As promised in my last article, I come back this week to deliver some of the top performers that were seen on the Cape this year. To clear any confusion that may develop, some of the guys that you see below I would even classify as dudes that could’ve been in the last article of the best dudes and talent overall in the league like Aiva Arquette and vice versa as many of guys in the last article were the headliners and statistical leaders of the summer.
Nonetheless, the dudes last time around are guys that I feel very confident that they will end up getting their name called on the first day and have little risk of falling out of the first round and CB-A unless drastic measures occur. This week, there are guys that caught fire this year in some capacity and really turned it on where they could develop the rumblings of being drafted early.
As mentioned in last week’s article, the pitching on the Cape this year was underwhelming, and thus again, this week we are shut out with arms that really grabbed attention. I will highlight some of the pitchers who did well and have some early draft upside on a later day. However, the position players again take the prize of being recognized this week and I’m excited to highlight a backstop that has garnered attention during the 2024 baseball calendar (When given the opportunity to highlight catcher’s I love to give that attention as many get overlooked for the flashy web-gem play’s and flamethrowing arms in the sport.).
Below are five dudes that I saw on the Cape that developed some breakout performances and numbers over the summer where they proved they belong to be mentioned with the top college dudes eligible in next year's draft. Many of these guys showed some struggles or absences sometime during their first two seasons of college baseball but developed helium strides with a good 2024 college season and Cape this summer.
| INF Aiva Arquette | Oregon St. | Draft Eligible: 2025 |
Cape Numbers: .291/.357/.437 (.794), 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 15 R, 2 SB, 8 BB, 28 K (23.9%)
Switz’s Notes: Last time before publishing the first Cape article, I went back and forth if I wanted to add Arquette. However, I wanted to keep a five-prospect structure to my article series and omitted him. Nevertheless, he easily could've been added to the "Best of the Best" as he grabbed the eyes of anyone who attended Chatham games over the summer, from his 6 '4 size at short to his ability to make an impact on nearly every play, which led to an easy All-Star selection in the middle of July that was rightfully deserved.
When evaluating draft prospects and heading into each July, I love it when the industry has the ability to highlight an individual coming out of the island(s) of Hawaii as they rightly deserve more recognition and a spotlight that doesn't come their way. This is the same case for a guy like Arquette, who came off the island as a toolsy prospect and now is making a name for himself on the West Coast after a robust performance this summer that grabbed the attention of all college baseball and headlined many transfer portal big boards. This ushers him with the ability and potential argument to be the best college position player in next year's draft and even the highest Hawaiian ever drafted during the annual Rule 4 Draft in MLB history.
Arquette manned the middle of the order during his tenure with Washington before jumping to Oregon State and played second base for the Huskies. While he excelled up the middle at second, over the summer, he proved that moving forward he should be on the left side of the dirt as he was one of the best defensive shortstops seen by scouts over the summer on the Cape. Many scouts, evaluators, and talking baseball heads on the internet go back and forth with where Arquette’s long-term position is at the pro level: whether he stays at short or moves over to third base to match his lengthy size and arm strength. Which I do agree that either third base or even right field would match his profile better. However, he showed me enough over the summer that he could play shortstop and would take an elite SS defender to move him off the position for me to relocate him on the diamond.
When seeing these talks about Arquette moving to the corner or even the outfield, it gives me flashback vibes when they told Carlos Correa coming out of high school and even Troy Tulowitzki coming out of Long Beach that due to the length at the six-hole, they would not be able to play shortstop at the next level. However, even as tall players for the position, they showed their athleticism and defensive prowess to stay up the middle at shortstop and evolve into a cornerstone franchise player at the premium position, a pattern Arquette could follow.
Outside of displaying his abilities on the dirt, Arquette also balled out with the bat and showed that he can impact the game in many ways regardless of how the coach constructs their lineup by exhibiting RBI producer traits and XBHs at the dish (In 22 games generated 45 total bases and 21 RBIs which was T12 in the league). Further, a standout tool that sells me on Arquette for the next level is a data drop highlighted and outlined by former Prospects Live Analyst Joe Doyle below of Aiva's ability to hit the ball hard in the zone consistently within the same past precedence as many top draft selections and prospects have. This trait of Arquette's was very apparent on the Cape, and he further displayed a unique skill from over the spring: hardly chasing and whiffing in the zone. In my opinion, these traits are substantial reasons for the helium that you will see out of Arquette in the next calendar year going into the 2025 draft. If he has a monster 2025 where he can consistently lift the ball more and see further development within his raw pop, he can become a top 10 selection in July.
