The Cape League has been and probably always will be a pitchers’ league. The wooden bats make things signficantly tougher for the hitters and, in turn, significantly easier for the pitchers. That’s reflected pretty clearly in the numbers. Below are the leaders in ERA and the numbers they put up this spring.
| PLAYER | CAPE TEAM | CAPE ERA | COLLEGE | COLLEGE ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Crow |
Falmouth | .42 | Missouri | 3.59 |
| T.J. Hose |
Bourne |
.42 | East Carolina |
3.97 |
| Kyle Gibson |
Falmouth | .96 | Missouri | 4.12 |
| Kevin Couture |
Chatham |
1.25 |
USC |
5.79 |
| Josh Zeid |
Harwich |
1.53 |
Vanderbilt |
18.69 |
| Andy Oliver |
Wareham |
1.69 |
Missouri | 5.52 |
| Eddie Burns |
Y-D |
1.69 |
Missouri | 3.58 |
| Christian Friedrich |
Falmouth | 1.86 |
Missouri | 2.09 |
| D.J. Mitchell |
Bourne |
1.93 |
Clemson |
3.27 |
| Wade Miley |
Wareham |
2.01 |
Missouri | 3.86 |
This isn’t a major revelation, of course. An ERA in the three’s is very good in the world of college baseball. On the Cape, sub-2.00 ERA’s are pretty common. But while it’s not earth-shattering to put these stats together, I think it’s worth looking at them. In the end, both numbers are probably skewed. The college ERA’s are inflated because of metal bats — pitchers won’t see those in the pros. But the Cape ERA’s are deceiving as well — Cape hitters, for the most part, haven’t fully adjusted to wood.
Ultimately, the numbers are all relative. Besides, the cream usually rises to the top, wherever the top may be.
*One other thing to note: several of these players are on pace to put up significantly fewer walks than they did in the spring. That’s probably less a sign of increased control across the board, and more a sign of a willingness to attack hitters.
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