The Cape League season is just past the midway point. With Chatham at the top, the RFF Power Rankings are right back where they started.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | THE SKINNY | |
| 1 |  |
Chatham Anglers | The Anglers officially have something special. After a hot streak and a cool streak, they’re back in business and settling in as the top team in the league. They went 4-2 in the seven-day stretch ending yesterday, and won two walk-offs in that span, prompting manager John Schiffner to say “This team is special….It has been a dream season so far.” The Anglers lead the league in ERA and rank fifth in average while leading in on-base percentage. They seem to have a knack for finding ways to win. | |
| 2 |  |
Falmouth Commodores | If power rankings were all about power bats, Falmouth would win by a long shot. The quartet of Rhys Hoskins, Dylan Davis, Kevin Cron and Casey Gillaspie continues to look like a murderer’s row that no other team in the league can match. Unfortunately for the Commodores, that hasn’t led to smooth sailing. They went 3-3 over the last week and dropped a tough one to Hyannis after roughing up star Jeff Hoffman in the early innings. That game was emblematic – the Commodores can hit all they want, but the pitching needs to improve on its 3.65 ERA, which ranks seventh. Still, it’s hard to ignore the offense and it’s the reason Falmouth stays near the top. | |
| 3 |  |
Hyannis Harbor Hawks | With its low batting average and a middle-of-the-road ERA, I keep expecting Hyannis to fade, but it’s not happening. The Harbor Hawks went 4-2 in their last six, including the aforementioned win over Falmouth. One reason for the team’s success? The Harbor Hawks have owned the other top teams in the league – they’re 4-0 against Falmouth, 2-1 against Chatham and 2-0 against Harwich. Only Cotuit has gotten the best of them, winning two of three. All told, Hyannis is 9-3 against the other teams with winning records. | |
| 4 |  |
Cotuit Kettleers | Cotuit remains near the top of the West standings but has yet to put together a streak like its 6-1 start. In fact, the Kettleers are 8-9 since the 6-1 opening. They’re doing enough to hold steady, but personnel losses may be starting to catch up to them. | |
| 5 |  |
Harwich Mariners | Harwich held steady with a 3-3 week that began with a slugfest victory over Falmouth. The Mariners have very good offensive potential, with speed at the top and Derek Fisher leading the league in hitting, but consistent production has been difficult to come by. Chandler Shepherd and Aaron Bummer have continued to shine at the top of the rotation but the back end has had some rough outings. | |
| 6 |  |
Y-D Red Sox | The Red Sox jump up two spots after a solid week that included victories over Chatham and Cotuit. They rank second in the league in hitting, and the pitching has gotten a bit better in the last few games. | |
| 7 |  |
Orleans Firebirds | The Firebirds just cannot string anything together – they have not been more than two games over or two games under .500 in the entire season. They went 2-4 this week and remain in the middle of the road in both hitting and pitching categories. | |
| 8 |  |
Bourne Braves | If the rankings were based on potential, the Braves would be higher on the list. Max Pentecost is emerging as perhaps the best player in the league and the pitching rotation has three stars at the top. And yet, the Braves have not been able to find their groove. They went 1-4 this week, with the only victory coming on the shoulders of Pentecost’s heroics. | |
| 9 |  |
Brewster Whitecaps | The Whitecaps had their best week of the season, going 4-2 as they try to climb back into the East race. The team ERA remains the worst in the league, but Brandon Leibrandt is emerging as an ace. The offense has been solid. | |
| 10 |  |
Wareham Gatemen | Wareham actually had its best week so far, going 2-4 after three straight 1-5 stretches. But it’s going to be a long road back. The Gatemen scored just 61 runs all season. |
Love your website and check it every day. I say that just so you don’t think the comment that follows is any kind of criticism of the spectacular job you do.
That said, these “Power Rankings” appear simply to track the standings. Each team is listed in order of points/winning percentage.
I’d suggest that Chatham and Cotuit are not as “powerful” as their records, and Falmouth, Harwich and YD are even more “powerful.” If you ask me, Flores is a fluke and the rest of the Anglers are mediocre. Cotuit’s best player is an Ivy Leaguer (and a bearded one, at that). Falmouth, on the other hand, has four solid starters to go along with their Big Four hitters, and the Harwich and YD lineups are stacked.
Here are Orville’s fearless predictions for the second half:
East
1. Harwich
2. YD
3. Orleans
4. Chatham
5. Brewster
West
1. Falmouth
2. Bourne
3. Hyannis
4. Cotuit
5. Wareham
Hyannis owns the best record on the cape. The went into Chatham, Falmouth, and Cotuit and won all 3 games. They have the best pen in the league and an offense that is getting hot. They are 2-1 against Chatham ( 2 of Chatham’s 3 home losses are against the Hawks) and are 3-0 against Falmouth. Hyannis is 15-2 in games decided by 3 runs or less. They win under pressure and have timely hitting. Falmouth hit Hoffman hard but then went silent against the Hyannis pen. Hitting doesn’t win championship and its absurd that they are not ranked higher.
Orville – Thanks for the picks. I try not to go straight down the standings, but it did happen like that this week. I agree Falmouth and Harwich have a lot of potential, but I think you’re under-estimating Chatham.
Tim – I see what you’re saying, and maybe I should give that knack for winning close games more credit. In this kind of ranking it’s just hard for me to see past the fact that they’ve allowed more runs than they’ve scored.