Another summer season on the Cape has come and gone, with the Chatham A's, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, the Falmouth Commodores and the Bourne Braves advancing to the Cape Cod League playoffs. Yarmouth-Dennis has sat atop PG Crosschecker's Summer 16, finishing the regular season first in batting and second in pitching, and are the favorite to once again take home the championship trophy, which would be their second consecutive championhip and third in four years.
All of the summer collegiate leagues give college players an excellent opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the nation while using a wood bat, which is a very similar opportunity high school players are given through Perfect Game showcase and tournament events. Like showcase events, these summer leagues always seem to produce a player or two that makes the most of his opportunity to squarely put himself at the top of scout's follow lists.
That player this year is Conor Gillaspie, a third baseman fromWichita State who played for Falmouth this summer. Gillaspie's season was very similar to Evan Longoria's two years ago, in that both players were good offensive performers, but I don't think anyone expected either one of them to explode on the Cape using the wood bat the way they did. Longoria of course became the third overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2006 draft, and has already soared to AAA hitting for average and impressive power at every stop.
Longoria was named the MVP of the 2005 Cape season by leading the league in slugging (.500) home runs (8) and RBI (35), while also finishing tied for first in extra-base hits and third in hits.
Gillaspie finds his name sitting at the top of similar offensive categories, leading the league this summer in batting (.345) slugging (.691), and extra-base hits (21) while finishing second in on-base percentage (.448), tied for second in doubles (12) and finishing third in home runs (7).
Again, it's not like Gillaspie came out of nowhere, as he has enjoyed two very productive seasons at Wichita State and a nice summer playing for the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California League a summer ago.
Physically, you wouldn't expect him to have the kind of offensive dominance that he had. With athletic yet lean proportions, Gillaspie employs a simple approach at the plate in which he's looking to drive the ball wherever he’s pitched. He gets good extension with his long arms, and has solid bat speed.
Gillaspie is poised to be named the league's MVP, no matter what happens during the playoffs, and has also improved his stock tremendously as he looks forward to his junior year and the 2008 draft.
Below I am going to assemble my own all-league team with a focus on production, not necessarily a player's future prospect status, although it is no surprise that some of the best prospects in the league put up some of the best numbers.
Catcher - Buster Posey, Yarmouth-Dennis (Florida State )
Posey was named to the All-League team a year ago as a shortstop, before Florida State moved him to behind the dish. He has hit very well both summers, showing a relatively easy learning curve switching from aluminum to wood. His approach helps with that, as he has a quick bat and strong hands and looks to make contact. There isn't a whole lot of power in his swing now, but he should continue to be an above average offensive catcher.
Honorable mention to Tim Federowicz of Chatham (North Carolina ).
First Base - Yonder Alonso, Brewster (Miami )
Arguably the most dangerous and imposing figure on the Cape , Alonso continued to show his patient approach at the plate by drawing 36 walks, which led the circuit. He also finished tied for second in hits with 51, which led to him leading the league in on-base percentage (.468) while finishing third in hitting (.338). Alonso joins Pedro Alvarez and Justin Smoak as one of the most exciting power hitters available for the 2008 draft.
Honorable mention to Shane Peterson of Hyannis (Long Beach St .).
Second Base - David Adams, (Virginia)
Scouts have long known that Adams can hit, and he followed up a relatively disappointing performance on the Cape after his freshman year with a very impressive one by hitting .302, ninth-best in the league, while leading the league in doubles (14) and also finishing tied for second in hits (51, with Alonso) and triples (3). Adams has a no-nonsense approach with very good bat speed that allows him to smoke balls to all parts of the field.
Honorable mention to Kevin Hoef (Iowa), who played third base primarily for Bourne, but started at second and led off for the West squad at the All-Star Game.
Third Base - Conor Gillaspie, Falmouth (Wichita State )
Gillaspie was profiled above, whose MVP season over-shadowed some other impressive performances from third basemen, most notably Jermaine Curtis of Chatham (UCLA), who started at the hot corner for the East All-Stars, and James Darnell of Hyannis (South Carolina), whose eight home runs tied him for second in the league.
Shortstop - Gordon Beckham, Yarmouth-Dennis (Georgia )
Beckham’s season probably would garner him plenty of second-place votes in the MVP race, as he led the circuit in home runs (9), finished tied for first in RBI (35), finished second in extra-base hits (19) and third in slugging percentage (.529) while playing for the league’s best team. It is particularly impressive that he put up those numbers as a shortstop, and undoubtedly has improved his draft standing in the eyes of the scouts.
