It was safe to expect a cameo, and not much more.
In recent summers, the Cape League has welcomed more and more drafted players looking to improve their stock. Some stick around; some leave pretty quickly. When new broke that LSU star and Red Sox supplemental first rounder Anthony Ranaudo was coming to the Cape, I expected the latter. Two starts or so, strict pitch counts — and not much of an impact.
Instead, Ranaudo has found a home. In the process, he’s become perhaps the biggest story of the 2010 Cape League season.
Ranaudo made his fifth start for Brewster last night and delivered the kind of performance that’s become the norm for him. He allowed an unearned run in the first inning against Falmouth but nothing else. He struck out nine, walked one and surrendered three hits in six innings. His record is now 3-0 and he still hasn’t allowed an earned run in 29.2 innings.
You could say he’s having a little bit of an impact.
Brewster is having a fantastic season, and everything you hear out of Brewster says this team is special, with the chemistry that makes all the difference in the Cape League. Ranaudo has been a huge part of it. By all accounts, he’s not a big-time player just making a stop and moving on. He’s a big-time player who’s helping set the tone.
At one time, Ranaudo was penciled in as the second or third overall pick in this year’s draft. After an up-and-down junior season, Ranaudo appears to be healthy and he’s certainly pitching well. He’s one of the best in the country, and his Brewster teammates know what they’re getting every time he takes the ball.
With Ranaudo and Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State) leading the way, Brewster has the best ERA in the league by far. It’s at 1.95. Second-ranked Orleans is at 2.35. For a reference point, no team has finished with an ERA under two since 2002, when Wareham did it.
Whether Brewster can keep its ERA that low remains to be seen, but I don’t think there’s any doubt that the Whitecaps are going to keep pitching well. As long as Anthony Ranaudo is on the Cape, you could say the same for him.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
There’s a great match-up at Y-D as first place Brewster visits the second-place Red Sox. Brewster sends the second part of its one-two punch to the mound. Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State), who’s tied for second in the league in strikeouts, goes for the Whitecaps. Y-D counters with an ace of its own, as John Leonard (Boston College) takes the hill. Leonard has a 1.09 ERA.
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