Additionally, Arquette has a true gift on the diamond and plays the game uniquely, so it is hard to give him a true MLB comp. He plays very lanky and athletic, which makes me want to compare him to the Cruz's in the NL Central; however, they are true unicorns of the game with far better tools and athleticism than Arquette. At times, he gives Brandon Crawford-like vibes at SS, with his defense standing out, but I believe Arquette's power potential and offensive production will surpass Crawford when he truly develops on his raw power. So, for the readers, the best MLB comp I can give Arquette that I have thought of is him developing into a Troy Tulowizki-like dude, as I mentioned multiple times in my report. Two dudes that coming out of the draft, have an MLB-ready body and have all the tools that will be close to big league-ready when drafted (Tulo came up 14 months after he was drafted, and I can see Arquette following the same path if he has a monster spring as everything seems to come to him quickly within the game of baseball). Both are good defenders with a sound internal clock and the game doesn't get too fast for them. However, despite their good athleticism on the dirt and strong arm, they will likely be labeled offensive SS at the next level due to their RBI production and HR potential.
Overall, the Hawaiian sold me on the product he is selling, which has upside bat-to-ball skills with all field contact, emerging robust pop, and defense/athleticism to stay at the premium six on the diamond. Not to sound like a true homer on the guy, but he is currently number one on my preferred list and 2025 draft big board going into fall ball and displays to me potential five-tool and annual All-Star upside. The sky's the limit for this dude and going into a draft where there seems to be lots of swing-and-miss in many draft profiles, I would bet on his in-zone contact, bat-to-ball skills, and athleticism over anyone else if I were an amateur scouting director. He should be an exciting draft prospect for the 2025 draft for us to watch next spring and follow moving forward.
| OF/INF RJ Austin | Vanderbilt | Draft Eligible: 2025 |
Cape Numbers: .321/.361/.536 (.896), 6 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 10 R, 6 SB, 3 BB, 12 K (19.3%)
*Played in only 15 contests
Switz’s Notes: Austin was a late arrival on the Cape this summer after starting his summer campaign with Team USA in Cary. However, the former big-time prep star who passed on the opportunity of getting his name called in 2022 to go to Vandy made some noise over the summer by showing his athleticism more than the first base landlock that he was given over the spring and further displaying more soundness in his bat by hitting over .300, spraying hard contact everywhere. Anyone who watches Austin play sees the tools and high baseball IQ upside that he brings to the table for a pro team if selected. During the summer, Austin even showed some of his developing pop in his game with triple-digit EVs for XBHs. He even exhibited pull-side power to touch all the bases periodically in the summer without needing the turbo footspeed he provides. After back-to-back years on the Cape, exhibiting quality results with the wood, further indicates that outside of getting one of the best athletes in the draft, he has a quality hit tool that appears to get discounted at times. Austin further proved outside chatter wrong on the substantial question mark he had coming out of high school regarding his hitting/contact abilities.
In the box, since coming to Vandy, he has changed his approach and has consistently tinkered with many things during ABs. The first thing that usually stands out within Austin is that he added more uphillness in his swing to tap into more XBH and HR pop. He’s also shuffled around, incorporating bigger leg kicks for better timing, lowering his hands, being a little more open, taking bigger strides, etc. He has shown the desire to improve his game and become the best version of himself at the plate possible and uses his time on the Cape to practice these in live AB settings. Seeing these things come together matched with his player profile and work ethic; this clicked the idea in my head of his player comp being similar to Ketel Marte (I know he is a switch-hitter; however, he didn’t hit double-digit HRs until he made changes to his swings) as he was a dude that went down the same path of a toolsy athlete, always looking to hit, and flashes the leather on occasion that makes being on the field for defense look easy. However, to be a more desirable and well-rounded ballplayer, they needed to tap more into their pop and produce HRs, which Marte did and has become a cornerstone player for Arizona.
