With baseball summer leagues in full swing, here's a look at how reliever Russell Brewer (pictured right) and the rest of the Commodores are performing. Brewer leads the CCBL in saves (nine) and has not given up a run in 10 innings of work, but he's far from the only player off to a strong start.Who's hot: Mike Minor, Russell Brewer, Caleb Cotham, Chase Reid, Brian Harris, Alex Hilliard, Taylor Hill
Who's not: Mark Lamm, Jordan Wormsley, Steven Schwartz, Kellen St. Luce
Team USA
Mike Minor is having another great summer with Team USA. He has given up just one earned run on 16 hits, while walking four and fanning 21 in 22.1 innings. Looks like Minor is developing a third pitch (slider) and gaining confidence as he prepares for his pivotal junior season.
Cape Cod Baseball League
Hyannis (11-7) -- Mariano Rivera, I mean Russell Brewer, leads the CCBL with nine saves in as many chances. He has given up just five hits and walked two while fanning 11 in 10 scoreless innings. Meanwhile, catcher Curt Casali is just 5-for-40 with a homer and 2 RBI, although he has displayed a strong arm behind the plate.
Brewster (10-7) -- Caleb Cotham is 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA with 26 Ks in 22 innings. The versatile Nick Christiani has two saves and 2.45 ERA in 11 innings (along with 10 walks), while Mark Lamm has struggled, giving up 13 runs in 10.1 innings.
Wareham (7-11) -- Outfielder Steve Liddle is batting .219 with one double, two triples and 8 RBI for the Gatemen.
Harwich (9-8) -- Catcher/first baseman Andrew Giobbi was 6-for-30 with two homers and 10 RBI before taking a fastball to the face last week. He won’t need surgery, but he does need weekly X-rays to ensure the fractures heal properly and will obviously be out the rest of the summer.
NECBL
Newport (12-9) -- Right-hander Chase Reid just struck out a league-record 19 batters in his complete-game victory to earn NECBL Pitcher of the Week honors. For the summer, Reid is 1-0 with 1.65 ERA in 16.1 innings. He has given up just 10 hits and one walk while fanning 29 and opponents are hitting .172 against him. Meanwhile, outfielder Joey Manning has struggled as of late (full stats not available).
Keene (15-8) -- Lefty Sean Bierman (2-1, 2.70 ERA) is having a superb summer, striking out 30 and walking seven in 26.2 innings. Meanwhile, third baseman Aaron Westlake is still looking to get going offensively.
Holyoke (10-10) -- Outfielder Alex Hilliard is hitting .296 with a homer, two doubles and 7 RBI to go along with five stolen bases. He also made just one error.
Sanford (16-8) -- Infielder Brian Harris was just named NECBL Hitter of the Week after going 9-for-12 with seven runs and four RBI. For the summer, he is hitting .317 with four doubles, eight RBI and a .394 OBP.
NYCBL
Saratoga (10-13) -- Outfielder Jordan Wormsley is hitting just .184, while lefty Kellen St. Luce has given up 10 earned runs on 14 hits in 9.1 innings, while walking 10 and fanning nine.
Valley
Winchester (16-12) -- Taylor Hill (4-0, 1.99 ERA) has been terrific, giving up 25 hits and walking eight while striking out 40 in 31.2 innings.
Staunton (14-14) -- Steven Schwartz (1-1, 4.79 ERA) has given up 29 hits and fanned 24 in 20.2 innings.
CICL
Danville (10-12) -- Lefty reliever Richie Goodenow is 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA after giving up seven earned runs on 17 hits to go along with seven walks and 15 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work.
Great Lakes
Stark County Terrier (11-7) -- Shortstop Gabe Ortiz started strong, hitting .313 through five games, but has not played since.
Photo [Cape Cod Times]
Posts
3 comments:
Jarred, I think you misspoke when you said Mikie was working on his change. That's his best pitch. He is trying to work more on his slider and curve, from what I understand.
And the X next to Giobbi's name meant he was a temporary player selection, filling in until a CWS player showed up.
Post Script: It should be noted that the Lake is coming off blod clot surgery, so a slow start is to be expected.
Good to see Brian get going. I still say he was MVP of the season for the Dores for his fill in work when Pedro was out. I'd love to see him with the 2B job this fall.
Hey Greg,
Updated the comment about Mikie. In fact, I just talked to him about developing the breaking ball a couple weeks ago in Newport. Guess that's what happens when I put up late-night posts...
Great point about Westlake. The fact he's even out there playing is encouraging.
I'd be shocked to see anyone other than Harris starting at 2B next year, although I think MVP of the season is a bit of the stretch. He filled in admirably for sure, but I think MVP honors would have to go to Macias or possibly Flaherty.
Jarred:
You're right about Macias. IMO, Flash's defense was too off this year to warrant MVP status (and he might be my favorite Dore of all time... other than Jamail Carter). That said, I still think Hilliard might be forced back to the infield if Marquis and Ryan W show up to compete with Joey Manning for the two open OF spots. Assuming McClure and Andrew Harris redshirt (which I assume will happen unless McClure suddenly learns to hit), that means Brian will have to fight off Gabe Ortiz (assuming Loftus wins 3rd and Espo is at Short), Riley Reynolds (who is a player but could probably use a year of development) and possibly Hilliard (who was a MIF to start his career).
Also, check your inbox. I sent you a cape league release about Giobbi (who suffered a face fracture from a fastball a la Flash last fall). He's credited as an Auburn player, but it's our Giobbi. I was wrong about him being a temp player.
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