2009 Post-season selections for Cape all-stars
Photo courtesy of TheCapeLeague.com
The league today issued its post-season 2009 selections for all-stars. I had received some emails over the weekend with independent choices for post-season all-stars.
Curious to hear what people think.
1B Mickey Wiswall Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
2B Pierre LePage Bourne Braves
SS B.A. Vollmuth Falmouth Commodores
3B Jedd Gyorko Brewster Whitecaps
INF. UTILITY Nick Crawford Hyannis Mets
INF. UTILITY Zack Cox Cotuit Kettleers
OF Todd Cunningham Falmouth Commodores
OF Gary Brown Orleans Firebirds
OF Austin Wates Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
OF Brian Fletcher Falmouth Commodores
OF George Springer Wareham Gatemen
DH Kyle Roller Bourne Braves
DH Ryan Cuneo Hyannis Mets
C Mike Murray Chatham Anglers
C Cody Stanley Cotuit Kettleers
SP Chris Sale Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
SP Jake Buchanan Cotuit Kettleers
SP Kyle Blair Brewster Whitecaps
SP Rob Rasmussen Orleans Firebirds
SP Chad Bell Cotuit Kettleers
SP Tyler Wilson Hyannis Mets
SP Aaron Meade Harwich Mariners
CLOSER Tyler Burgoon Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
CLOSER Russell Brewer Chatham Anglers
UT Alex Hassan Orleans Firebirds
UT Rob Segedin Bourne Braves
Looks like a really good all star team.
I would have taken Cameron Rupp over Mike Murray. I know they selected Cody Stanley also from Cotuit as a catcher but that just speaks to the depth of the Kettleers behind the plate.
Overall, I think they did a nice job. Not sure if they include the playoffs when considering their selections but if so, I may have included Stefen Romero over Brian Fletcher but you can’t go wrong with Fletcher either way.
I also thought I’d see the names of Alex Wimmers and Jack Armstrong but when comparing either of them to any of the starting pitcher selections, you really can’t argue with any of them.
I’d also like to see them add two relievers to the team. Often, some of the more talented pitchers in the league don’t start or close and I think this would be a nice way to recognize these guys. Someone like Ben Rowen from Cotuit, Brett Weibly from Orleans or Josh Slaats from Wareham come to mind.
Lastly…and I just noticed this…I’m not sure how Nick Crawford from Hyannis gets on this team. He’s got a nice average at .304 but not any production with only 4 rbi. This would have been a nice spot for Chris Bisson who led the league in stolen bases and had 15 rbi out of the lead-off spot.
It would been a CRIME if LePage wasn’t named to this team. Overall a good list that is pretty evenly spread throughout the leageu.
Capeman, good points. The middle relief guys do seem to get lost in the mix, but you cannot have everything in an allstar team.
Pretty good picks from where I sit. Crawford was a real spark plug for Hyannis- only 3 RBIs- woner how many times he actually came up with runners in scring position.
I agree withe comment on Rupp- but probably put him as a DH rather than catcher.
Pitchers- Armstrong was awesome when I saw him- but how about daniel Tillman from cotuit? an ERA of 0.00 in a fair number of appearance- I’m also a big fan of Rowan- love his motion….
Logan Billbrough got snubbed. Just check out his numbers and I know he wasnt the closer, but no one pitched more important innings in this league than him.
Yes Coack Mac…he’s right there in that relief category that is so important in college baseball. Like Weibly, Rowen and Slaats – he’s another guy that deserved some mention.
And Frank…I agree with your point about not being able to have everything for an All-Star Team but this isn’t a team that is taking the field…it is a named team….so you don’t have to worry about playing any sort of game. Saying that, why not construct a method for recognizing all aspects of the game? I just think there are too many kids pitching in a relief role that aren’t properly recognized.
Agree with Mac, Logan should be on that list, but they don’t appear to make any sort of accomodations for RP except for closers.
CapeMan, agreed on all counts.
And agree with the group that Billbrough had a heckova year. Definitely an Allstar Set Up Man.
Perhaps its time for The All-CodBall Awards!
What a politically correct All-League Team! With 26 slots, and at least one player from each team (it’s your lucky day, George Springer), only a non-closing relief pitcher or a Harwich fan (no Landry or Grovatt!) could be offended.
But the nit I wish to pick is with Russell Brewer. What is he, the love child of Paul Galop and Judy Scarafile? Last year he won the Russ Ford Award when at least three other relievers were more deserving, and this year he makes the All-Star Game and All-League Team when his numbers are not much better than League Average.