Many of you may be asking and reading all this word salad, "ok why are you bringing this up?". I bring this to the limelight because after watching RJ's game over the summer and getting an eye on his metrics, it seems like Austin is getting towards the end of the road with his tinkering needed to be able to produce the necessary pop that Marte needed to break out at a young age as Austin is learning to simplify it down more at the plate, trust his core rotation, and getting more out of his energy from his back hip to drive the baseball deeper than before. With everything that Austin has worked on over the last two years with the Red Sox on the Cape and back in Nashville, and to quote that annoying Costco guy from TikTok, I think we are going to see either a big "boom or doom" season for Austin in a similar light as Mike Sirtoa in the 2023-2024 calendar where it is a strong contact numbers hitter with toolsy traits and athleticism that is trying to maximize themselves as a ballplayer for the next level by tinkering at the plate to see if they can summon more pop and HR production into their game. For Sirota, it didn't work out during the spring before the draft, and he fell from a potential top-15 player in the draft to the third round. I like Austin's chances a lot more than Sirota's due to his metrics and mechanics at the plate, which align more for the long ball than Sirota's, as he displayed more line drive pop than uphill-ness for the long ball.
Overall, going into this spring and next year's draft, Austin is going to be a violent, high-risk, and high-reward prospect that is hard for anyone to project for July. Since he was an HS prospect, Austin has always had the speed, athleticism, competitive instinct, and makeup for the next level. However, it was always about projecting what the hit tool and future value of the bat can provide. For Austin, after two years in college and on the Cape, it can be shown that he has the contact tool for the next level and the ingredients to be an everyday start for the pro level. However, the ability to tap into his HR pop within his elevation approach will be a deciding factor for his longevity in professional baseball. A strong spring that shows the pop that I expect should place him somewhere within that first round with college arms, last-minute helium guys, and the HS crop possibly passing him up. If he produces a season where the pop isn't made and doesn't align with the hard contact displayed over the 2024 calendar year, then a fall into early day two is possible like it did for Mike Sirota. Regardless of how the pop plays out, Austin has substantial contact tools for the next level and should hold his own even during this launch angle era baseball is currently in.
| 3B Trent Caraway | Oregon St. | Draft Eligible: 2025 |
Cape Numbers: .276/.362/.449 (.811), 5 2B, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 17 R, 5 SB, 13 BB, 21 K (18.1%)
Switz’s Notes: Another Beaver from Oregon St makes this list of top performers from the summer on the Cape. Rewinding to the 2023 season, Caraway was one of the big surprises from that prep class who decided to take his talents to college over being selected in the draft (even with his mature athletic traits and advances in the box). He was a prospect and incoming freshman that many in the Pac-12 were excited to see play over the spring; however, his season was shortened to 18 games due to an injury with a broken finger. During his time over the spring and summer, he showed flashes with the bat by consistently producing hard contact and video game-like exit velocities. However, the ability to deliver these hard contact hits into HRs and XBHs is where he needs to pick up his game with little results so far and show more production versus movement outside of having the ability to bang FBs all over the park when pitched middle-middle. A consistent issue seen over his time on the Cape was him falling into being a victim of GDP (ground into double plays) due to his undesirable knack of hitting ground balls and not getting enough loft on the ball when hitting spin (an issue that carried over from the spring into his time with Falmouth).
Due to these tendencies, many teams picked this up in their advanced scouting reports in the league and started to pitch more spin and movement when he was at the dish down the stretch this summer. Even returning to his short stint in the spring, he produced a nasty 53% groundball rate. Over the summer, I believe he toiled on this issue and emphasized ironing out these issues seen in spring 2024 and minimizing them going into spring 2025 by displaying more line drive contact later on the Cape season. The issue I would like to see more from him in the spring is the ability to hit spin and give the Beaver fans what they want and for him to be productive.
Regardless, I believe he has the tools and ability to turn all this around and take his rough 2024 baseball campaign and flip it 180 degrees in 2025, as before the injury struck him, he was a force to be reckoned with at the plate and was a front runner to be Freshman of the Year in his conference. Further, I see him getting some minor stuff worked out in the box where he can tap into the power for production more often and become a powerful home run hitter. He has smooth and fluid operation in the box, which I love in his game, and he has very polished movements and mechanics.
