2022 Cape Cod League Top Prospects 17-33

17. Nick Goodwin, Harwich Mariners, SS
Kansas State, 2023 Eligible 

A constant in the Mariners infield throughout the summer, Goodwin brings a power and on-base-driven offensive profile with the ability to stick in the infield long term. Goodwin was one of nine players with 100-plus plate appearances to record an isolated slugging percentage of .200 or above this summer and trailed only Hyannis’ Mitch Jebb in terms of runs and RBIs produced with 51 combined runs and RBIs. Goodwin was elected to the Eastern Division All-Star Team, getting the start at shortstop and batting leadoff.

Goodwin hit for easy power all summer as only Bourne’s Chris Brito had a higher combined total of doubles and home runs in the league this summer. Goodwin shows the ability to stay short to the ball while extending through contact. He has a knack for flush barrel contact which allowed him to consistently make hard contact while limiting his swing and miss. While Goodwin does have some swing and miss, his strikeout rate was heavily buoyed by a steady stream of questionable calls on the outer part of the plate. Goodwin rarely chased overall, swinging at pitches outside the zone just 23% of the time, while showing average bat-to-ball skills. While Goodwin isn’t twitchy, he has a good balance of strength, loft and bat speed that should translate to continued quality contact. 

In the field, Goodwin played a fringe-average shortstop. He showed solid infield actions and a good arm. His range was limited and his footwork at times could get sloppy, but he tended to make most of the plays in front of him. He’s unlikely to stay at shortstop long term as a professional but should be able to handle third base or second. Goodwin was one of the top position players on the Cape as he showed average bat-to-ball skills, above-average power and the ability to lay off balls out of the zone. 

18. Kade Morris, Cotuit Kettleers, RHP
Nevada, 2023 Eligible 

Morris generated buzz on the first day of the season, as he outpitched Carson Whisenhunt at Veterans Field in Chatham. He made three starts for the Kettleers, including two starts of at least six innings, before heading out to Collegiate National Team trials. While Morris didn’t return following Team USA trials he was one of the highest rated pitchers for evaluators. 

Morris’ pitch mix consists of four pitches and is led by two fastball variations in a four-seamer and a sinker sitting 93-94 mph, touching 96 mph at peak. His slider is his primary secondary, sitting in the low 80s with nearly a foot of sweep, while against lefthanders his go-to was a changeup at 85-86 mph with good velocity and vertical separation off his fastball and late running life. Morris doesn’t induce a high rate of whiffs on any of his pitches, but gets swing and misses on all of them while driving ground balls at a better than 60% rate across his arsenal. Morris throws lots of strikes, changes eye levels, can fool hitters into misses with well executed pitches and drives ground balls at an elite rate. He has a starter’s foundation with a deep arsenal of pitches and the ability to handle the innings workload. 

19. Magdiel Cotto, Hyannis Harbor Hawks, LHP
Kentucky, 2023 Eligible 

The lefty had a breakout summer for the Harbor Hawks as Cotto showed improved command, cutting his walk rate from the spring while allowing less hard contact. Cotto has above-average fastball velocity and two secondaries that can play average when he’s locked in. Cotto started the All-Star Game for the Western Division squad, striking out two over an inning of work. 

Cotto first worked out of the Harbor Hawks’ bullpen before sliding into a starting role. He showed well by and large as a starter mixing a four-seam fastball at 93-96 mph, a slider at 83-86 mph with tight shape and a changeup at 85-87 mph with heavy arm-side run. He showed the ability to blow his fastball by hitters and generate chase swings out of the zone. Despite the power and solid rates against his fastball, hitters did barrel up the pitch with greater frequency than you’d like to see from a lefty sitting in the mid 90s. His slider is a tight breaker without a ton of movement that’s thrown with above-average velocity. The pitch played this summer against Cape hitters as they hit just .111/.200/.111 against it with a whiff rate of 43% and a chase rate of 33%. Despite the success evaluators questioned how it would play against better competition as a professional. 

His changeup is a mid-80s offering with heavy tumble and arm-side run. It’s just a matter of commanding it for Cotto, as when he executed it he saw great results but there’s still a fair amount of inconsistency from pitch to pitch. Overall his command took a step forward this summer, particularly with his fastball, which he landed at a 70% rate despite heavy usage. Improvements to his ability to execute his slider and changeup around the fringes of the zone could see Cotto develop further as a starter. At the very least he shows three average or better pitches with power in his fastball, which could play out of the bullpen. 

