SUMMER LEAGUE NOTEBOOK

 

BY ALLAN SIMPSON

July 6, 2006

Cape Stint Allows Wieters To Concentrate On Catching

As one of the nation’s best and most versatile college players, Georgia Tech’s Matt Wieters had an opportunity to star for Team USA this summer in a valuable two-way role. Instead, he chose to play in the Cape Cod League and concentrate on one position.

“It was a chance to rest my arm and focus on one thing only,” said Wieters, who hit .355-15-71 this spring as the Yellow Jackets regular catcher while also saving seven games as the team’s closer. “I want to work on getting stronger and on my catching and throwing, especially developing a quicker release. I’m not worried about pitching; I’ll be able to do that again when I’m back in school in the fall.”

Wieters played for Team USA a year ago and caught sparingly as he divided his time between playing first base, pitching and serving as a DH. With J.P. Arencibia (Tennessee), Team USA ’s starting catcher and leading hitter in 2005, back for a second season, Wieters realized his opportunity to catch may be limited and rejected an offer to return to the team. Not only did he want to catch every day, but he wanted to play in the Cape Cod League—specifically for defending champion Orleans .

“I always wanted the chance to play in the Cape one summer and play for Team USA the other summer,” said Wieters, who projects as a high first-round draft pick next year. “Two of my coaches (at Georgia Tech) played for Orleans and (former teammate and 2005 first-round draft pick) Tyler Greene said he loved it playing here. This is where I wanted to be this summer.”

With Wieters catching and hitting third in the lineup after reporting late from Georgia Tech’s two-and-out run in the College World Series, Orleans ran off seven wins in nine games to assume the best record in the Cape Cod League at 12-5. Wieters hit .412-2-9 during that stretch.

“It’s made a big difference having him in the lineup,” Cardinals coach Kelly Nicholson said. “He takes control of a game behind the plate and he’s handled the pitching staff very well. At this point, we don’t have any plans to pitch him, but we’re well aware that his fastball is in the mid-90s and touched 98 this spring.”

The opportunity to catch only suits Wieters just fine.

“In college, where you play three games a week, you’re able to pitch and play a regular position,” Wieters said. “I’ve caught nine straight days since I’ve been here, and it’s a lot more taxing on your arm to catch every day.

“This is a good staff we’ve got here. They don’t need me to pitch.”

BRACKMAN EASES BACK IN

While Wieters projects as the top position player in the Cape Cod League for the 2007 draft, the top pitching prospect in the league is his teammate, 6-foot-10 righthander Andrew Brackman.

Brackman, who plays basketball in addition to baseball at North Carolina State , had thrown only two innings in Orleans first 16 games as he has been worked in slowly after missing most of the 2006 season with a stress fracture in his left hip. Despite not pitching in more than two months, he was clocked at 99 mph in his first appearance this summer.

“We’ve eased him in slowly to get him reacclimated to pitching, but he’s been very impressive so far,” Nicholson said. “He not only threw hard, but he also showed a good breaking ball and good command of his stuff. We’ll see what happens with him the rest of the way but his role will be whatever is best for the staff.”

Brackman went just 1-3, 6.35 for N.C. State this spring and made his last appearance of the season on April 21.

TEAM USA PARES ROSTER

After a series of intrasquad games and four exhibition games against teams from the New England Collegiate League, Team USA reduced its roster to 22 players. The team included only three holdovers from 2005—Arencibia, first baseman-lefthander Sean Doolittle (Virginia ) and lefthander David Price (Vanderbilt).

Price, ranked by PG Crosschecker as the top college pitching prospect for the 2007 draft, worked the first seven innings in the first game of the international leg of Team USA’s summer schedule, throwing seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Korea. He allowed three hits and a walk, striking out 10 with a fastball that was consistently at 93-94 mph, topping at 96. Doolittle drove in the game’s only run with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth.

The U.S. roster has all freshmen and sophomores, with the exception of Army lefthander Nick Hill, a junior.

YOUTH ROSTER TAKES SHAPE

From a pool of more than 2,800 players who attended USA Baseball’s twin Junior Olympics tournaments in Jupiter, Fla. , and Peoria and Surprise, Ariz., a preliminary roster of 36 players was selected to attend tryouts for Team USA’s youth national team (16-and-under) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from July 22-28. The roster will be pared to 18 at that point.

Team USA ’s youth squad will participate in the COPABE Youth Championship in Barquisimeto, Venez. , from Aug. 4-13, with the top three teams qualifying for the 2007 World Youth Championship. The U.S. finished second at the 2005 World Youth Championship.

Five players from the Tampa high school ranks were selected to the preliminary roster, including third baseman-righthander Ray Delphey (Alonso HS), who hit a three-run homer and worked the first four innings of the gold-medal game as the All-American Prospects beat the previously-undefeated Tampa Bay Raiders, 11-7, to win the Junior Olympic East tournament.

SUMMER NOTEBOOK

--Lefthander Brett Cecil (Maryland) has given Nicholson good reason not to use Wieters as Cotuit’s closer as he went 0-0, 0.66 with five saves in his first eight appearances. “He’s been everything you want in a lefthanded closer,” Nicholson said. “His fastball’s been 92-94 mph with an 88 mph slider, he’s very strong and he has great makeup for the role. He’s got a great, great work ethic.”

--Two Virginia summer league teams, competing in different leagues, have been getting huge seasons from their closers, as well, while compiling the best records in their respective leagues. New Market of the Valley League has run out to an impressive 19-5 mark, largely on the strength of junior righthander Brandon Dickson (Tusculum, Tenn.), who was 1-0, 0.63 with a league-best eight saves. Meanwhile, the Vienna Senators (18-5) surged to first place in the Clark Griffith League behind sophomore righthander Mason Griffin (Grayson County, Texas, CC), who was 3-0, 0.00 with three saves in his first 28 innings. Vienna won 15 games in a row in one stretch, while New Market went 18 days without a loss, sandwiching five consecutive rainouts between seven-game and five-game winning streaks.

--Another closer, Fayetteville junior righthander Luke Prihoda, led his club to the top of the Coastal Plain League standings. Through 12 innings, Phihoda was 1-0, 0.00 with nine saves, four hits and one walk, and 26 strikeouts.

--Despite just a 16-17 record, Madison drew 91,338 fans in 15 home games, an average of 6,089 per content—by far the best of any summer league team.