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It’s All-Star time in the Cape Cod League. As discussed last week, none of the Tar Heels that are spending their summer on the shores of Massachusetts were selected. Still, the players from the Cape had a chance to show off their skills in front of Major League scouts leading into the game.
Jenn McCaffrey writes in a July 19th piece for The Athletic (subscription required) about a combine-like experience for every team. One by one, each team goes into Fenway Park and goes through a full set of drills, with at least one scout from every MLB team in attendance. The combine gives scouts a chance to learn who to focus on for the rest of the Cape season as well as next baseball season. McCaffrey notes that 11 of the first round picks in this year’s MLB draft played in the Cape during their career, so the scouting pays off. It’s worth noting that the vast majority of players drafted in baseball never get to the majors, so at minimum the CCL provides players a chance to show off their skills in a major league park.
On top of that experience, there is an actual game at Fenway. It’s an annual tradition for Orleans to play a group of high-level high school players, so that the high schoolers can gage where they stand against tougher competition. This year that game was moved to Fenway Park. Joey Lancellotti was playing for the Firebirds this summer, but unfortunately he was released on July 12th prior to the game.
Someone showing off some skills in Cape Cod League games is Michael Busch. He pulled off an impressive two home run game on Saturday night, and the Chatham Anglers were wonderful enough to tweet both out:
Here's both of the home runs from Michael Busch (@DiamondHeels) in the A's victory over Y-D tonight. pic.twitter.com/n081x8R4sj
— Chatham Anglers (@ChathamAnglers) July 22, 2018
Busch isn’t the only player that made an impression, as it appears the Diamond Heels are starting to find their groove by the shore:
Brandon Martorano (@DiamondHeels) opened the scoring with a 2-run 1st inning homerun and added a double. Ray Alejo (@UCF_Baseball) slammed a 2-run blast an inning later. Hunter Bishop (@ASU_Baseball) reached base 4 times on a double and 3 walks, scored a run for @WhitecapsCCBL.
— CodBall (@codball) July 18, 2018
T2 | Ashton McGee (@DiamondHeels) walks and steals two bases while Blake Sabol (@USC_Baseball) earns a free pass.
— Chatham Anglers (@ChathamAnglers) July 19, 2018
Anglers 3
Whitecaps 0
Let’s take a look at the stats:
Week of 7/15-7/21: DNP
2018 Season: 3 G, 12 IP, 0.75 ERA, 0-0, 0 SV, 12 K, 2 BB, 13 H
Austin Bergner, Chatham Anglers
Week of 7/15-7/21: 1 G, 6 IP, 1-0, 0 SV, 7 K, 1 BB, 7 H, 3 ER
2018 Season: 3 G, 16 2/3 IP, 3.24 ERA, 2-1, 0 SV, 21 K, 6 BB, 16 H
Michael Busch, Chatham Anglers
Week of 7/15-7/21: 6 G, 8-24, .333, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K, 0 SB, 1 2B
2018 Season: 18 G, 20-67, .299, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 10 BB, 13 K, 1 SB, 2 2B
Ike Freeman, Brewster Whitecaps
Week of 7/15-7/21: 5 G, 5-16, .313, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K, 0 SB, 1 2B
2018 Season: 17 G, 10-47, .213, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 7 BB, 13 K, 0 SB, 1 2B
Joey Lancellotti, Orleans Firebirds (released 7/12)
2018 Season: 4 G, 13 1⁄3 IP, 3.37 ERA, 1-1, 0 SV, 17 K, 3 BB, 14 H
Brandon Martorano, Brewster Whitecaps
Week of 7/15-7/21: 4 G, 3-15, .200, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K, 0 SB
2018 Season: 15 G, 10-48, .208, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 17 K, 0 SB
Week of 7/15-7/21: 5 G, 2-7, .286, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB
2018 Season: 17 G, 4-28, .143, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K, 2 SB
There are only about two weeks left in the regular season before the playoffs begin. Eight of the ten teams move on to the playoffs, and right now no one is eliminated. We’ll check in again next week to see how everyone is doing.