Welcome to the eighth edition of live looks from Cape Cod this summer. For this review, I’ll look at RHP Ben Johnson, INF/OF Luke Keaschall, 1B Tyler Johnson, RHP Juaron Watts-Brown, and OF Andrew Pinckney.
Ben Johnson, RHP, Georgia Southern, Cotuit Kettleers
Game Line (7/14): 5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 7 K
On Thursday night, Ben Johnson was penciled in as Cotuit’s Opener; however, he toyed with hitters and extended his night into the sixth inning. The lanky, 6-foot-3-inch righty racked up the swings and misses with 13, evenly divided by his three offerings. He attacked hitters with a fastball (89/92), slider (81/84), and splitter (82/84).
Typically, Johnson shows more control than swing and miss, but in this outing, he had both working for him. He lived in the zone all night long, only losing one hitter to a walk. The fastball mainly served as the pitch he used to get lazy flyouts. and soft ground-outs. At times, the pitch flashes some decent carry, which led to the swinging strikes on the pitch. However, the offspeeds served as the knockout pitches, getting 6 of his 7 strikeouts on them. All night long he located the slider well low and to the glove side. Out of all his pitches, the splitter was his best offering by far. He really kills spin on it, and hitters can barely make contact on the pitch. During this outing, he gave up contact on the splitter only twice– a pop out to the catcher and a ground ball back to him. He mixed all three pitches extremely well in this outing and varied what hitters saw in each count.
Johnson already has two offspeeds that miss a good number of bats. For the next step of his development, his fastball is the area that needs the most improvement. Whether it be adding more velo, he has a long frame but needs to add mass, or getting a more consistent shape on the pitch with carry, those changes can help him establish a third consistent offering. Throughout the season, he has also worked out of the bullpen, which is where he may profile long-term, but in his first start of the season, he showed some skill that may allow him to stick.
Luke Keaschall, INF/OF, San Francisco, Orleans Firebirds
Game Line (7/14): 2 hits in 5 at bats, 1 double, 1 strikeout
Last summer, Luke Keaschall helped put himself on the map with a strong performance in the Cape, and in his second stint with Orleans, he has shown more or less the same ability. At the plate, he has an aggressive approach, taking big swings early in the count. When he hits for power, it usually goes to the pull side but has also hit the ball well up the middle this summer. At times, he gets under the ball too much, leading to some games where he has a couple of infield pop-outs. He has strong bat-to-ball skills, and his hit tool does and will outweigh his power.
In the field, Keaschall has played all over this summer: 3B, 1B, SS, LF, and CF. The corners are where he plays the best and profiles better, but he has shown the ability to plug into both center (where he made an incredible diving play after tracking down a ball) and short. His speed on the bases and in the field is about average to slightly above average. As an all-around player, Keaschall brings great value. In the future, he’ll serve as a strong utility player who can hit for average and some power. Next year, he should go in the first few rounds of the draft.
Tyler Johnson, 1B, Coastal Carolina, Cotuit Kettleers
Game Line (7/15): 1 hit in 4 at bats, 1 strikeout
During his time on the Cape, Tyler Johnson has showcased some of the biggest raw power of any player with 6 homers in 84 at-bats. The ball consistently rockets off of the big, lefty first baseman's bat, and he can hit to all fields. At least half of his home runs have gone the opposite way. Throughout the season, he has also shown an impressive ability to hit southpaws as well. To generate the power, the tradeoff has been a high strikeout total this summer: 25. He’s been able to hit for enough power to overcome that total with a slash line of .274/.337/.560.
In the field, Johnson plays a decent first base. He does not have the most mobility but has been serviceable in the field for Cotuit. In this week’s draft, Johnson went unpicked; however, he makes an intriguing option for a post-draft signing. In his 2022 season at Coastal, he took a big step forward at the plate, which he has sustained this summer. If a team can help him cut down his strikeouts, he can do even more damage with his hard contact rates.
Juaron Watts-Brown, RHP, Transfer Portal (Prev. Long Beach State), Falmouth Commodores
Game Line (7/16): 5 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 5 K
In his sixth outing on the Cape, Juaron Watts-Brown let his potential shine with 5 dominant innings against Wareham. The 6-foot-2-inch, who works from a ¾ slot, righty mowed down hitters with a four-pitch mix, consisting of a fastball (90/93/t94), slider (81/83), curve (80/81), and change (86/87).
After walking the first batter of the night, Watts-Brown settled in and started to find the zone more consistently. Though he fell to a few 3-ball counts, he would battle back and sharpen his command when behind. Throughout the outing, he mostly worked with his fastball and slider. With long extension which helps drop his release height, he threw his fastball best when it was located glove-side with cut-ride. When it leaked to the arm-side, his fastball had a more average shape. During the outing, the slider served as a wipeout pitch with 4 of his 5 strikeouts coming on it– all swinging. Going forward, he should incorporate his other breaker, the curveball with good downward action and sweep, more often. He only threw the pitch around 6 times and still got 2 swings and misses on it. The change-up was only flashed a few times and is the clear fourth offering right now.
This outing showed the best of what Watts-Brown offers. He attacked the zone with all of his pitches and got around 10 whiffs during the game. When his command is sharp, the raw stuff is good enough to dominate hitters. If he increased his curveball usage, that would give hitters another high-quality offering to contend with and can improve the results he sees with the fastball and slider. Moreover, with his size and athleticism, more velocity can be untapped within him. Next year, if he reigns in command and lets his stuff do the work, Watts-Brown will find himself as one of the most sought-after pitchers in the draft.
Andrew Pinckney, OF, Alabama, Falmouth Commodores
Game Line (7/16): 2 hits in 5 at bats, 1 double, 1 strikeout
In many phases of the game, Andrew Pinckney has loud tools: arm, speed, glove, and power. However, one tool that still needs work is his ability to make contact more consistently. Early in the summer, this was a big problem for Pinckney, especially with breaking pitches. As the summer has gone on, however, he has started to put the bat on the ball more often and is in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak. In my most recent look at him, the double he hit came against a slider, which is an encouraging sign since I had yet to see production against an offspeed from him. When the 6-foot-3-inch center fielder, gets all of his long levers working, he can do some real damage. Earlier in the season, he hit a homer (one of two in the game) on the hardest hit ball I’ve seen all summer. For him to tap into that power, he will need to continue the progress he has made on recognizing spin and staying in on it.
In the field, Pinckney may play the best center in the Cape. With his speed, he covers large swaths of the outfield and has made diving plays look routine. On top of that, his incredibly strong arm keeps runners at bay. When looking at Pinckney, one can see a lot of potential. Though he went undrafted and may return to Alabama, if he can continue to make improvements, he should put himself on the radar to get picked in next year’s draft.