I had the opportunity to watch the Cape Cod League all-star game to get a feel for some of the top prospects participating in arguably the most prestigious summer college wood bat league.

Similar to the Northwoods League all-star game, it was difficult to get a read on all of the players in such limited exposure. The pitching was easier to get a feel for, and as I alluded to last week, the talent seems to favor the arms in this league, similar to those with Team USA.

One thing that I was impressed with overall was how well the game was played. Quite often when you college a bunch of players together for a one game event, some of the little things aren’t executed as well as they could be, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but that wasn’t the case in this contest. That may say something about the level of maturity and polish all of these players possess, for the most part hailing from notable D1 programs while playing with and against some of the best college players in the nation.

I’m going to profile six pitchers from each squad, the pitchers that in my mind stood out the most, while also adding some notes on some of the more intriguing positional players that were in attendance.

West Arms

Bryce Stowell started the game for the West All-Stars, a pitcher that was draft-eligible as a sophomore this past year after sitting out a year after transferring to UC Irvine from Peperdine, and who was drafted in the 22nd round by the Cleveland Indians. This is Stowell’s second consecutive summer pitching on the Cape, as he performed quite well during the summer of 2007 as well.

Stowell showed pretty much what I have seen of him in the past. He has a nice, projectable build with a high waist and a strong lower half, where he generates most of his power from. That power produces fastballs that sit in the low-90s and topped out in the all-star game at 93. He has been able to reach back for more in the past to approach the mid-90s, and he also mixes in a nice breaking ball that he seems to throw two variations of. His slider is harder, a pitch he uses to get batters swinging in the dirt, and he also knows how to take a little bit off of it for more of a true curveball that he throws for strikes. He has good fastball command, although he does have a pronounced head whip as part of his delivery that seems to put added an unnecessary pressure on this throwing shoulder.

Brandon Workman, a pitcher I was very impressed with the few times I saw him pitch this spring, came on to work the second. While his results were mixed this spring as a freshman for the Longhorns, I think the experience he is receiving as a young, college pitcher will help propel him to being one of the top prospects eligible for the 2010 draft.

There is no shortage of confidence from Workman, who profiles as a prototypical power Texas arm that pitches aggressively and shows no fear. He too has a high waist and a nice, projectable frame and uses a long-armed delivery to generate impressive velocity on his fastball, which topped out at 95 in this game. He also throws a big overhand curveball giving him a legitimate one-two punch that has allowed him to lead the league in strikeouts this summer.

Coastal Carolina’s Nick McCully worked the fourth inning, showing a big, barrel-chested frame with thick forearms and broad shoulders. His fastball topped out at 93 using a quick, short and somewhat violent delivery that probably will be better suited to a short-relief role at the next level.

An aggressive pitcher, his most impressive pitch with a nasty slider that looked similar to the cutter that Scott Bittle used to strikeout nearly every other batter he faced this spring pitching for Ole Miss. With a sub-six foot frame and his body type, he doesn’t have the ideal pitching frame, but there is no denying how good his stuff was.

Lefty Dallas Keuchel of Arkansas pitched in the sixth inning, and while he didn’t throw as hard as the pitchers listed above, he showed a really nice overhand slow curveball that was reminiscent of a couple of other southpaws that had pitched in the Cape League in previous years: Christian Friedrich and Barry Zito.

He isn’t quite as projectable as those two pitchers, as he has a stockier frame with broad shoulders and a strong lower half. His fastball tops out in the upper-80s, and he also throws a pretty nice changeup, but his curve is what got my attention.

Converted infielder Russell Brewer followed Keuchel and pitched the seventh inning for the West. Brewer served as Vanderbilt’s closer this past spring, filling in the void of 2007 first-round pick Casey Weathers admirably.

Brewer has a very good athletic frame, and a deceptive delivery that makes his stuff that much harder to track. He keeps all of his pitches down in the zone, highlighted by a high-80s sinker and a nasty slider. If he has a changeup, of which I didn’t see him pitch, I would like to see him used as a starter down the road, but since he has only recently taken to pitching full-time, his development may be best suited to stick in a short relief role.

Right-hander Seth Blair of Arizona State didn’t fare that well, giving up seven earned runs while working only two-thirds of an inning, but he didn’t pitch all that poorly despite the ugly numbers.

He has a great athletic frame and pitches from a low three-quarters delivery. His stuff and stature is very similar to big-league pitcher Braden Looper, in that he may ultimately be best in a short relief role. His fastball has nice sink on it, and he also throws a good looking slider. He struggled to command his pitches, which led to the big inning, but the foundation is there for Blair to succeed at the next level, and he has a few years to polish his game before being draft-eligible in 2010.

I said I was going to only profile six pitchers from each squad, but closer Ben Tootle came in the eighth inning to clean up the mess that Seth Blair made, using a upper-90s fastball. He looks like a closer, with a chiseled, athletic frame and a tall, angular leg-kick that reminded me of Troy Percival. He also threw a pretty nasty slider, and overall looks as though he was born to close.

East Arms

San Diego righty Matt Thomson got the start opposite Bryce Stowell for the East all-stars, the first of two Toreros to pitch in this game (Sammy Solis).

Thomson was named the top prospect in the Alaskan League last summer, so his talent is well documented. He has a perfect pitcher’s frame and a loose, live arm that makes it look as though he’s playing catch when he’s pitching. His fastball topped out at 92 in this game, but has creeped towards the mid-90s in the past. He commands his fastball well, and some deception in his delivery gives it a sense of movement. He also throws a good curveball that wasn’t as sharp in this game as what it has been in the fast.

