Welcome to the fourth edition of live looks from Cape Cod this summer. For this review, I’ll look at RHP Kade Morris, LHP Sean Sullivan, RHP Eriq Swan, and 1B/CF Caden Grice.
Kade Morris, RHP, Transfer Portal (Prev. Nevada), Cotuit Kettleers
Game Line (6/24): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 4 K
For the second straight outing, Kade Morris pitched 6 strong innings, mostly by limiting hard contact which has been his M.O. Morris kept hitters guessing with a five-pitch mix: fastball and sinker (93/94/t96), slider (79/80), curveball (80/81), and change (85-86). Morris showed confidence and feel for all pitches, getting outs on each offering.
Morris showed good command of the fastball and sinker and was able to hold their velocity for all six innings. Out of the two pitches, the sinker profiles better for him and consistently generated ground-outs. In regards to his offspeeds, Morris seemed most comfortable with his slider that has sweep. He used it to finish a couple of his strikeouts, but as the game went on, his control of the pitch faltered. A few times, he left the slider in the middle of the zone, and hitters tagged it for hard contact. With the other breaking balls, Morris had interesting sequencing. He threw the pitches less frequently than the fastballs and sliders, but when he would throw them, he often threw two or three in a row. Going forward, he would benefit from mixing in those pitches more often and not only using them in bursts.
If the 6-foot-3-inch continues to pitch like he did Friday, he will work his name in the first couple of rounds in next year's draft. Next year, he will need to improve the consistency of his secondaries and his sequencing of them. This start marked Morris’ last outing in the Cape before he heads to Team USA where he undoubtedly will continue to impress.
Sean Sullivan, LHP, Wake Forest, Harwich Mariners
Game Line (6/24): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 6 K
A day after announcing his decision to transfer to Wake Forest, Sean Sullivan had a great outing for Harwich. The 6-foot-3-inch lefty used three pitches: fastball (88/91), slider (76-80), and change up (80/83). After coming out of the bullpen for two games, this was his first of what figures to be many starts this summer.
In this outing, Sullivan worked quickly, attacking the zone with all three offerings. Hitters had trouble picking up the ball from his low arm slot which creates a lot of arm-side run on both his fastball and change-up. Throughout the game he displayed great command, working his fastball well east-to-west and complementing it well with glove-side sliders and arm-side changes. His change-up had a lot of run and flashed plus potential, getting a few swings and misses on the pitch. Though he does not have the most over-powering stuff, he creates a lot of deception which leads to constant weak contact and ugly swings.
After a decent freshman season at Northwestern where he posted a 4.45 ERA, Sullivan has started strong in the Cape allowing only 1 earned run through 8.2 innings. Due to his unique arm slot, the lefty is intriguing going forward. During the rest of his time at the Cape and next year in Wake Forest, he will need to allow fewer hits than he did last season, which can be a function of how often he pitches in the zone. Moreover, his change-up seems to be a weapon against righties, but I would like to see more from his slider. For now, it is worth it to give him continued looks as a starter, but in the future, he would be a good lefty relief option.
Eriq Swan, RHP, Middle Tennesse State, Wareham Gateman
Game Line (6/25): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 8 K
On Saturday night, Eriq Swan turned in one of the most dominant relief appearances in the Cape thus far. Falmouth’s hitters stood no chance against his mix of 4-seam and 2-seam fastballs (95/98) and sliders (78/81/t84). The 6-foot-6-inch righty throws from a high arm slot with not much extension, inducing downward action on all of his offerings.
In his outing, Swan brought almost every hitter to two strikes, showing how good his raw stuff is; however, many batters also brought him to three-ball counts, pointing to his lack of command. Though he avoided issuing any walks, Swan at times seemed to not be able to control the ball at all. Swan’s live arm made up for his inconsistencies in command and pitch shape. When in the zone, hitters consistently swung through his two-seam with good arm-side run, the better of his two fastballs. At times, his slider flashed the ability to get swinging strikes, and as his outing extended, Swan’s feel for the pitch improved, getting more break on the pitch.
Though he started games this season, Swan projects as a reliever going forward. With his high velocity and decent breaker if he can refine his command Swan will intrigue teams when he reaches draft eligibility. Moreover, Swan will need to develop more consistency with all three of his pitches. Each of them flashed plus potential; however, they also looked average to below average at times. Pitching with a frame like his often takes time to develop more fine-tuned mechanics that will allow one to control the long levers, which will lead to the needed improvements in command and pitch consistency out of the hand.
Caden Grice, 1B/CF, Clemson, Chatham Anglers
Game Lines (DH on 6/26): 1 hit in 7 ABs, 1 home run, 4 strikeouts
Out of all players in the Cape, Caden Grice shows some of the best raw power. In batting practice, the 6-foot-6-inch lefty, who stands upright in the box, routinely hits mammoth homers, and at times, that power translates into the games such as when he hit a ball over 400 feet to dead center in the first game of Sunday’s double header. In his next at-bat, Grice lined out to deep center on the hardest-hit ball of the day. With his swing that has some natural loft, he punishes balls low in the zone. However, pitchers have exposed some holes in the top of the zone, which is where almost all of his strikeouts and swings and misses on the day came. Overall, his contact skills trail behind his plus power. When he does make contact, he mostly pulls the ball but has shown the ability to hit the ball back up the middle this summer.
In the field, Grice has displayed a strong arm and some athletic ability in the outfield; however, in the long term, he projects better at first base. At first, he plays average defense and uses some of his mobility from the outfield to his advantage. In next year's draft, Grice will offer some of the most power out of any prospect. His future positional limitation and swing and miss will play against him, but a team will surely jump early in the draft to snag this slugger.