This past summer I went to the Cape, focused on players within the Midwest region. I went near the end of the season, so the pitching was kind of down, and I had to supplement this with Synergy looks because I couldn’t see everyone on my list. Here are my notes:
Brewster
Patrick Forbes - RHP - Louisville
Primarily a reliever for Louisville the past two years. Second year on the Cape. Big, strong frame, 6’3” 215. Short arm circle, 3/4 release point, short extension, generates most power w upper body, lot of effort in the delivery. FB sits 93-95 T97, has some life through the zone. SL has a downer shape, good amount of vertical depth, hard late bite at its best, lacks some feel at times. Throws a CH with late fade and I liked the shape overall, but rarely used. Command overall is fairly scattershot. Limited future projection, likely ends up a reliever, but present stuff is impressive.
Levi Huesman - LHP - Vanderbilt
Smaller lefty, standing 6’0” 200, prev 17th rd draft by Rays in 2022. Throws from a ¾ arm slot, hides the ball fairly well. FB is pretty generic, 88-90. Can really spin his slider, hard bite to it with late 2 plane mvmt. Throws a CB, similar mvmt profile just slower. Flashed a CH, needs a lot of work, basically just a slightly slower (5 MPH off FB) FB. Struggles throwing strikes, below average command.
JD Rogers - CF - Vanderbilt
Saw Rogers a couple times in HS and liked him, which may give me some bias, but he hasn’t really performed the way I was hoping. Plus straight line speed and smart on the basepaths, steals bags easily. Plays all three OF spots, but profiles primarily as a CF. Like his bat speed, decent ability to discern balls and strikes, leans on the passive side. S&M issues esp w offspeed. Kept the wide stance that he has had since HS, which I think kills some of his natural athleticism and power. Has some raw power, but doesn’t get to it in games. Flat bat path, line drive type hitter. Smaller frame that is close to physical maturity, not projecting much more raw power to come, increase in game power would need to come from swing change. Above average athlete with twitch despite filling out.
Bourne
JD Thompson - LHP - Vanderbilt
Reliever as a freshman before becoming a full time starter this past year. Short semi windup, crossfire delivery from the left side that adds some deception, deep back leg dive. FB is in the 90-94 range, not overpowering velo wise but gets a lot of swing and miss on it due to the shape. CH doesn’t have a crazy movement profile, but mirrors the FB well and gets good results. SL is the best pitch in the arsenal, which has a lateral shape with a hard, late bite without a hump. Above average command of all of his pitches.
Justin West - LHP - Louisville
Didn’t pitch much as freshman, primary reliever for Louisville in 2024. Tall, lanky frame, 6’3” 195, very projectable. Longer, plunging arm circle, H3/4 arm slot. Hides the ball well. FB is vertically oriented, plays well up in the zone. CB is pretty soft with a 12-6 shape. Needs to add more power, which he shows occasionally but shows a pretty good feel to spin it right now. CH isn’t used much, still needs to be developed a fair amount, but has some late tail to it. Throws strikes, will be able to start. Starter traits, needs to add more power to CB for it to become a true K pitch, but like the package overall.
Chatham
Jayden Davis - 2B - Vanderbilt
Vandy by the way of Samford. Classic college second baseman, undersized white guy with a compact frame. Liked his approach at the plate, didn’t really chase, didn’t really whiff. Swing is short and to the ball, max effort swing with plus bat speed. Lots of moving parts despite compact swing, his hands start at his ears, go down, back up and then does a mini circle. Not sure if this works at the next level, but no issues so far. Pretty limited power wise, 10-12 homer potential. Limited range wise at second, can make the easy plays but not much else. Don’t really see this getting better, potentially could play COF to provide versatility defensively. Like the bat speed, good performer so far.
Robin Villeneuve - 1B/OF - Tennessee
Going into senior year at Tennessee. Wide, open stance, fairly upright, bigger leg kick, top hand dominant swing. Decent bat speed. Major swing and miss issues and no real plan at the plate. Not enough power to make up for it. NP
Chance Cox - LHP - Austin Peay
Cox has had a nomadic career, pitching two years at Cowley CC before transferring to Houston, where he then transferred to Austin Peay without having pitched for Houston. Solidly built lefty, shorter arm circle, 3/4 release point. Pretty average FB/CB/SL mix that he has decent command over. Breaking balls have two plane break. Not much in the way of projection here. NP
John Bay - OF - Austin Peay
Going into redshirt senior year. Former top Oklahoma prospect, spent two years at OK State. Tall, lean frame. Upright stance, far back in the box with feet close together, big leg kick. Looks to put the ball in the air. Decent bat speed. Fair amount of chase, bat to ball skills are fringy. Did not see defense, mostly plays left. Age is obviously a concern, will be 24 next year, potential UDFA though.
