Cape Cod League Observations – Week 1

• Coty Blanchard (OF; Falmouth Commodores; Jacksonville State, 2013 Draft) – Nice, loose athlete. Pretty (but sweepy) swing leading into a real stiff front side. Hit the ball where it was pitched, even in bp. Bat path could be a little shorter (got a little loopy some swings) and I’d probably widen up his base. Better in bp than in the game but good potential. Two sport guy (football).

• Kaiana Eldredge (C/INF; Falmouth Commodores; Kansas; 2013 Draft) – On the short & stout side but athletic. Was surprised to see him at Catcher, as he was listed as an infielder (not a guy from my area, obviously). He’s raw back there and the footwork needs fixing but he has a very good arm and the athleticism shines through. Got some great pop times from him on warmups. 1.8s & 1.9s (best 1.82) despite obvious flaws in throwing & footwork (takes a loooong jab step).

• Jared King (OF; Falmouth Commodores, Kansas State; 2013 Draft) – King showed great bat speed and leverage from both sides of the plate. Ball carried really well off his bat and the guys shagging in the outfield all snapped to attention. I felt his hands were a little too tucked away and it made his swing kind of rigid (both sides). The bat really stands out, though. Put a charge in the ball to the opposite field, too. Kind of a thick build and slightly undersized but good athlete and outfielder.

• Justin Hageman (RHP; Harwich Mariners; Western Kentucky; 2014 Draft) – Long in the back with some effort. Profiles as a reliever. 4 seam was fairly straight 91-92. Appeared to throw both a CB and SL. SL didn’t have much depth but CB dropped off the table… sometimes. Inconsistent shape on his breaking pitches.Threw one changeup that had good velocity separation at 77 mph but was basically just a slowball with little life. Didn’t love the arm action either… but he missed his share of bats.

• Sam Travis (3B; Y-D Red Sox; Indiana; 2014 Draft) – Well proportioned body. Nice swing with good power, but over rotates a bit and wraps his hands and bat a little. Had a good day at the plate but DH’d so I didn’t get a great look in the field.

• Phil Ervin (OF; Harwich Mariners; Samford; 2013 Draft) – Big check mark here. By the end of the Cape I bet he’s one of this biggest risers. Smallish and kind of thick but athletic and ran the bases really well. Savage bat speed and ball exploded off a quick, short stroke. Fouled off a hard FB in on his hands one pitch. Next pitch the pitcher came back in even higher and tighter – Laser HR to LF. Impressive as he had to adjust even farther inside and start his swing even sooner. No small feat when its your first game of the year with a wooden bat. Next AB laced a ball into the RF gap. Really impressed by Ervin.

• Michael O’Neill (OF, Falmouth Commodores; Michigan; 2013 Draft) –  This kid is some kind of athlete for a Big 10 player. Loud bp even though the swing looked kind of raw. He didn’t get full extension a lot and actually chased a ball in the dirt and a shoulder high pitch in bp… 2 Ks in the game… lot of swing and miss here.

• Marco Gonzalez (LHP/DH/1B; Falmouth Commodores; Gonzaga; 2013 Draft) – DH’d, so hard to get a full read but he can hit a bit. Stung one ball but chopped at another one.

• Aaron Blair (RHP; Y-D Red Sox; Marshall; 2014 Draft) – low 90′s (90-92, 93) dropping to high 80′s at times. High 70′s CB (11-5 movement) didn’t have great depth and his feel for it came and went. Pauses over the rubber and there’s a lot of cleanup stuff in the mechanics that could maybe get him a couple more ticks. Not bad.

• Josh Desze (1B/RHP; Bourne Braves; Ohio State; 2013 Draft) – Plus raw power. Ball flies off his bat from a leveraged swing with good bat speed. Wraps his hands and does a little double cock thing… unsurprisingly he was late on a few FBs. They still carried well even when he missed them. Heard up to 93 on the mound but had an up and down season as a pitcher.

• Jack Reinheimer (SS; Bourne Braves; East Carolina; 2013 Draft) – Didn’t hit. Also kind of big for a SS and I didn’t really see pro SS athleticism. Looked more like a grinder profile. Need another look here.

• Mike Ahmed (3B; Bourne Braves; Holy Cross; 2013 Draft) – Really like this kid. Came on as a temp and was signed as a permanent roster player before Opening Day. Good athlete for 3B. Strong arm. Grinder/hustle kid. Hard contact. Pretty swing. Loved him when I saw him earlier this year. Looked even better now – and made loud contact with wood. Better pro body than his brother. Stock may be way up after the Cape. The area guys around here all love him for next Spring – and so do I.

• Mason Robbins (OF; Bourne Braves; Southern Miss.; 2014 Draft) – Chased a lot of poor pitches and didn’t square anything up. Athletic and no red flags in his swing; so thinking I may have just caught a bad day – and/or he’s not accustomed to hitting with wood.

• C.K. Irby (RHP; Harwich Mariners; Samford; 2013 Draft) – Bulldog RP type provided another interesting name from Samford! Reminiscent of Beck & Roache from Georgia Southern last year. Irby ran full speed out to the mound when his inning started which caught my attention. High energy RP. Effort in his mechanics but FB command ok (READ: RP ok, probably not SP ok). 90-92 with some late action and he hides the ball well so it explodes on the hitter late. Good arm speed. Not much beyond the FB though.. I think he’s throwing a cut SL and it had very little movement on it… weak rotation. Not much depth to it and not much separation from his FB velo wise. He stayed with the FB and eventually the opposing hitters timed him. Still… pretty good velo and I like the way he attacked hitters.

• Chase McDonald (1B/DH; Bourne Braves; East Carolina; 2013 Draft) – McDonald is a big boy… couple people behind me were joking that he reminded them of when Brett Wallace played there. That’s far too harsh I think, but similar kind of player and build – at least when Wallace was in college, that is. He can hit, but I don’t think its an exciting pro profile as a 1B only.

• Kevin Jordan (OF; Bourne Braves; Wake Forest; 2014 Draft) – Stuck out tools wise. Very good athlete & runner. Put together a couple excellent ABs. Patient at the plate and waited for his pitch – which was not the rap on him I had heard. Little bit of extra distance with his hands, but loose swing with bat speed. Liked a lot.

• Sean Dwyer (1B/OF; Yarmouth-Dennis; Florida Gulf Coast; 2013 Draft) – Good bat speed and mature approach at the plate but dead pull guy who kept trying to jack balls to RF. Started the game at 1B where he was very mobile and moved to the outfield later on where he looked pretty solid in the short look I got.

• Also, from a conversation at the game I learned potential top 10 2013 pick Ryan Eades is shut down for the year… will not be joining Team USA as planned.

Most impressed by through Week 1:

1. Phil Ervin, OF, Harwich
2. Jared King, OF, Falmouth
3. Kevin Jordan, OF, Bourne
4. Coty Blanchard, OF, Yarmouth-Dennis
5. Kaiana Eldredge, C, Falmouth
6. Mike Ahmed, 3B, Bourne
7. Sam Travis, 3B,  Yarmouth-Dennis
8. Josh Dezse, 1B, Bourne
9. CK Irby, RHP, Harwich
10. Justin Hagemen, RHP, Western Kentucky

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