wareham Gatemen;
4.
Travis Jankowski, of, Bourne Braves; 5.
Joey Rickard, of, Hyannis Harbor
Hawks.
Best
Defensive Player: CATCHER—Jack
Marder, Falmouth Commodores. INFIELDER—Deven
Marrero, ss, Cotuit Kettleers. OUTFIELDER—Andrew
Aplin, Orleans Firebirds.
Best
Arm: CATCHER—Mike Zunino,
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. INFIELDER—Deven
Marrero, ss, Cotuit Kettleers. OUTFIELDER—Austin
Wilson, Harwich Mariners.
Best
Velocity: 1.
Mark Appel, rhp, Yarmouth-Dennis Red
Sox; 2.
Marcus Stroman, rhp, Orleans Firebirds;
3. Carter Capps, rhp, Harwich
Mariners; 4.
Bobby Wahl, rhp, Cotuit Kettleers; 5.
Kevin Gausman, rhp, Harwich
Mariners.
Best
Breaking Ball/Off-Speed Pitch: SLIDER—1. Matt
Simms, rhp, Falmouth Commodores; 2.
Marcus Stroman, rhp, Orleans Firebirds;
3. Blake Hauser, rhp, Harwich
Mariners. CURVEBALL—1. J.T.
Chargois, lhp, Brewster Whitecaps; 2.
Daniel Langfield, rhp, Brewster Whitecaps; 3.
Jack Amstrong, rhp, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. CHANGEUP—1.
Chris Beck, rhp, Cotuit Kettleers;
2.
Dominic Leone, rhp, Chatham Anglers; 3.
R.J. Alvarez, rhp, Bourne Braves.
Best
Command: 1. Marcus Stroman, rhp,
Orleans Firebirds; 2.
Ryan Eades, rhp, Bourne Braves; 3.
Josh Turley, lhp, Wareham Gatemen; 4.
Andrew Heaney, lhp, Falmouth
Commodores; 5.
Taylor Rogers, lhp, Harwich Mariners.
TOP
100 PROSPECTS
1.
DEVEN MARRERO, ss, Cotuit Kettleers (Arizona State/JR in 2012)
SCOUTING
PROFILE: Marrero is a superior
prospect in all phases of his game, and a leading candidate to be the
first player drafted in 2012. The one area where he truly stands out
is on defense, and he is in a league of his own as a college
shortstop. Scouts say he is ready-made to play defensively in the big
leagues, and have little reservation in extolling him as a future
Gold-Glover. Marrero has exceptional rhythm in the field, no matter
what the play or where a throw originates. He has a knack for
instinctively reading ground balls and getting his glove into the
right position, regardless of the hop, and is also adept at shifting
his feet to make a throw from any angle. His arm is both strong and
extremely accurate, and he excels at making plays from the hole. If
anything, he can make shortstop look a little too easy, at times, and
will lose focus occasionally and overcharge some balls, which
accounted for most of the nine errors he committed in the 12 games he
played this summer for Cotuit. While his ability to play shortstop
has never been questioned, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound Marrero continues
to open eyes with his bat. He hit .326-0-5 in his brief time on the
Cape, which he did in two instalments sandwiched around his tenure as
the starting shortstop for USA Baseball’s college national team,
where he hit .322-0-14, and led that squad in hits, doubles, RBIs and
stolen bases. In contrast to his summer showing at the plate, Marrero
hit .315-2-20 with the new BBCOR bats during his sophomore year at
Arizona State, and scouts may have already come to the conclusion
that he is one of those players who is a better hitter with wood. He
has excellent hitter’s hands, and the bat speed to turn around a
high-velocity fastball. His best attribute as a hitter, though, is
his ability to drive balls sharply to the opposite field. He also has
sound strike-zone management. The area where Marrero showed his
greatest improvement this summer came in his base running. He has
average speed but emerged as an above-average base stealer because of
his superior instincts. Marrero was one of the top prospects in the
Cape Cod League a year ago, when he hit .306-1-17, and his reputation
as the league’s best talent carried over to this summer, to a
degree, as his time in the league was too limited for scouts to get
an extended look at him to be convinced he was the league’s No. 1
prospect. Not only did Marrero take three weeks out to join Team USA,
but he missed the final week of the Cape season when he was hit by a
pitch and suffered a badly bruised left hand.