Impressive Cape Cod Baseball League Prospects

Yarmouth-Dennis celebrates winning the 2016 Cape Cod
Baseball League Championship
photo by author

The Cape Cod Baseball League features some of the best college players from around the country. Every summer, players from all over the country head to the Cape to impress scouts and improve their draft stock.

This year was no different.

Many players impressed not only the plethora of scouts that visited the island over the summer, but fans, coaches and other players as well.

During my week up on the Cape this summer, I went to six Cape League playoff games, This included all three games of the thrilling championship series where the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox won their third consecutive championship behind manager Scott Pickler.

While attending these games, I was impressed, as I always am, by the skills of many of the players in the league. However, these four players below continue to stick out in my mind for the attributes they showed at the games I attended.

Calvin Faucher, RHP, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, University of California, Irvine

While scouting a baseball player is far from an inexact science, there are always certain character traits that are inane and can be observed from just a single appearance or even at-bat. For Calvin Faucher, the one at-bat you needed to see was against JJ Matijevic in the winner-take-all game three of the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship Series. Matijevic was one of the best hitters in all of the Cape this summer, hitting .376 in the regular season and .300 in the playoffs (with three playoff homers). Faucher came on to face Matijevic in the bottom of the eight inning with two runners on and one out. Calm, cool and collected, he managed to get ahead in the count quickly. With two strikes, he got Matijevic to swing on pitch low and away to get the strikeout. It was one of the biggest strikeouts in the man's career. He then got cleanup hitter Josh Watson to strikeout to end the inning. Faucher was impressive the entire summer, pitching in 20 games overall with 29 strikeouts and only eight hits (albeit with 11 walks). But, all you had to see was his battle against Matijevic to know that the man is extremely comfortable and confident coming out of the pen in big spots. That is something you cannot teach.

Austin Filiere, OF, Harwich Mariners, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The feel good story of the Cape summer, Austin Filiere proved that Division III players can play with the big boys. The rising junior at MIT was very impressive this summer playing against greater talent than his is accustomed to seeing. He had a slash line of .248/.362/.504 and was tied for second in the league in home runs with seven. In game three of the Eastern Division Semifinals, he showed off his strength. In the third inning Filiere crushed a ball to straight away centerfield, easily clearing the wall for a homer. It was a no-doubter that showed the power of Filiere. He was awarded the Manny Robello 10th Player Award for his contributions to the team and it well deserved. Filiere is a ballplayer and should, one day, be playing at the next level.

Deacon Liput, 2B, Falmouth Commodores, University of Florida

Liput had a very impressive Cape Cod Baseball League Championship Series. Hitting out of the two hole, Liput set the table multiple times for his Commodore teammates. In game one of the series, he scored two of the biggest runs of the game. In the first inning, he hit a single, stole second base and then scored on a double to tied the game at one. Then, in the fifth inning, he led off the inning with a single and would come around the score the go-ahead run as Falmouth would not relinquish their lead. Liput would continue to get on base in the series, but his teammates had trouble knocking him in. On defense, he was solid and proved to be very capable at the position. After a so-so regular season where he hit .260, the rising sophomore broke out in the playoffs. Florida is hoping that he can continue his quality play and confidence in the spring.

Kevin Smith, SS, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, University of Maryland

Kevin Smith with the 2016 Playoff MVP Trophy
photo by author

Playoff MVP Kevin Smith was the best player I saw on the Cape this summer. He showed prowess with both the glove and the bat. Defensively, he proved to be sure footed, have a good arm and good feet and look extremely comfortable. While there were some plays that he got to but could not make the throw, few balls got past him in the whole, which is an undervalued skill. The one play that sticks out in my mind occurred in game one of the Eastern Division Finals. With runners on third and second and one out, a groundball was hit towards third base. It hit off the glove of third baseman Will Toffey and bounced up in the air. Smith ran over to deep in the hole, barehanded the ball and threw the runner out at first by a step. While the runner on third scored, the runner on second did not advance and was later left stranded. It was arguably the biggest play of the game. If Smith had not gotten the runner, it would have been a one run game with one out and two runners on. Instead, it is still a one run game, but there is only one runner on and two out. That is a major swing in favor of the Red Sox. Smith made a myriad of those plays, both at the plate and in the field. The Maryland man proved his skill this summer on the Cape and should be a player to watch in the Big Ten this spring.

Notes on MLB, MiLB, and Cape Cod Baseball

Jackie Bradley Jr Demoted

Jackie Bradley Jr.
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Jackie Bradley Jr's first season in the majors has been impressive yet disappointing at the same time. His slash line of .216/.288/.290 is the sign of someone who is not ready for major league baseball. But, his 13 assists, eight double plays, 1.000 fielding percentage, and 16.8 UZR indicate Bradley is very deserving of a Gold Glove. He is in the bottom of the league in hitting and the top of the league in defense. What do you do with a guy like that? The Red Sox have decided enough is enough on the hitting side and have sent him down to Triple-A. Considering the expansion of rosters to 40 players is less than two weeks away, this is an interesting time to move Bradley down. They should have moved him down earlier. On the flip side, it is smart to move him down so he can get at-bats and boost his confidence.

