Welcome to the fourth edition of live looks from Cape Cod this summer. For this review, I’ll look at 2B Chandler Simpson, INF/OF Brooks Baldwin, RHP Brody McCullough, and RHP Jackson Baumeister. Also, I’ll share some brief thoughts on my second looks at RHP Ben Hess, SS Alex Mooney, and LHP Carson Whisenhunt
Chandler Simpson, 2B, Georgia Tech, Cotuit Kettleers
Game Lines (6/24 and 6/28): 5 hit in 8 ABs, 2 stolen bases, 1 strikeout
Chandler Simpson’s exceptional speed jumps out to anyone watching. Anytime he gets on first base, which is quite a lot, the pitcher must feel as if he gave up a double or triple because very soon Simpson will be taking off. At the plate, Simpson has some of the best bat control on the Cape. He constantly fouls balls off, working extremely pesky at-bats, and rarely ever strikes outs (only 2 K’s in 45 PA’s in the Cape thus far). Usually, he’ll hit ground balls which plays to his advantage because he can get to first base in under 4 seconds. Mostly, I’ve seen him punch the ball back up the middle, though a few times he has hit the ball down the left-field line. If the shift gets banned, he will be able to continue to get singles up the middle with ease.
In the field, Simpson has progressed as the summer has gone on. With his speed, he may project better to play an outfield position; however, his arm limits him, leading to uncertainties about whether he can make that jump or not. At second, the arm will hold up, and he has turned the ball nicely in some double-play attempts as of late. Sometime soon after the first round, a team will take Simpson in July. In him, they'll be getting one of the fastest players in the country who uses that to his advantage in both the batter's box and in the field.
Our own Joe Doyle had a chance to talk with Simpson in this excellent short feature.
Brooks Baldwin, INF/OF, UNC-Willmington, Cotuit Kettleers
Game Lines (6/24 and 6/28): 2 hit in 8 ABs, 1 strikeouts
Hitting two spots behind Simpson in the Kettleers lineup, Brooks Baldwin plays with a well-rounded game. A switch hitter, who’s better from the left side, Baldwin has good bat-to-ball skills with quick hands. From the right side, strikeouts have been higher than his natural left side, so he will need to continue to cut down on those. He is not one to work walks; rather, he attacks the ball early in the count. Going forward, he may need to change this approach. His level swing creates a lot of line drives, but he also has flashed more power than expected for someone with a smaller frame. When he gets on the bases, he’s a plus runner and a threat, already with 10 steals in the Cape. At all levels, Baldwin should be able to make solid contact, but the question will be if he can tap into his power more consistently in games.
In the field, Baldwin can play almost any position (he has played everywhere but short and catcher this year). His defense in the infield has been solid, and his instincts and arm in the right field have been impressive. He has gotten great reads on the ball and has tracked down and made some nice diving plays this season. Baldwin’s versatility and competence at each position are a major plus for him. After being selected in the 15th round last year, Baldwin should take a jump in this year’s draft closer to the 10th round.
Brody McCullough, RHP, Wingate, Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Game Line (6/24): 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 6 K
Brody McCullough got a lot of swings and misses in his 3 innings of work against Chatham in the first game of the double header. He mostly worked with a fastball (90/94) and slider (84/86) mix. In the first inning, he mixed in a few change-ups (84/87) and even got a swinging strikeout on one, but then mostly abandoned it for the rest of his outing.
The 6-foot-3-inch righty mowed down hitters when he located his fastball high in the zone. He drops down well in his motion allowing him to get a flat approach with the fastball that also gets a lot of ride. However, he, when he puts it lower in the zone hitters, has less of an issue at it especially when it's in the lower 90s. His slider is a decent offering right now; however, he will need to improve to succeed at the next level. Not many hitters swung through or chased the pitch, but he did freeze a few looking with it. Compared to his fastball, his change-up gets good depth and arm-side run, so going forward would like to see him incorporate it more. Also, his command is shaky at times which caused some of his jams.
Though McCullough started at Wingate, he will fit a bullpen role better. His fastball may play up a couple of ticks which would make it even harder to hit than it already is. He needs to sharpen up his command and keep the fastball high in the zone. On top of that, he needs to develop his slider more. If he can mix the fastball, slider, and change, he will be a good bullpen option and one who can give multiple innings of middle relief. In the later part of the draft or as signing after it, a team should take him and work with him to build around his fastball.
Jackson Baumeister, RHP, Florida State, Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Game Line (6/24): 4 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 7 K
Jackson Baumeister, Prospect Live’s current 17th ranked prospect for the 2023 draft, pitched four dominant no-hit innings for Hyannis Wednesday night. He used the following five-pitch mix: 4-seam and 2-seam fastballs (90/95), curveball (78/82), change-up (84/86), and slider (80).
Both of Baumeister’s fastballs looked sharp. His 4-seam was the one he relied on the most especially high the zone with its low approach, which he was getting from driving into his long extension. With the 2-seam, he consistently jammed hitters inside, breaking a few bats. In his second inning, his command falter a bit because his arm was late, and he was missing high to the arm-side, but as the outing progressed, his delivery got back on time. In this outing, his curveball was his best offspeed– hitters had no luck with the slow breaker that has a lot of downward action. At times, it looked like he manipulated his curveball to have less vertical break and played it more to contact. Though he threw one or two good change-ups that flashed plus potential, his feel for the pitch was missing, and he couldn’t find the strike zone with it.
The 6-foot-4-inch righty with fluid motions looks like the prototypical pitcher on the bump. He already has an advanced pitch mix even though I did not see his change-up at its best. The few times he threw the slider, it looked like a good offering, so if he can add that into his consistent pitch mix, hitters will have even more trouble at the plate against him. Next year, Baumeister should certainly go in the first round of the draft.
Quick follow-ups:
Ben Hess, RHP, Alabama, Falmouth Commodores
Game Line (6/25): 4 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 6 K
In this outing, Hess gave up more hard contact but limited the damage against him. His change-up, the best righty change I’ve seen on the Cape, played a big role in stopping that damage. He locates it extremely well in the bottom of the zone, getting hitters to swing through it or roll over it. His slurve, which may actually be classified as a curve, plays well with the firmer slider but is definitely the better of the two pitches and the one that Hess should turn to when looking for an out.
Alex Mooney, SS, Duke, Falmouth Commodores
Game Line (6/25 and 6/29): 3 hits in 9 ABs, 1 home run, 1 triple, 1 strikeout
Mooney continues to play a smooth shortstop, though he did let a couple of throws get away from him on Wednesday night, a rarity for him. At the plate, he has shown more pull-side power than he did early in the season. This power comes out when he hunts fastballs early in the count. In the game in which he homered, he had just missed another one earlier in the game. At the plate, Mooney’s approach should remain focused on hitting the ball to right-center, but he showed that he can unlock his power by turning on fastballs.
Carson Whisenhunt, LHP, East Carolina, Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Game Line (6/26): 8 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 7 ER, 7 K
After only throwing two curves in his first start (both coming in the fourth inning), Whisenhunt made it a priority to showcase his curveball that flashed plus potential in this outing. The pitch sat in the high 70s and topped out at 82 showing sharp downward movement. However, in Sunday’s game, his command was not as sharp as in his first outing, especially that of his change-up. Whisenhunt has to learn to bury his change more often because whenever it leaks into the middle of the zone, which happened a few times over the course of his two outings, he gave up hard contact. In his next start, Whisenhunt can bounce back from this outing if he can show feel for all three of his offerings at the same time, which has yet to happen.