20. Brock Wilken, Harwich Mariners, 3B
Wake Forest, 2023 Eligible

Last summer’s MVP and the best pro prospect in the league, Wilken couldn’t replicate that magic in 2022 but still had a strong showing for Harwich after returning from Collegiate National Team trials. Wilken hit five home runs and ran a 15.8% walk rate, the fifth highest on the circuit among players with 100 or more plate appearances. 

This summer, Wilken leaned more into a three true outcomes skill set as he took walks, hit for power in games and swung and missed more than a season ago. At times it looked as if Wilken got pull-happy catching the ball further out in front and not letting it travel as deep as he did a year ago. He still has one of the better righthanded swings you’ll see as he gets deep into his back leg before extending through the ball, generating tremendous bat speed and torque. He’s an excellent fastball hitter, as he hit .277/.493/.532 with three home runs, an 85% contact rate and just a 6% swinging strike rate against fastballs. Wilken has an excellent approach at the plate, rarely expanding the zone as he swung at just 14% of pitches he saw outside the zone this summer. Spin in the zone does give him trouble as Wilken hit just .197/.258/.328 with a 58% contact rate and a 14% swinging strike rate against offspeeds. He’s a talented hitter who punishes fastballs and works deep into counts.

Primarily a catcher as a prep player, Wilken is still improving at third base. He consistently showed one of the best arms among infielders on the Cape, with zip and on-line carry. He shows good infield actions and can make a variety of throws. His lateral movement is still limited but he has the arm and power-hitting bat to profile at the hot corner. While Wilken has areas to improve at the plate, he has the power and on-base skill set that plays in professional baseball. 

21. Jonathan Santucci, Harwich Mariners, RHP
Duke, 2024 Eligible 

One of the league’s top two-way stars, Santucci was arguably one of the top 2024 draft-eligible pitchers in the circuit. Like teammate Brock Wilken, Santucci did two tours of duty on the Cape, taking part in the Collegiate National Team trials between his two stints. Santucci made six appearances on the mound for the Mariners, going a total of 24.2 innings, striking out 28 batters while walking 10. At the plate he batted .188/.297/.344 with a home run across 37 plate appearances. 

While Santucci will likely play both ways at Duke, many evaluators view him as a pitcher-only long term. This is with good reason, as lefthanded starters that sit 91-93 mph on their fastball with heavy ride and run and three potential average or better secondaries are few and far between. Santucci’s fastball has a highly efficient spin axis as he’s able to generate 18 inches of vertical movement and over 10 inches of run on average despite raw spin rates in the 2,200-2,300 rpm range. While neither of Santucci’s breaking balls has heavy spin rate numbers, he shows the ability to spin a 12-6 curveball with depth in the low 80s and a sweepier slider in the low 80s. His changeup flashed average but is still developing. 

Overall it was one of the better fastballs on the circuit this summer to go with a trio of projectable secondaries. As Santucci transitions to a pitcher only as a professional he could take tremendous leaps forward from a stuff and execution standpoint. 

22. Ben Hampton, Chatham Anglers, LHP
West Virginia, 2023 Eligible 

Hampton went undrafted this summer despite being a draft-eligible sophomore with strong Cape Cod League performance pre-draft. Hampton defines the prototype of a soft-tossing lefty with deceptive release traits. Few pitchers displayed better command than Hampton as he walked just four batters across 42.1 innings, good enough for a 0.85 walks per nine innings rate. Hampton was named to the Eastern Division squad for the Cape’s All-Star Game, working a scoreless inning of relief and striking out two. 

Hampton is a high-spin arm with well below-average fastball velocity who uses his fastball like a fourth pitch. His primary pitch is a cutter-like slider in the low 80s with raw spin rates between 2,600-2,800 rpm. He pairs that with a sweepy mid-70s curveball with more depth than a sweeper, a changeup in the low 80s and a fastball that sits 84-86 mph that he can manipulate the shape of to add more cut. Hampton succeeds by throwing a kitchen sink worth of pitch shapes at hitters and executing his location at a high level. While Hampton is unlikely to ride his Cape performance into the top three rounds in 2023, he could be an underrated value on day two of the draft.