Adam Wilk, a lefty from Long Beach State, took the mound in the second. With a really skinny frame and a long-armed delivery, it almost looks as though a stiff breeze could knock him off the mound.

But he’s wiry strong, and is able to throw his fastball in the upper-80s, touching 90. There is some deception to his delivery which makes his fastball harder to track, and he also throws a sharp, slurvy curveball. While he doesn’t throw as hard as Ross Detwiler, his body type and stuff reminded me of the former first-round pick. He pitches aggressively, getting Kevin Patterson during the inning to swing and miss on a nasty breaking ball, and shows good command of his repertoire.

Righty J.J. Hoover was drafted by the Braves in the 10th round in this year’s draft out of Calhoun Community College (AL), but at this point in time it remains unclear whether or not he will sign or attend West Virginia in the fall.

Built big and strong with broad shoulders and a low waist, Hoover uses a compact, short-armed delivery that generates low-90s heat. His breaking ball had very hard, late movement, and his fastball seemed to rise in the zone after burying a few breaking balls in the dirt. He did allow a solo home run to A.J. Pollack, a ball that seemed to be aided by the wind blowing out, as it didn’t appear to be hit that hard off of the crack of the bat.

Sammy Solis, a big, tall lefty followed Hoover to pitch the fourth inning, and was the second of two Toreros to take the mound for the East squad.

Solis may have been the second most impressive and exciting pitching prospect after Brandon Workman, showing very good size and proportions with a pitching style that reminded me a lot of Ole Miss’ Drew Pomeranz. He employs a huge leg kick that helps him generate easy low-90s heat, touching 93 in this game, and he also has a sharp high-80s breaking ball. He got Chris Dominguez swinging on what looked to be a pretty nasty cutter, and he creates a fair amount of deception with a somewhat herky-jerky delivery.

Solis and Thomson are likely going to be asked to replace recently drafted lefties Brian Matusz and Josh Romanski at San Diego, and they both have the talent to do so without missing much of a beat.

As the game progressed, another pitcher took the mound in the fifth inning that caught my attention, right-hander Brian Dupra from Notre Dame.

Dupra was one of the top prep pitchers available for the 2007 draft, and participated in the 2006 Perfect Game National Showcase but decided to honor his college commitment. He has a nice, athletic build and a quick arm stroke that produces upper-80s to low-90s velocity. His fastball is rather straight, and isn’t overpowering, which means he needs to rely on changing speeds. He did show a very nice changeup, arguably the best one I saw thrown during the game, and a prettying good looking curveball. He got his Notre Dame teammate, Pollack, to hit into a double play off of a curveball to get out of his inning of work.

Brad Boxberger took the ball in the ninth to close out the game for the East squad after they exploded offensively in the bottom of the eighth.

With a nice projectable body and good fastball command, Boxberger was clocked as high as 94 on the radar gun, but typically pitches comfortably in the 89-92 range. He keeps his fastball down in the zone, and looks as though he induces a ton of groundballs. He doesn’t look as comfortable throwing his four-seamer as much as he does his sinker, and he also threw an impressive curveball. I’ve seen Boxberger start in the past, and he hadn’t impressed me as much as he did on this evening, which may suggest that his future will lie in short relief.

Cape Bats

As noted above, it was difficult to get a good read on the hitters since for the most part the pitching was the story of the night, despite the final score of 8-6 with the East winning the game. Most of those runs were scored in two separate innings off of two separate pitchers, as there were only four pitchers in attendance that gave up any runs during the game.

Shortstop Grant Green, a former Aflac All-American that I got to see plenty of during the summer of 2005, was the top overall hitter in attendance, and one that is putting up numbers that back his status as a prospect, among the league leaders in most of the major statistical categories, and he had a big, two-run blast to straight away centerfield off of Seth Blair in the eighth inning.

It’s easy to see why scouts like Green, as he’s built like a big-league infielder, tall, rangy and strong with good bat speed and smooth infield actions. If his success continues into next spring with the Trojans, it’s hard to envision him not being an early first-round pick.

Another former Aflac All-American shortstop, D.J. LeMahieu, also is a picture-perfect big-league athlete. I remember noting how he had great opposite field power after watching him in the 2006 Aflac game, and he continues to employ an inside-out swing, hitting a high fastball up the middle in the eighth inning. He replaced Green at shortstop in the game (with Green moving to third base) and has similar graceful actions at the position with a strong arm.

Chris Dominguez’ power potential is well known, but I’m still concerned about his big swing and propensity to strike out, but physically he resembles Troy Glaus, and the more I see him the more I think he may be able to stick at the hot corner defensively.

But two other batters really stood out to me: Marc Krauss, an outfielder from Ohio University and Ben Paulsen, a first baseman from Clemson.

Krauss has a calm, patient professional approach at the plate, and that along with his strong, physical yet athletic build and left-handed swing reminded me of Dennis Raben, who starred in this game a year ago. Krauss has hit everywhere he has played during his college career, and is a name to keep an eye on next spring.

Paulsen could be defined by one word: Smooth. He has a pretty left-handed stroke and a very slick glove around the first base bag. He got a lot better from his freshman year to his sophomore year this past spring, and appears to be gearing up for a big junior campaign.