As far as winning goes, the Y-D Red Sox are the standard of the CCBL with eight league titles over the last 30 seasons. Cotuit boasts the most titles all-time, but it’s Yarmouth-Dennis that’s dominated of late. The 2018 roster featured Michigan’s Tommy Henry, Oregon’s Ryne Nelson, South Carolina’s Noah Campbell, Arizona’s Nick Quintana, and Grand Canyon standout Quin Cotton. Overall one of the more exciting teams on the circuit last season. Will Y-D’s roster match last year’s excitement? Let’s dive into the active roster and discuss.
Pitchers
John Beller, LHP USC
Brandon Dufault, RHP Northeastern
Trevor Kniskern, RHP Pepperdine
Carlos Lomeli, RHP St. Marys
Zack Matthews, RHP Oklahoma
Ryne Moore, RHP Old Dominion
Andrew Mundy, RHP Hofstra
Ian Seymour, LHP Virginia Tech
Chase Smith, RHP Pitt
Ledgend Smith, LHP Oklahoma
David Stiehl, RHP Northeastern
Erik Tolman, LHP Arizona State
Michael Weisberg, RHP Cal State Fullerton
Jacob Winger, RHP High Point
Summary: Not the sexiest group of names you’ll see in the Cape, as the staff lacks premier 2020 or 2021 draft prospects… at the moment. That’s the lesson to take away from the Cape every year, those that leave with hype aren’t always necessarily those that enter with helium. Regardless of this, Y-D packs a lot of local Northeastern kids into the bunch as well as Massachusetts Super-8 legend Ian Seymour. They also boast some under the radar talents like Arizona State two-way freshman Erik Tolman, Pepperdine’s Trevor Kniskern, Pitt’s Chase Smith, St. Mary’s Carlos Lomeli and USC’s John Beller. Reports say both Ledgend Smith of Oklahoma and the aforementioned Chase Smith were solid out of the pen in Y-D’s opener versus Cotuit.
Standout: Ian Seymour, Virginia Tech - I caught Seymour in 2017 as he led St. John’s Shrewsbury to a division 1 Super 8 state title. He’s a local product from a few miles from where I write this. Seymour has performed well in his two seasons in Blacksburg. He added good weight coming into the spring and saw his stuff tick up, sitting in the low-90s with his fastball after working in the mid-high-80s in high school and as a freshman. His secondaries consist of a slider and changeup, both average offerings in my looks, but he has the ability to land both for strikes. Keep grinding Ian, you got fans at P-Live.
Sleeper: John Beller, RHP USC - The Trojans right-hander slides under the radar due to his lack of big velocity on his fastball. He does however throw all of his pitches for strikes and features a four-pitch arsenal he’ll use to get hitters to drive weak contact. He works 86-89 on his fastball, but he locates it well, and uses his mid-70s curveball as his primary out pitch. An above average offering with nice shape.
Catchers
Eric Bigani, UNLV
Adam Kerner, San Diego
Austin Wells, Arizona
Summary: There’s an argument to be made that this is the strongest catching group in the league, with two of the top college backstops in the 2020 draft in San Diego’s Adam Kerner and Arizona’s Austin Wells. UNLV transfer and former Cypress College standout rounds out the group.
Standout: Austin Wells, Arizona - One of the top players in the Wildcats lineup this season Wells slashed .353/.462/.552 with five home runs, and six steals this season. A standout freshman, Wells will be a draft eligible sophomore in 2020. An athletic backstop, Wells saw time at first base and in left field, look for Scott Pickler to utilize Wells versatility. A well-rounded player with a plate approach beyond his years.
Sleeper: Adam Kerner, San Diego - The backtop from the same university that produced Theo Epstein and Robert Kardashian (thanks a lot SD…). Kerner showed well last summer on the circuit and returns to further raise his stock. There’s some talk of him as a late day one guy in 2020, but more likely we see him go in rounds four or five. He has shown feel to hit as well as some power and athleticism behind the dish.
Infielders
William Escala, Miami
Sam Hall, Clemson
Will Picketts, Cal State Bakersfield
Drew Swift, Arizona State
Riley Tirotta, Daytona
Jack-Thomas Wold, UNLV
R.J. Yeager, Mercer
Wyatt Young, Pepperdine
Summary: This group is heavily hit tool over power, as I believe only a single player in this mix slugged over .450 during the spring. There are a handful of players that hit for high averages, and it looks like a group that will do a fairly good job of putting the ball in play. No real standouts for the 2020 or 2021 drafts at the moment, but players like UNLV’s Jack-Thomas Wold, Pepperdine’s Wyatt Young, Mercer’s RJ Yeager, and Dayton’s Riley Tirotta might see their stock rise into the top five to six rounds with strong showings.
Standout: Jack-Thomas Wold, UNLV - The only true power threat in the Red Sox infield, Wold is an under-sized first baseman with plus approach. He’s not a thumper, and at the moment is power is more doubles than over the fence power. It’s his ability to put the bat on the ball and make good contact that’s been his calling card.
Sleeper: Riley Tirotta, Daytona - An athletic third baseman that doesn’t fit the profile we typically expect from a corner infielder. Tirotta lacks pop and instead relies on his legs to make plays, he stole 18 bases this season in the A-10 while slashing .266/.354/.399. Not much pop and he does have a fair amount of swing and miss, but he works deep into counts and will get on base enough to use his legs. If Tirotta can develop at least average pop his stock would take a significant step forward.
Outfield
Jeffrey Costello, Northeastern
Andrew Eyster, South Carolina
Daylan Nanny, Western Carolina
Jake Palmer, Cal-Irvine
Jake Suddleson, Harvard
Summary: All the thump in the Red Sox lineup is likely to come from this group of outfield mashers, with players that flashed above average or better power over the spring. Chief among them is South Carolina’s Andrew Eyster (.267 isolated slugging) and Harvard’s Jake Suddleson (.279 isolated slugging), while Western Carolina’s Daylan Nanny flashed solid power as well during his freshman campaign with the Catamounts. UC-Irvine’s Jake Palmer lacks the thump of the aforementioned trio but he’s an on base machine that could see plenty of opportunities if his .460 OBP this spring translates to the CCBL. Make no mistake, Y-D’s sparks will come from the outfields fire.
Standout: Andrew Eyster, South Carolina - It’s not often a power hitter in the SEC goes under the radar, but Eyster might. A Juco transfer to South Carolina this season, Eyster was one of the standouts in the Gamecocks lineup slashing a robust .309/.389/.576 with 10 home runs. A strong showing on the Cape might push Eyster into the top two rounds of the 2020 draft.
Sleeper: Jake Suddleson, Harvard - A product not only of Harvard, but also the infamous California High School Harvard-Westlake (Lucas Giolito, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, etc) Suddleson broke out in a big way in 2019 slashing .372/.423/.651 with 11 home runs and 24 extra base hits. He’s spent his last two summers in the West Coast League, though he only played in one game in 2018, and looks to plant himself on the 2020 draft radar as an unheralded senior sign.