23. Liam Sullivan, Harwich Mariners, LHP
Georgia, 2023 Eligible 

Sullivan is an imposing lefty with a four pitch-mix highlighted by a low-90s fastball with heavy bore, two distinct breaking ball shapes and a changeup that flashes above-average. Sullivan ranked third in strikeouts per nine innings among pitchers with 20 or more innings of work, as he averaged 14 strikeouts per nine innings this summer. A big-bodied lefthander at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, Sullivan has the sort of natural size that should lead to more velocity. 

At present Sullivan works primarily off of three pitches, mixing a low-90s four-seam fastball, a low-80s slider with sweepy shape and a changeup at 82-84 mph that was the best pitch in his arsenal. He’ll also show a more vertical 12-6 curveball but primarily used his slider and changeup. With a higher three-quarters arm slot and the ability to generate above-average spin from his higher release, Sullivan gets an above-average amount of ride on the fastball. This allows him to succeed in the upper regions of the strike zone despite below-average velocity. The fastball did generate swings and misses with a 28% whiff rate and a 14% swinging strike rate this summer. While his fastball was an above-average pitch for Sullivan his slider and changeup flashed plus, particularly his changeup—which showed heavy tumble and fade. He generated swings and misses at an extremely high rate against the pitch with a 58% whiff rate and a 28% swinging strike rate. His sweepy slider played effectively as well as opposing batters hit .167/.265/.267 against his slider with a 41% whiff rate. 

Thanks to the combination of command of his arsenal and desirable pitch shapes in his fastball, slider and changeup, Sullivan is a name to monitor heading into next spring, as he could pitch his way into the day one conversation for the 2023 draft.

24. Alex Mooney, Falmouth Commodores, SS
Duke, 2023 Eligible 

No player in the Cape played with as much fire as Mooney, as he had only one gear at all times—full speed. He answered questions regarding his impact, slugging five home runs and seven doubles and showing the ability to make flush barrel contact. He displayed bat speed and the ability to track the ball out of the hand and get his barrel on-plane. While Mooney isn’t a burner he’s one of the most polished and instinctual baserunners you’ll see. 

Few hitters put together consistently good at-bats the way Mooney did this summer. It was clear that he approached each plate appearance with a plan and stuck to it depending on who he faced. He ambushed fastballs early and looked to put the ball in play, rarely striking out. He has a tendency to expand the zone, but his 77% contact rate puts into perspective the quality of his batted ball skills despite a 31% chase rate. Mooney is an excellent fastball hitter who hit .287/.368/.485 with five home runs against fastballs and an 85% contact rate. He struggled this summer against spin, batting just .206/.265/.238 against breaking balls. Some evaluators brought up questions about the stiffness of his hands and how that might translate to the pro level. Despite these concerns he hit well from start to finish, showing better impact with a wood bat than he had during his freshman spring. 

While Mooney has the athleticism and ability to make standout plays at shortstop he often played too fast which led to errors. He did show arm strength consistently but his accuracy at times needed work. Mooney is a strong enough athlete and defender that he might slide to either second or third base as a professional where he could be an average or better defender. 

25. Luke Shliger, Y-D Red Sox, C
Maryland, 2023 Eligible 

Shliger is a diminutive catcher with quick-twitch tendencies and good skills behind the plate. While Shliger lacks true home run power, he has bat speed and shoots the gaps incredibly well. It’s bat-to-ball skills, on-base ability and average or better defense that make Shliger’s skill set intriguing at the next level. Shliger made 27 starts for Yarmouth-Dennis and was elected to the Eastern Division All-Star Team before heading home for the summer. He hit .273 with a .412 on-base percentage with 16 walks and 18 strikeouts. 

Shliger’s offensive game is centered around his ability to control the zone and make contact against strikes. He works deep into counts and looks to shoot the gaps. While Shliger struggled against sliders, he can catch up to velocity and showed the ability to consistently make contact when he swung at changeups. He’s primarily a singles hitter, but he showed the ability to manipulate the barrel and hit a variety of pitches. While Shliger is diminutive in size it’s not out of the question that he could develop fringe-average game power with some added strength and a combination of barrel control and bat speed. 