Let’s break it down: The League BA was .234; Brewer’s BAA (batting average against) was .261 (ouch). He did strike out about 10% more of the batters he faced than the League Average (34% vs. 24%), but his walk rate was a fairly pedestrian 9.3% (League Average was 10.2%).
What if we had to choose the kind of All-Star team that I remember from collecting Topps baseball cards as a kid? You know, one guy for each position, and maybe you could fudge a little with the positioning of the outfielders. Here goes:
C Stanley
1B Wiswall
2B LePage
3B Cox
SS Vollmuth
LF Landry
CF Cunningham
RF Wates
DH Roller
RHP Buchanan
LHP Sale
RP Burgoon
Make Gyorko the Utility if you have to have one. Have at it, critics!
I like the team. Murray hit .347 and was better defensively than Rupp who couldn’t be moved to DH ahead of Roller and Cuneo. Brewer is awesome and deserving.
All very deserving. The scouts will consider all 5 tools in their reports, and all-league teams should reflect season performance. From the stats, the following pitchers had a WHIP below 1.00, darn good.
Cotham, Caleb 0.615
Dempsay, Chase 0.714
Wilson, Tyler 0.844
Harrold, Stephen 0.845
Hoelscher, Sean 0.864
Billbrough, Logan 0.882
Kennelly, Pete 0.909
Buchanan, Jake 0.930
Reyes, Jorge 0.971
Bell, Chad 0.973
*Sale, Chris 0.982
Burgoon, Tyler 0.995
Cooper, Patrick 0.996
The following had KIP’s over 1.25:
Wimmers, Alex
Burgoon, Tyler
Munson, Kevin
Gallant, Dallas
Rhoderick, Kevin
Troyanowski, Glenn
*Morgado, Bryan
Goforth, David
Cooper, Patrick
Brewer, Russell
Tillman, Daniel
Billbrough, Logan
Verrett, Logan
*Garvin, Grayson
Dempsay, Chase
Reid, Chase
Simmons, Seth
Gipson, Mike
*Kiekhefer, Dean
Green, Cole
Barnes, Matt
Kahnle, Tommy
Slaats, Josh
*Packer, Matt
–
Pitchers with minimal IP’s were filtered out.
I think the All Star list is pretty solid.
Someone brought up the Harwich outfielders. Landry deserves some consideration. If he had arrived before July 4, I think he would have been on the list. I think Cody Hawn also falls into the same “I wish they played more games” category (though he had a different reason for playing so few games). Hawn is right up there with Roller as one of the best hitters I saw this summer, but he only played for a few weeks.
Cotuit probably has the biggest complaint with the list as the two biggest snubs I see are Chris Bisson and Daniel Tillman. I probably would have put Bisson on the list. Bisson led the league in steals and had a respectable batting average. I would love to see someone calculate the Cotuit team batting average when Bisson was on the base and pitchers had to deal with that and decent hitters. I guess the big strike against Bisson is that he also led the league in errors. Tillman didn’t allow a run all summer.
Apropos of nothing, former Kettleer Eric Bruntlett just ended the Phils win over the Mets with an UNASSISTED triple play in the bottom of the 9th of a 2-run game. Very few of those in major league history. .
Yes, Tillman should have made the team. I didn’t notice his omission, but he’s far more deserving than Russell Brewer.
I would have put Bisson on that roster instead of Crawford to be honest.
I would be really interested in who were some of your favorite players this summer? I don’t necessarily mean the best players on a team as much as the players you enjoyed watching, both on the teams you followed and their opponents.
@Cape League Rookie
I only got to spend a couple weeks on the Cape, but I was really impressed by the Muno brothers on Orleans, especially Kevin Muno–he is fast!
I also really liked Nick Crawford on the Mets. Very good baserunner and all-around hitter.
And of course, Chatham CF Addison Johnson’s catch probably goes down as the top web gem this season.
I agree with the All-League selections in general. But I’d add an honorable mention to the list. Cotuit’s Chris Bisson got off to a terrible start at the plate, but finished strong and ended up with about a .262 average. His high error total was a major concern, but I think it was more than off-set by his running ability. He lead the league with 36 and was just fun to watch on the bases. In fact, having attended 52 games this past season, Bisson, and Nick Crawford (who made the All-League team) were my favorite two players to watch. Bisson’s not worthy of the list, but an honorable mention in my book.
Pierre LePage was really fun to watch.