Crack of the Bat
by Patrick Ebert
Cream of the Cape
Another summer season on the Cape has come and gone, with the Chatham A's, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, the Falmouth Commodores and the Bourne Braves advancing to the Cape Cod League playoffs. Yarmouth-Dennis has sat atop PG Crosschecker's Summer 16, finishing the regular season first in batting and second in pitching, and are the favorite to once again take home the championship trophy, which would be their second consecutive championhip and third in four years.
All of the summer collegiate leagues give college players an excellent opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the nation while using a wood bat, which is a very similar opportunity high school players are given through Perfect Game showcase and tournament events. Like showcase events, these summer leagues always seem to produce a player or two that makes the most of his opportunity to squarely put himself at the top of scout's follow lists.
That player this year is Conor Gillaspie, a third baseman fromWichita State who played for Falmouth this summer. Gillaspie's season was very similar to Evan Longoria's two years ago, in that both players were good offensive performers, but I don't think anyone expected either one of them to explode on the Cape using the wood bat the way they did. Longoria of course became the third overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2006 draft, and has already soared to AAA hitting for average and impressive power at every stop.
Longoria was named the MVP of the 2005 Cape season by leading the league in slugging (.500) home runs ( 8 ) and RBI (35), while also finishing tied for first in extra-base hits and third in hits.
Gillaspie finds his name sitting at the top of similar offensive categories, leading the league this summer in batting (.345) slugging (.691), and extra-base hits (21) while finishing second in on-base percentage (.448), tied for second in doubles (12) and finishing third in home runs (7).
Again, it's not like Gillaspie came out of nowhere, as he has enjoyed two very productive seasons at Wichita State and a nice summer playing for the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California League a summer ago.
Physically, you wouldn't expect him to have the kind of offensive dominance that he had. With athletic yet lean proportions, Gillaspie employs a simple approach at the plate in which he's looking to drive the ball wherever he’s pitched. He gets good extension with his long arms, and has solid bat speed.
Gillaspie is poised to be named the league's MVP, no matter what happens during the playoffs, and has also improved his stock tremendously as he looks forward to his junior year and the 2008 draft.
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