Behind the plate Shliger showed good receiving skills and a comfort in the crouch that allowed him to move well behind the plate with smooth and twitchy movements. His arm was above-average, clocking multiple sub-1.95-second pop times, and he controlled the running game. He looked like he could handle the catching position long term with smooth movements and good catch-and-throw skills.

26. Teddy McGraw, Brewster Whitecaps, RHP
Wake Forest, 2023 Eligible 

One summer after making seven appearances for the 2021 CCBL champion Brewster, McGraw returned to make two starts early in the season prior to joining the Collegiate National Team. McGraw has big stuff, mixing a mid-90s sinking fastball, a sweeping slider and a changeup. McGraw just qualified for these rankings with 11 innings of work prior to heading off to join the Collegiate National Team. McGraw would likely rank higher on this list if he made a few more starts. 

McGraw combines a three-pitch mix of potential above-average or better offerings and at times maddening command. He mixes a pair of fastball variations in a four-seamer and two-seamer that he uses more frequently. He sits 93-96 mph, touching 97-98 mph at peak with heavy arm-side run and natural sink on his two-seamer. His fastball is a fringe-average bat-misser but a well above-average groundball driver. The pitch drives ground balls at a better than 60% rate and that held true in his two starts with Brewster. His slider is his best pitch overall, sitting 83-85 mph with over a foot of sweep with 2,800-3,000 rpm of raw spin. While his changeup is McGraw’s best bat-misser his slider is his best commanded pitch, as he landed it at a 66% rate during his two starts on the Cape. His changeup is a mid-80s offering with heavy arm-side run and tumble. He does a good job of killing lift on the pitch which allows it to play off of his two-seamer as it creates some vertical separation between the two. He’s still honing command of his changeup but it will flash plus when he turns over his best version of it. 

Overall McGraw has an arsenal built around driving ground balls with his fastball and swings and misses with his pair of heavy moving secondaries. He needs to take a step forward with the command of his fastball and changeup, but if he does that he has a realistic chance to start long term as a professional.  

27. Jay Driver, Hyannis Harbor Hawks, RHP
Harvard, 2023 Eligible  

The deceptive low-slot righthander plays the x-axis game with his pitch mix heavily reliant on horizontal movement. Driver was at first a bullpen ace for the Harbor Hawks before moving into a starter role late in the season. His 15.1 strikeouts per nine innings was the highest rate among Cape pitchers with 20 or more innings. A season after working exclusively as a reliever for Harvard, Driver showed he may have the stuff to make the jump to the rotation full-time this summer, as he was able to hold his stuff later into outings. 

Driver mixes a fastball at 92-94 mph with heavy horizontal movement, a sweepy slider at 81-84 mph and a changeup at 85-87 mph. His sidearm slot and whippy arm motion create heavy horizontal break on his pitches. This consistently made him a difficult at-bat, particularly against righthanders who don’t get a great look out of his hand. Righthanded batters hit .177/.227/.339 against Driver this summer across 66 plate appearances. He struggled at times to put away lefthanded hitters, and that’s partially due to inconsistent command of his changeup. If Driver can sharpen the command of the offspeed he has an opportunity to develop into a five-inning starter who racks up strikeouts. 

 

28. Ryan Lasko, Brewster Whitecaps, OF
Rutgers, 2023 Eligible 

Lasko did two tours of duty on the Cape and attended Collegiate National Team trials. While Lasko never hit for the type of impact that was expected of him, he played extremely well in center and hit .366/.461/.455 over the final 11 games of the season. He is considered by many to be one of the top players in the Big Ten and a potential day one pick next summer by some.

Despite pedestrian numbers at the plate this summer, Lasko showed bat-to-ball skills and an advanced approach. His discerning eye was his standout skill at the plate, as he chased pitches outside the zone just 18% of the time over the summer season. He showed the ability to hit velocity and put up strong contact numbers against fastballs, however, it was with limited damage. Against soft stuff Lasko struggled, particularly against sliders, as he hit just .161/.182/.194 with a 36% whiff rate. While he had better success against changeups, he had similar contact issues and was more prone to chasing when he saw offspeeds. He has an interesting setup in the box, as he stands nearly fully upright at the back of the righthanded batter’s box. He then deploys a large leg kick that sees him extend out toward the ball. When his timing is on and he lets the ball travel a little deeper you can see the power projection in his bat. The question some evaluators asked was how long he can utilize such a pronounced leg kick. Not only did he often get too far in front on contact, he also often put himself in a poor running position, which didn’t allow him to fully utilize his above-average speed underway. A standout defender in center field, Lasko was considered to be the best defensive outfielder in the league by a few evaluators who watched him. 