Jacob Weaver - RHP - Austin Peay
Weaver has started the last two years with ERAs north of 6. He’s been pretty bad on the Cape as well. He has a prototypical pitchers frame, and that’s about it. NP.
Cotuit
Andrew Behnke - LHP - Tennessee
Didn’t play much as a freshman, was a solid bullpen piece this past year for Tennessee. Deceptive delivery, some hesitation in the middle, longer arm circle and throws from a L3/4 release point. Pretty low release point relative to his height. FB/CH are his primary pitches. FB sits just 88-92, but shape wise it plays up above the velo because of the flatter approach angle. Straight CH, not much movement, separates from FB velo wise well but not a super impressive pitch. Throws a sweeping SL as his third pitch, good amount of lateral break with some bite. Throws strikes with all three pitches. There are starter traits present, but want to see the CH develop more because I think he will have some extreme platoon splits that may force him to the bullpen.
Zach Duenas - RHP - Western Kentucky / SIUE
XXL frame, 6’10” 225. Still some room to add more strength. Going into senior year and transferring to SIU Edwardsville. Crazy extension, ball is almost at the plate when he releases it. Drop and drive delivery, long arm circle w slight crossfire in his delivery, fairly shallow release angle despite being so tall. FB sits in the lower 90’s, slower than you’d expect given his size but ball comes out of his hand well. Throws both a CB and SL. CB has plenty of depth, decent bite but comes out with a hump at times. SL has similar shape as CB, less depth, bit more bite. FB command is OK, breaking ball command is below average. Likely ends up as a reliever but I would try to get him to start, he’s a good athletic with an athletic delivery, and pitchers of his size may need longer to grow into their limbs. Pretty sure Reel knows this guy’s uncle or something. Premium senior sign follow, would recommend getting to see him early.
Matt Klein - C - Louisville
Mashed so far on the Cape, and had a solid showing as the Cardinals backstop in 2024. Stands near the back of the box, upright stance standing slightly open, with feet close together.
Shows good athleticism and bat speed in the box. Expands the zone a little too much, but decent bat to ball skills overall. Tendency to hit ground balls, will need to lift more to tap into power. Very oppo oriented approach and swing path, want to see him pull the ball more as well. Defensively, operates from a 1 knee setup when there aren’t 2 strikes, traditional style with 2 strikes. I don’t particularly get the sense he is comfortable behind the plate. His arm strength is average, but with a slower transfer and a tail on the ball. Pop times roughly 2.0-2.1. I don’t see this profile working at 1B, which he has played but I don’t think he’ll hit for enough power.
Falmouth
Gavin Kilen - SS/2B - Tennessee
Red Sox 13th round draft pick in 2022. Spent the previous two years at Louisville before transferring to Tennessee, unlocked some power last year he didn’t show as a freshman. Off to a rough start so far on the Cape. Lean frame, should add a bit more weight as he matures, but won’t be more than 210. Medium width stance, loose in the box. Explosive bat speed, rotates well, has great feel for contact. Will overswing at times. Gets out of the box quickly, solid runner. Needs to refine approach at the plate, chases out of the zone frequently. Hasn’t hurt him from a strikeout rate perspective yet, but does limit his quality of contact. Wasn’t able to see him play defense. Concerned about his plate discipline even if he doesn’t strike out all that much, but an impressive package overall.
Orleans
Tucker Biven - RHP - Louisville
Biven has spent two years in the Louisville bullpen, and took a step forward in 2024. Wasn’t a super projectable frame coming out of HS, has added weight since then and is nearly at physical maturity at this point. Stands at 6’1” 210 roughly. Compact delivery, H3/4 arm slot with a fair amount of effort. Steeper approach angle on FB, carries up in the zone and then has a more tailing FB down in the zone. SL is the money pitch, a powerful downer shape that gets plenty of S&M. True strikeout pitch at the ML level, with good command overall. Has a CH, nothing to write home about and it’s rarely used. Some ASR. Need to see more of a CH to be a starter, more of a relief look presently albeit his command is average at this point and he deserves to start this year.
