Cape Cod League Hot Sheet Week 4

2. Cameron Smith, 3B, Florida State

Team: Hyannis Harbor Hawks

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .455/.520/.682, (10-for-22), 7 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SO,

The Scoop: Smith last week continued his hot hitting, adding 10 more knocks to his name. Most notably, he turned in back-to-back three-hit performances against Wareham and Bourne, respectively. While freshmen sometimes struggle mightily on the Cape, Smith is a rare case of a player who has hit his stride. His approach has improved drastically, and he is hitting .323 with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs and 12 RBIs. It is still rather early, but the freshman third baseman is squarely in the MVP race. (PF)

3. Kade Snell, 1B, Alabama

Team: Falmouth Commodores

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .412/.477/.529, (7-for-17), 1 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, SB (1-for-1) 

The Scoop: Falmouth has been on a hot streak the last few weeks, as it’s 8-2 over its last 10 games, including winning four in a row entering Thursday. While Travis Bazzana has been a large part of that, Snell has been an important contributor as well. He’s reached base in all 12 games he’s played in, while stringing together a nine-game hitting streak. Snell had four consecutive multi-hit games last week—the incoming Alabama transfer hit .356/.453/.511 over a dozen games with the Commodores. (GP) 

4. Zach Voelker, RHP, Iowa

Team: Hyannis Harbor Hawks

Age: 22

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: After getting touched up a bit in his previous start, Voelker bounced back in a big way as he fired five shutout, hitless innings with six strikeouts in a resounding 9-1 win over Wareham. The Iowa righthander is lauded for his ability to spin the baseball and generate soft contact, two things he excelled at on July 9. He was able to land each of his breaking balls for strikes and located his fastball to all four quadrants of the strike zone. As a result, Voelker’s ERA plummeted to 4.76 and in 11.1 innings pitched he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 12-to-4. (PF)

5. Josh Bostick, RHP, Grayson County JC

Team: Harwich Mariners

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Drafted in the eighth round out of Grayson County (Texas) JC, Bostick enjoyed his final week on the Cape. Bostick tossed a gem in his final Cape start against Orleans, allowing four hits and no runs while striking out seven of the 23 batters he faced over six innings. Bostick mixes a mid-90s fastball with a tight slider that generated some of the best results among juco pitchers in 2023. (GP) 

6.  Devin Obee, OF, Duke

Team: Harwich Mariners

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .333/.400/.667, (6-for-18), 3 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 5 SO

The scoop: At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds Obee is one of the more physical players in the league. He had the best week of his Cape stint, belting two home runs and driving in eight. Obee’s biggest swing of the season came on July 9 against Chatham, as he blasted a first-inning grand slam that proved to be the difference-maker in Harwich’s 7-6 victory. The biggest key for Obee going forward will be the continued refinement of his approach and cutting down on the swing-and-miss. This season he is hitting a respectable .258 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. (PF) 

7. Brady Afthim, RHP, Connecticut

Team: Bourne Braves

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR, 1 SV 

The scoop: The UConn righthander is a Maine native who’s been a critical part of the Braves’ bullpen this summer. Last week Afthim tossed three scoreless outings for Bourne, spanning six total innings. He struck out three and four batters, respectively, in his appearances on July 1 and July 6. Afthim mixes a low-90s fastball with a pair of breaking ball shapes in the 70s and a changeup. (GP) 

8. James Tibbs, OF, Florida State

Team: Brewster Whitecaps

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .360/.429/.640, (9-for-25), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SO, SB (0-for-0)

The scoop: The Florida State outfielder has a hit in eight of his last nine games and started last week with a home run in consecutive games. He had three multi-hit games in week four and raised his summer line to .261/.353/.443 with four doubles and four home runs over 26 games. The slugging outfielder is draft eligible for 2024 and hit .339/.471/.682 with 17 home runs this spring with the Seminoles. He has a good chance of hitting his way into the Cape Cod League All-Star Game with another strong week. (GP) 

9. Will King, C, Eastern Kentucky

Team: Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox

Age: 19

Why He’s Here: .571/.625/.571, (8-for-14), 2 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO, SB (1-for-2)

The scoop: Before being selected by the Braves in the 20th round early this week, King celebrated his final week as an amateur in style. The catcher went 8-for-14 as he collected three hits in two of his final four games with Yarmouth-Dennis. Draft eligible at 19, King’s final line with Yarmouth-Dennis after 21 games this summer was .354/.391/.415 with two extra base hits. The 5-foot-9 King is reminiscent of another undersized breakout Cape performer in the Red Sox’s Chase Meidroth. (GP) 

10. Tristan Smith, LHP, Clemson

Team: Bourne Braves 

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: The freshman lefthander on Monday twirled what was the best start of his collegiate career to this point, as he struck out eight and walked none across a career-high five shutout innings. Smith relied heavily on his explosive fastball, a pitch he threw 79% of the time and got a whopping 11 swings and misses with. Although its usage was limited, Smith’s slider flashed above-average with ample horizontal movement. On the season he has a 3.00 ERA with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 13-to-2 across nine innings pitched. (PF) 

11. Ryan Fischer, RHP, North Carolina 

Team: Bourne Braves 

Age: 22 

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Fischer was outstanding in his start against Harwich, spinning six shutout innings in which he allowed only two hits, struck out seven and walked one. Fischer relied heavily on his plus slider, a pitch that generated 12 swings and misses. The recent North Carolina commit has been one of the more consistent arms in the league, and across 15 innings has a 2.40 ERA with 17 strikeouts and four walks. He projects to anchor the Bourne rotation as we head into the later part of the season and into the playoffs.  (PF) 

12. Camron Hill, LHP, Georgia Tech

Team: Cotuit Kettleers

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Hill has been one of the best pitchers in the league this summer, and on July 7 he continued his magnificent season with five shutout innings against Hyannis in which he notched five strikeouts and surrendered just two hits. The imposing 6-foot-6 southpaw ran his fastball up to 95 mph, an offering he supplemented with a sweeping slider that flashed plus. The continued development of a third pitch will go a long way for Hill, and for the summer he has a minuscule 0.43 ERA with 28 strikeouts across 20.2 innings pitched. (PF)