Lasko is a tooled-up player with spring performance to back up his pedigree, but improvements are needed against spin for him to be an impact player on both sides of the ball. 

29. Nolan Schanuel, Hyannis Harbor Hawks, 1B
Florida Atlantic, 2023 Eligible 

While Schanuel’s impact didn’t show up until the playoffs, he showed some of the best plate discipline in the league. He hit two home runs in the three-game series against Cotuit to help the Harbor Hawks advance to the Western Division final. Few players had worse luck on hard hit balls this summer than Schanuel, as he consistently showed a knack for the barrel. A talented hitter with a balance of contact, plate discipline and power, Schanuel has a chance to go later on day one or early on day two next summer. 

With one of the more unusual setups you’ll see, Schanuel employs a high-handed setup pre-pitch reminiscent of Eric Brown or Craig Counsell. At times the setup seemed to be a hindrance as Schanuel would seem to contact the ball a little late, forcing the ball to the opposite field. He did show pull-side ability on his hardest struck drives, however. His bad luck this summer at the plate cannot be understated as Schanuel had a strong contact rate of 83%, an impressive chase rate of 19% and strong exit velocity data. His batting average on balls in play was just .260 on the summer which is out of whack for a hitter with a high quality of contact and a high rate of line drives. He flashed his power late and has the ability to catch up to high fastballs due to the height of his load. His plate discipline was notable and among the best for Cape hitters this summer. He had an equal amount of strikeouts and walks, as well as chase rates under 20% against all pitch types. His eye and swing decisions are easily plus, a strong characteristic for a first baseman. Defensively, Schanuel handles first base well and shouldn’t have too many issues carrying the offensive requirement for the position.  

30. Ben Hess, Falmouth Commodores, RHP 
Alabama, 2024 Eligible 

The tall righthander made three starts for Falmouth in the early portion of the season, flashing swing-and-miss stuff. He mixed a four-seam fastball with ride and run, a changeup that flashed plus and two different breaking ball shapes. Hess has a strong set of foundational starter traits. Unfortunately, his tenure on the Cape was short, but he made an impression for those who saw him. Across his eight appearances Hess held opposing hitters to a .187/.289/.237 line over his 11 innings of work. He’s another pitcher who may have rated higher with a few more appearances on the Cape. 

Hess mixes four pitches but primarily uses his fastball and changeup. His fastball sits 92-94 mph, touching 96 mph at peak with good ride and run. His changeup was his best secondary with heavy tumble and fade sitting 83-84 mph with excellent vertical life and velocity separation off of his fastball. The pitch drove lots of swings and misses with nine misses on 20 total swings and just a single hit against it over 41 total pitches. He showed a curveball that flashed above-average with good depth that he commanded well. He generated whiffs against the pitch versus lefthanded and righthanded hitters and showed the ability to execute it to both sides of the plate. His slider was used infrequently and lacked the consistency in shape he had on his curveball. 

Hess moves fairly well on the mound with a quick, loose arm action. He mixes four pitches, three that showed consistently average or better, and commanded them across his appearances with Falmouth. He’s an up-arrow name to file away in the 2024 draft class. 

31. Levi Wells, Falmouth Commodores, RHP
Texas State, 2023 Eligible 

Wells spent his freshman year at Texas Tech before transferring to Texas State last summer. It proved to be a good move, as the righthander was a standout this spring for a Texas State team that made a regional, going 8-3 with a 3.07 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 86 strikeouts to 32 walks over 91 innings. He returned to Falmouth this summer after making 10 appearances for the Commodores last summer and flashing loud swing-and-miss stuff. In many ways the 2022 summer season was a facsimile of his 2021 summer, as he made 10 appearances and pitched 17.1 innings while showing the ability to miss bats out of the bullpen at a higher rate. 