Honorable mention to Reese Havens of Cotuit (South Carolina ).
Outfield - Dennis Raben, Orleans (Miami )
The second of two sluggers from the Miami Hurricanes, Raben finished tied with Beckham for the league lead in RBI (35). Overall he batted .298 with 10 doubles, two triples and six home runs with a .426 on-base percentage and a .510 slugging percentage. The big fella also played 39 errorless games in the outfield, and added a big home run in the All-Star Game on his way to being named the game’s MVP.
Outfield - Collin Cowgill, Yarmouth-Dennis (Kentucky )
A broken hamate bone led to a disappointing junior season for Cowgill, but he has responded nicely on the Cape , and was the starting centerfielder for the East All-Stars. Yet another member of the talent-laden Yarmouth-Dennis squad, Cowgill hit .284 with four doubles, four triples and two home runs as he swiped 10 bags. If he doesn’t end up signing with the A’s as their 29th round pick from this past year’s draft with the August 15th signing deadline approaching, he will enter next spring as a potential third to fifth round pick for the ’08 draft.
Outfield - Dan Brewer, Hyannis (Bradley)
Brewer played left, center and right field for Hyannis as well as third base, second base and shortstop, committing only two errors on the summer. Most of his time was spent in the outfield, and he proved that being moved around so much didn’t effect him at the plate either by hitting .297 with 11 doubles and seven home runs. He’s another name that really helped his standing in the eyes of scouts with an impressive summer.
Honorable mentions to Matt Hague of Falmouth (Washington), Aaron Luna of Yarmouth-Dennis (Rice) and Blake Tekotte of Brewster (Miami ).
Designated Hitter - Allan Dykstra, Chatham (Wake Forest )
Cape pitchers got to know what it felt like to have the grimacing Dykstra starting down at them, as he clubbed 13 extra-base hits and drove in 31 runs while hitting .308 on the summer, eighth-best in the league. He did commit five errors in 38 games at first base, which seems to support the idea that he is likely a player that will best fit in the American League down the road. If he keeps hitting like he has during his collegiate career, it won’t matter.
Honorable mention to Sean Ochinko (LSU) and Jason Castro (Stanford), both of Yarmouth-Dennis, who shared duties at first, behind the plate (on the rare days Posey wasn't back there) and at DH.
Starting Pitcher - Aaron Crow, Falmouth (Missouri )
Selecting only three starters from an impressive group of hurlers wasn’t an easy thing to do, but Crow was a no-brainer after leading the league with a 0.67 ERA. The starting pitcher for the West All-Stars, he struck out Cole Figueroa, Collin Cowgill and Yonder Alonso in impressive fashion to begin the game. Crow has a perfectly projectable frame, a loose arm and very good fastball command as he works the corners like a seasoned veteran.
Starting Pitcher - Tom Milone, Chatham (USC)
Lefty Tom Milone has been a favorite of mine for a few years now given his advanced feel for pitching by changing speeds and hitting his spots. Those attributes allowed him to finish tied for the league lead in wins with six while posting a 2.92 ERA and a 46 to seven strikeout to walk ratio in over 52 innings of work.
Starting Pitcher - Rick Zagone, Bourne (Missouri )
A pair of Missouri starting pitchers having impressive summers on the Cape likely means pretty good things for the Tigers next spring. Zagone, a lefty, went 4-1 for Bourne with a 2.09 ERA. His four wins were tied for third best, and his ERA was good for eighth best. He was one of only four pitchers (including Milone) to toss a shutout this summer.
Honorable mention to Andy Oliver of Wareham (Oklahoma State), D.J. Mitchell of Bourne (Clemson) and Christian Friedrich of Falmouth (Eastern Kentucky).
Relief Pitcher - Nick Cassavechia, Yarmouth-Dennis (Baylor)
This side-arming reliever led the league with 11 saves, and it yet another member of the Yarmouth-Dennis squad represented on this list. While he’s short in stature and in stuff, his delivery is really hard for right-handed hitters to pick up, throwing them a heavy dose of sweeping breaking balls away, and he’s not afraid to bust left-handed hitters inside with his rising fastball.
Honorable mention to Evan Crawford (Auburn ), a bright spot for Harwich this summer, who is a quirky lefty with a lot of moving parts whose character is definitely a welcomed plus to any league.
The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA . Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.