With fall practices in full swing around the country, college coaches are getting their first official looks at their players and the progress they made over the summer. It’s usually a safe bet that every Cape Leaguer has made a lot of progress. Coverage is a little spotty, but here’s a quick sampling of some stuff I’ve found . . .
In Nashville, the Vanderbilt Commodores are trying to get back to being one of the nation’s top teams, and two pitchers who made nice impressions on the Cape figure to play a big role. Armstrong was rated as the league’s sixth best prospect by Baseball America. So far, so good for Armstrong and Chatham’s Taylor Hill:
Sophomore Jack Armstrong continued to build off of a very strong summer pitching for Wareham in the Cape Cod League (4-1, 2.57 ERA, 31K in 35 IP). Jack combined with Taylor Hill (2-1, 1.44 ERA, 35K in 31.1IP for Chatham in the Cape) for an impressive performance. In a three-inning start, Armstrong brought the heat striking out 4 including the side to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. Armstrong was followed by Hill who retired all nine batters he faced with four punchouts to preserve the win.
Cape League MVP Kyle Roller finished East Carolina’s three-game Purple-Gold World Series with four hits, a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Sounds about right. Mark it down: he’s going to have a huge senior season.
Harwich’s Dan Grovatt led the Virginia contingent on the Cape this season and is picking up where he left off. In game two of the Orange and Blue World Series, Grovatt went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI. Harwich teammate Phil Gosselin had two hits in that game. Future Hyannis Met Danny Hultzen has also had a strong series.
Defending national champ LSU starts practice tomorrow. The school’s preview mentions a long list of key players, most of whom are former Cape Leaguers: Blake Dean, Leon Landry, Micah Gibbs, Tyler Hanover, Anthony Ranaudo and Austin Ross.
Rivals.com college baseball guru Kendall Rogers has a Five Keys to the Fall feature going. If you’re a college baseball fan it’s great reading. Some Cape-related stuff: Tyler Lyons (Chatham ’09) needs to step up for Oklahoma State; Raynor Campbell (Wareham ’08/Bourne ’09) will carry a big load in his senior season for Baylor.; a quartet of ’09 Cape Leaguers will be the offensive nucleus for Georgia Tech; one of my favorites from ’08, Chris Manno, will be Duke’s ace; and Mickey Wiswall (Y-D ’09) will play a major role for Boston College.
And some other stuff
Dustin Ackley (Harwich ’08, Mariners)
Drew Storen (Cotuit ’08/Nationals)
Danny Meszaros (Cotuit ’08/Astros)
Zach Putnam (Chatham ’07/Indians)
Mitch Canham (Falmouth ’06/Padres)
Jason Castro (Y-D ’07/Astros)
Yonder Alonso (Brewster ’07/Reds)
Danny Espinosa (Chatham ’06/Nationals)
Corey Brown (Chatham ’06/A’s)
Buster Posey (Y-D ’06 & ’07/Giants)
Brandon Crawford (Orleans ’07/Giants)
Chase D’Arnaud (Orleans ’07/Pirates)
Colin Cowgill (Y-D ’07/Arizona)
Ike Davis (Wareham ’07/Mets)
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