Wells has shown some of the loudest stuff on the Cape for two summers running, with velocity, high spin rates on his three main offerings and good movement on all of his pitches. His fastball sits 92-94 mph, touching 95 mph with spin rates in the 2,400-2,600 rpm range and above-average ride with some late cut. Cape hitters struggled mightily against his fastball, hitting just .206/.325/.324 with an 18% swinging strike rate against the pitch. This is impressive on its face, but even more impressive when you consider his fastball saw 60% of his pitch usage this summer, meaning hitters knew it was coming and still did little damage against it. Wells’ secondary pitches consist of two breaking balls in a slider at 83-85 mph and a curveball at 80-82 mph with tremendous depth. His slider sits low-to-mid 80s with 2,600-2,700 rpm of raw spin that generates some sweep and ride. It was the least used of Wells’ three primary offerings but showed the ability to generate whiffs (50% rate) and ground balls (71%) over the course of the summer. His curveball was his go-to breaking ball, as it sat in the low 80s with raw spin rates between 2,800-2,900 rpm and depth with heavy two-plane break. While the curveball was the worst bat-missing pitch of Wells’ primary pitches, generating whiffs at just a 25% rate, he drove weak groundball contact consistently against the pitch, with a groundball rate of 70%. 

Overall, Wells has a pitch mix with power, spin, movement and the ability to drive whiffs and groundball outs. It’s a strong skill set that could play in a variety of roles. The one lingering question is Wells’ ability to control the baseball as his strike-throwing has been fringy throughout his college career.

32. Alejandro Rosario, Hyannis Harbor Hawks, RHP
Miami, 2023 Eligible 

Rosario made three appearances for Hyannis in 2022 and performed at a level we have yet to see from him during his collegiate career. Rosario took a step forward with the command of his three-pitch mix and bat-missing ability while driving ground balls at a high rate. If Rosario’s command gains hold next spring he could be one of the more intriguing pro prospects in the 2023 college pitching class. 

Stuff has never been a problem for Rosario. Dating back to his days as a highly decorated prep pitcher he’s always shown remarkable power for his size. His four-seam fastball still has plenty of power, sitting low-to-mid 90s and touching 96-97 mph at peak. The pitch, beyond its above-average velocity, has late cut that gives it an explosive look as it enters the zone. His command of the pitch this summer was still hit or miss. For example, Rosario showed a strong ability to command it to his glove side but a lack of feel for it to his arm side. As far as the numbers go it didn’t impact his strike-throwing, as he boasted a 70% strike rate over his 10 innings of work. However, due to the small sample size the numbers mask some present concerns. 

Rosario has two secondaries that flashed average or better with an upper-80s changeup with dynamic arm-side run and late tumble and a mid-80s slider with cutter hybrid shape. The changeup was the better of the two pitches, as batters were consistently fooled, not only swinging and missing but fouling off weak contact. Rosario will double-up on the changeup the second time through the order and isn’t scared to use it in right-on-right matchups. His slider is more inconsistent in terms of shape as he’ll show the ability to sweep it a little more or give it a harder cutter shape. While the metrics around its movement aren’t eye-popping, he does throw it hard and has been able to get it up to 88 mph. It’s all a matter of Rosario commanding his fastball and slider well enough to not put himself into jams. In a trio of Cape Cod League appearances he showed he may still have the ability to do that. 

33. Homer Bush Jr., Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, OF
Grand Canyon, 2023 Eligible 

A tall, projectable athlete with more physical strength to come, Bush showed average bat-to-ball skills and plus speed that puts pressure on the defense. There’s not much impact at present but Bush could develop into average game power as he matures. He’s a good center fielder who makes good reads off the bat and can cover plenty of ground in center. He’s long-limbed at 6-foot-3 and is still growing into his frame, but is loose and athletic in all of his movements.

At present Bush’s game is centered around above-average defense and bat-to-ball skills. He’s an aggressive swinger who does like to chase pitches outside the zone, but his above-average bat-to-ball skills and above-average plate coverage allow him to make this approach work. He’s a twitchy athlete and does everything in a loose and easy fashion. His swing is linear and it leads to a tremendous amount of groundball contact. He has the speed to make it work, but with his large projectable frame he’s likely a swing-change candidate at some point as a professional. When it comes to scouting an athlete, few stood out more than Bush.