In the Cape League’s year of the home run, nobody hit more than Harwich. The 2012 Mariners — perhaps with an asterisk thanks to the juiced balls of that season — hold the modern Cape League record for home runs in a season with 60.
Leading the way for those Mariners were future first-round picks Phil Ervin and Eric Jagielo. Ervin burst onto the scene with a flurry of home runs early in the season and finished with 11. Jagielo actually out-did his teammate with 13.
For the first time since that summer, the power-hitting duo will be together again in the upcoming season.
Jagielo was sent to Cincinnati as part of the deal that brought closer Aroldis Chapman to the Yankees. He joins a system that includes Ervin, who was drafted by the Reds in 2013, the year after his Cape League breakout.
Both sluggers are angling to be part of the Reds’ youth movement. Ervin rates as the franchise’s 10th-best prospect in MLB Pipeline rankings, while Jagielo checks in at 14th.
Ervin had a strong minors debut in his draft year, scuffled a bit in 2014, but righted the ship a bit last season, when he hit 14 home runs between Class A Advanced Daytona and Double A Pensacola, while stealing 30 bases. The Reds have him in big league camp this year.
Jagielo has been limited somewhat by injuries in his minor league career, but has shown pop when he’s played, with 33 home runs in 205 minor-league games.
It’s possible that both Ervin and Jagielo will end up on the same farm team this year.
If the power comes with them, it won’t be a surprise for Cape League fans.