Welcome to the seventh edition of live looks from Cape Cod this summer. For this review, I’ll look at OF Victor Scott, RHP Harrison Cohen, LHP Liam Sullivan, OF Travis Honeyman, and RHP Patrick Reilly. Also, I give some thoughts on my second look at RHP Brody McCullough.
Victor Scott, OF, West Virginia, Cotuit Kettleers
Game Lines (7/07 and 7/08): 0 hits in 6 at bats, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Though his production wasn’t there in these couple of games, Scott is one of the players I have seen the most this summer. One of the most toolsy players out here, Scott showcases blazing speed that led him to steal 11 bags in 20 games (he had 62 steals in 121 college games). The bat is still a work-in-progress. He has extremely high contact rates only striking out in 9 of his 70 plate appearances, but sometimes, his approach gets ground ball heavy with a long swing. Scott also shows a good command of the strike zone and patience walking 14 times this summer. At times, he showed his ability to hit for some power such as when he hit the below homer, though power cannot be counted on at the moment.
In the field, Scott plays a great center. He uses his incredible speed to cover broad swaths of the outfield and his instincts to continually get great jumps on the ball. Multiple times this summer he made head-turning plays. During the upcoming draft, Scott’s name should be called in the back half of Day 2. Whatever team picks him is betting on his loud tools and that he will be able to turn the high contact rates into more productive at-bats.
Harrison Cohen, RHP, Virginia, Cotuit Kettleers
Game Line (7/08): 5 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 3 ER, 6 K
In his third summer in Cotuit, Harrison Cohen has taken a big step forward becoming one of their most reliable starters. On Friday, the righty had mixed results giving up more hits than usual (some on soft contact) but missing his most bats thus far. The 6-foot righty works with a 3-pitch mix: fastball (92/94), change (80/82), and slider (82/84).
Cohen attacks the strike zone with all three pitches and typically pitches to contact, rarely giving hitters free passes. Friday night, his fastball velocity was the highest it's been, hitting 94 more consistently` which translated to his most swings and misses on it. Cohen uses both off speeds about evenly, and the change serves as his best overall offering. He does a great job killing spin on the pitch and gets arm side run from his ¾ release point. Throughout the summer, his slider has been somewhat inconsistent, but at times, has flashed good break. In this outing, he threw a couple of backfoot sliders to lefties that they swung through. Throwing the breaker more consistently is key for the next step in his development as a starter.
If he were moved to the bullpen, his velo might play up since his velocity has played up as the summer has lengthened; however, with his ability to throw strikes, he currently profiles as a pitchability starter who will generate a lot of contact. Though he announced he will be grad transferring to Virginia, after his strong Cape performance, he deserves consideration on Day 3 of the draft and if he is not taken, teams should look to pick him up post-draft.
Liam Sullivan, LHP, Georgia, Harwich Mariners
Game Line (7/09): 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 ER, 6 K
Burly lefty Liam Sullivan shoved in his first two innings of work striking out 5 batters and only walking one. Though the wheels came off a bit in the third, he’s had an outstanding start to his time in the Cape (30 strikeouts vs 5 walks). In this outing, he used a four-pitch mix: fastball (89/92), change (81/83), slider (79/82), and curve (75/77).
The 6-foot-4 lefty gets a lot of carry on his fastball, which was the pitch he worked the most with. In the top of the zone, the pitch had a lot of life and gave hitters issues. Sullivan showed good feel for his whole arsenal, getting strikeouts on all four of the pitches. Out of the offspeeds, he used the change-up and slider the most and got a couple of swings and misses on the offerings. His slider and curve had similar break, but the latter had more depth. In future outings, he should use the curve more often. In the third inning, he lost the strike zone, walking three. He missed high and away from the arm-side on a lot of pitches which could be a product of him being late due to his short leg extension.
For next year’s draft, Sullivan is an intriguing arm. His first two innings and the rest of his time in the Cape flashed his potential; however, command concerns exist, which were evident in the third inning. With his frame, he should be able to tap into more velocity as well going forward, making his fastball even better.
Travis Honeyman, OF, Boston College, Orleans Firebirds
Game Line (7/10): 1 hit in 4 at bats, 1 double, 2 strikeouts
After a strong season at Boston College, Honeyman has followed it up with an equally impressive performance in the Cape with an OPS of 990 through his first 21 games. At the plate, he righty starts with an open stance and then explodes after taking a big stride forward. Though his strikeouts have matched the amount he had in his full college season, Honeyman still shows very strong bat-to-ball skills and makes good swing decisions. When he makes contact, he shows power to the gaps and could have average big-league power in the future. In an earlier game this season, Honeyman showed a good ability to take pitches to the right side, where his power carried over in the form of a homer to right-center field.
In the outfield, he shows good instincts with his jumps but does not take the most efficient routes to the ball. He may move to a corner position in the future, but for now, his arm looks decent in center. When he is draft-eligible next year, he should be one of the more coveted outfielders in the class.
Patrick Reilly, RHP, Vanderbilt, Orleans Firebirds
Game Line (7/10): 4 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 3 K
Big, well-built Patrick Reilly took the mound Sunday night, throwing four solid innings. Reilly has a live arm– his fastball touched 96 a couple of times. In addition to the fastball, he worked with a cutter (90/91), change (82/84), and slider (83/85).
Though Reilly can run his fastball velo up, he struggled to miss bats with the pitch all game long. In his four innings of work, he only got 5 whiffs (4 on the fastball and 1 on the slider)-- the lowered swinging strike rate was a trend that appeared in the second half of this season at Vanderbilt. Early in the game, his fastball sat 94/96, but in later innings, it played from 91/94. On top of not missing many bats, his command was spotty, serving up 3 walks and 2 hit-by-pitches. At times, he flashed good cutters and sliders but will need to work on their consistency. Being able to throw those pitches well more often will take the strain off of the fastball, and that may lead to tougher at-bats for hitters. The cutter’s usage was higher than expected and looks to be a pitch he is trying to incorporate more.
Reilly has a lot of aspects that make him a very interesting prospect, namely, his build and high-octane fastball. However, to make the leap into one of the top prospects in next year’s draft, he will need to develop consistency in these three phases: command, secondaries, and holding velo. In his current form, Reilly looks more like a reliever, how he was used in college, than a starter.
Quick follow-up:
Brody McCullough, RHP, Wingate, Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Game Line (7/10): 4 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 ER, 6 K
In this outing, McCullough showcased a much sharper slider than last time and got more swings and misses on it. On top of that, he also mixed in a curveball (77/80) with 12-to-6 action for strikes, which I hadn’t seen before; however, he only threw the offering three times. Going forward, McCullough should incorporate this breaker more often. At times, he also drops his arm slot to a lower ¾ look. From there, he throws a two-seam fastball and another variation of his slider. In the future, I still believe that he ends up as a reliever where he should see his fastball velo play up from 94, but this outing made me think that he should definitely begin as a starter in the minors. With his large frame and ability to throw four pitches for strikes, he fits the role well. In this weekend’s draft, he should hear his name called near the 10th round.