Joey Gallo Hits 40th HR in Minors for 2nd Straight Season

Joey Gallo of the Frisco RoughRiders hit home run number 40 yesterday against the Tulsa Drillers. Gallo, the number one prospect in the Rangers organization, is the first player since Ron Kittle in 1981-82 to hit 40 homers in back-to-back minor league seasons. Gallo is on track for an even better year then last. He is hitting for a higher average and getting on base at a higher clip. However, he strikes out way too much and is questionable fielding even though he has a great arm. Gallo will need another season under his belt before he starts making his impact felt in Arlington. 

Rusney Castillo's Decision

Rusney Castillo
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Rusney Castillo is rumored to make his decision on which team to sign for in the near future. Castillo defected from Cuba in December 2013. He is a center fielder with very good speed. When he showed up to his workout last month, he added twenty pounds, which impressed scouts. The added mussel means he has more power now. His defense has been rated as questionable. 28 teams went to his workout and the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, and Phillies are known to be interested. Castillo has potential to become a very good major league center fielder. The big question is when will he be ready. I think he can make an immediate impact, albeit small, in October. He is not going to be of the quality of a Yasiel Puig or Yoenis Cespedes, but he has a good chance of becoming a nice, everyday player.

Y-D Wins Cape League Championship

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox won the Cape Cod Baseball League championship on Saturday by defeating the Falmouth Commodores 10-4. The Red Sox had defeated the Commodores 5-0 in the first game of the best-of-three championship series on Friday. The Red Sox had previously defeated the Orleans Firebirds and the Harwich Mariners in round one and two of the playoffs. Y-D's Walter Buehler and Marcus Mastrobuoni were the Co-Postseason Most Valuable Players. Buehler, a pitcher, went 2-0 in the playoffs, including an eight inning gem in Game One of the championship. Mastrobuoni, a catcher, went five for six with two walks, five ribbies, three runs scored, a double, and a homer during the championship series. This is the fourth title for the Red Sox under Scott Pickler and their first since 2007.

Chris Carter

Chris Carter
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Astros' DH Chris Carter is an interesting case of a player with tremendous power but has trouble making contact. Carter has 29 home runs, a .516 slugging percentage, and a .283 isolated power average. He leads the MLB in fly ball percentage at 53.5%. Those are numbers of a true slugger. However, he makes contact only 65.6% of the time and 78.7% of the time when the ball is in the strike zone, which is worst and third worst in the majors respectively and has 129 strikeouts and strikeout 30.4% of the time. Carter is comparable to Adam Dunn, but without the plate discipline and walks. In Dunn's age 27 season, he had 40 homers, 101 walks, 165 strikeouts, 26.1 K%, 46.5 Fly Ball %, and a 23.8 HR/Fly Ball %. Carter, through 109 games, currently has 29 home runs, 34 walks, 129 strikeouts, 30.4 K%, 53.5 Fly Ball %, and a 21.2 HR/Fly Ball %. Carter will have to make changes to his approach to reach the value of Ådam Dunn, but he is currently showing why he may have a part in the Astros' future. 

Cape Cod Baseball League is More Then Premier

Cape Cod, home of fantastic seafood, beautiful lighthouses, great beaches, and the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Cape League has for years been called the primmer summer collegiate baseball league. It has no real competitor for the top spot. Primmer is an understatement, the Cape Cod Baseball League is one of the top baseball leagues in the country and is the undisputed  collegiate baseball league/conference (Includes summer leagues and NCAA Conferences).

Why? It is quite simple. The CCBL has all the qualities of a great league. The scouts get they want by the players using wooden bats. In college players use metal bats which is much different. By using wooden bats, scouts can see if a player can hit well with a wooden bat. If they don't the scouts learned something they never would have known before. It will also show the scouts if the fielders will react differently for when the ball comes off a wooden bat. All in all, the Cape League is a scouts heaven

2007 Y-D Red Sox

The scouts also see top players vs. top players. They see how great players work with each other. One prime example of this is the 2007 Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Players on the team included C Buster Posey (5th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, 2010 World Series Champ, Injured but on San Francisco Giants roster), INF Gordon Beckham (8th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, 2009 Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year, Currently with Chicago White Sox), C/1B/DH Jason Castro (10th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, Injured but on Houston Astros roster), Collin Cowgill (5th Round pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, Currently on Arizona Diamondbacks roster). and many more stars. They blended really well and played really well. This showed them that they can fit well in a new environment and perform well.

The League 10 teams, Bourne Braves, Brewster Whitecaps, Chatham Anglers, Cotuit Kettlers, Falmouth Commodores, Harwich Mariners, Hyannis Harbor Hawks, Orelans Firebirds, Wareham Gateman, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, that have great volunteers and workers. Withouy them there would be no league. They spend most of their summers working. Where do the players live during the season, in volunteers homes. Volunteers are the players that unofficially run the league.

The 2011 CCBL season ended 2 days ago in Falmouth with Harwich beating Falmouth in 7-5, sweeping them in the best of 3 series. Next year, I suggest you head to Cape Cod to see some games, go to the Hall of Fame (Yes they do have a Hall of Fame, it is located at the JFK Museum in Hyannis), and most importantly, have fun.