Lucas Litteral - LHP - Western Kentucky
Came out of the bullpen this year after a year at Rend Lake CC. Tall, lanky lefty with some more room to fill out. Funky delivery, some hesitation in the motion, hides the ball well, stabbing arm circle, releases from a 3/4 arm slot. SL flashes decent two plane shape, pretty generic FB, both fringy average pitches. NP
Hyannis
Dalton Bargo - UTL - Tennessee
Previously at Missouri, don’t remember him. Lefty bat, has played C, 1B/3B, COF in college so far. Stocky frame, open stance, swings with an arm bar. Has decent raw power, above average bat speed, swing oriented for loft and has more FB than GB. There is a lot of swing and miss here, in particular with breaking stuff. Only saw him at 1B, fine defender there. The swing and miss makes it difficult to buy in despite the rest of the profile being interesting. If he can catch, makes him a lot more appealing.
Cannon Peebles - C - Tennessee
Performed well as a freshman at NC State before struggling last year with Tennessee, though underlying numbers weren’t horrible. He doesn’t whiff or chase much, and has above average power. Switch hitter, swing is a bit more compact on the right side than on the left, more bat speed though from the left side. Open stance from both sides with a leg kick. Good athlete behind the plate will be able to catch at the pro level.
Blake Cavill - 1B - Western Kentucky
Two years of JUCO prior to Western Kentucky. Hit really well last year, 1B only profile. Thick frame with no more projection. Loft in swing, doesn’t rotate all that well, but decent bat speed and power, solid bat to ball skills. Doesn’t offer anything defensively, landlocked at 1B. Dime a dozen SR sign first baseman, nothing stands out all that much.
Yarmouth - Dennis
RJ Austin - OF - Vanderbilt
Two year performer at Vandy. Smaller build at 5’11,” still some room on the frame to add 10 pounds. Stands back of the box, feet fairly close together, slightly open. Atypical swing path, hands start near chest and he keeps them low throughout swing, hands straight back during load, big leg kick, not a ton of hip-shoulder separation. Above average bat speed and makes a lot of contact, lifts the ball. Little concerned about his approach, he likes to chase. Some concern about how he will handle pitches up, given how low his hands start. Decent power output. Defensively, has played a bunch of different positions at Vandy, this is a profile that needs to be at 2B/CF in my opinion, don’t think he’ll hit for quite enough power to play COF primarily. Saw him in CF and showed decent range. Twitchy athlete overall.
Wareham
Reese Chapman - OF - Tennessee
Played in 50 games for Tennessee last year, mostly in right. Strong frame, stands 6’1” 195, still a bit of room left to grow. Slightly open, knees bent, laid back stance, hands near shoulders. Big stride, good amount of hip shoulder separation, athletic swing overall. Plus raw power at peak. Has general issues w chase / swing and miss, esp w offspeed. Only saw him as a DH, assuming he ends up in a corner as he doesn’t have blazing spd. Needs to iron out his approach, but like him overall.
Michael Lippe - OF - Louisville
Either redshirted or did not play for Louisville in 2023, but played in 31 games for them last year.
Looks pretty overmatched right now. Doesn’t chase much, but is swinging through everything. Swing is pretty unathletic, gets way out on his lead foot, not much in the way of bat speed. Physically maxed out. NP.
Nate Earley - 1B - Louisville
JUCO transfer, put on a show at the Cape Cod Home Run Derby. Clear plus raw power, not much else. S&M issues against breaking balls with chase problems as well. 1B only.
Rankings
Group 1
Gavin Kilen - SS/2B - Louisville
Group 2
Cannon Peebles - C - Tennessee
RJ Austin - UTL - Vanderbilt
Reese Chapman - OF - Tennessee
JD Thompson - LHP - Vanderbilt
Patrick Forbes - RHP - Louisville
Group 3
Justin West - LHP - Louisville
Tucker Biven - RHP - Louisville
Zach Duenas - RHP - Western Kentucky / SIUE
Group 4
JD Rogers - CF - Vanderbilt
Matt Klein - C - Louisville
Dalton Bargo - UTL - Tennessee
Nate Earley - 1B - Louisville
Jayden Davis - 2B - Vanderbilt
Levi Huesman - LHP - Vanderbilt
NP
Chance Cox - LHP - Austin Peay
Blake Cavill - 1B - Western Kentucky
Lucas Litteral - LHP - Western Kentucky
Michael Lippe - OF - Louisville
Jacob Weaver - RHP - Austin Peay
Robin Villeneuve - 1B/OF - Tennessee