On the defensive side of the ball, he did show some struggles with Falmouth on the left side of the dirt, which even led to the point that he got benched for a game for his mistakes. At the pro level and the end of the road for Caraway, I think teams will have him match the power profile he delivers and move to 1st base with him putting more emphasis and energy into his offensive side of the ball. With him being a former high school prospect who was highly desired coming out of school, I think the floor is high for him going into the draft. A good season at the dish could skyrocket him into the first half of Day 1. However, I do not see him falling out of the top 50 - 60 unless some significant red flags or college influence motivates him to stay (cough….cough…NIL). A healthy Caraway next spring should be an exciting show to watch, and I believe that with the potent lineup that the Beavers will have, he should be able to carve a significant role at the plate with many RBI-producing opportunities and be a highly talked-about name in scouting circles.
| OF Brandon Compton | Arizona St. | Draft Eligible: 2025 |
Cape Numbers: .331/.414/.489 (.903), 3 2B, 6 HR, 30 RBI, 26 R, 2 SB, 21 BB, 26K (16.6%)
Switz’s Notes: If you ask who took the opportunity to grab the "brass rings" during the 2023 - 2024 college baseball calendar, many would answer Charlie Condon, Hagen Smith; some might answer Braden Montgomery or even Christian Moore. However, I would answer with Brandon Compton!
Compton was an under-the-radar two-way prospect who worked his way to Tempe over the summer of 2022 with the Sun Devils coaching staff with big expectations for him even with being ranked outside of the top 300 on PBR and not even given a grade on Perfect game as the coaching staff saw something in his game. Compton missed his true freshman season in 2023 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, which regulated him to being a bat-only profile. Thus, he came back into the fold for the Sun Devils in the last year of the traditional Pac-12 conference and blew the doors off the competition at the dish, leading him to take the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year award as a redshirt. After a strong spring for ASU, he continued his monster 2024 campaign by being a consistent offensive key for the Kettleers this summer, producing an impressive slash line of .331/.414/.489 and creating his own spotlight within the Cotuit lineup with eventual first-round talent Devin Taylor. Compton did have the opportunity last summer to get some reps within the Northwoods League. There, he first displayed that his bat isn't a joke with the wood by hammering .320/.423/.563 with 21 long balls and 71 RBIs (maybe one of the best productive seasons you may ever find from a college summer ball player).
However, even with the impressive resume in the last calendar year, during his time on the Cape, and even going into next spring, Compton has some stuff to clean up offensively to remain a coveted prospect and continue the hype he has created in his 2024 breakout. First, he strikes out way too much (near a 25% clip) and needs to get that down (as most of his K's come from whiffs and chase on movement/offspeed). On the Cape, he helped himself by only striking out 16.5% in a small summer sample size, but he still has that chip on his shoulder from scouts that he needs to prove more versus movement. Which I get from a scout's perspective that with Compton only really providing an offensive profile with him being an underwhelming defender; they really need to make sure (some would add the pun and say "hit it out of the park") that the offensive profile will play for the next level. Next, having the ability to draw walks is a key ability that Compton needs to improve on after producing a BB rate of 10.8% last spring and roughly 13.3% on the Cape. When you go back and look at some of the best hitters coming out of college and getting selected early on Day 1 of the draft, most, if not all, have the ability to draw walks; a surge in this department next spring will boost his stock and value for next July.
Over on Baseball America, former Prospects Live analyst and founder Geoff Pontes made a great comparison between Brandon Compton and recent first-round draft pick James Tibbs III, which is a great comp to have on the Sun Devil prospect currently. Many evaluators and scouts projected Tibbs mainly as an offensive profile player in college. Similarly, he had below-average defense, some swing-and-miss within his younger years (needed to lower his K%), and needed to display a boost in his walk rates to get his respectable draft stock up.
Thus, going into his draft-eligible season, Tibbs went to work. During his junior year at FSU and during his time within the Cape for Brewster the summer prior, he continued to impress with his contact tools and loud power potential, and it showed statistically. Coming off his freshman season into his upperclass years, he steadily climbed in home runs, WRC+, OPS, and batting average to finish his three-year college career. Tibbs ended college, lowering his K% to roughly 10% and boosting a respectable 18% BB rate to be selected in the first round.
Granted, Tibbs did this in three years at FSU, and Compton just came off his first year of college ball healthy. However, for Compton to garner that first-round status that Tibbs achieved going into his first draft-eligible college season, he will need to build off his freshman year and grow/develop further as a hitter Tibbs did. The helium is there for Compton, who is no longer in the shadows as an unknown hitter. The attention is now on him, and if he wants to get his name called on Day 1 next July, he will need to iron out his weakness and provide a substantial offensive performance next spring. As of right now, I like him within the latter half of the top 100 prospects when you factor in the HS dudes and I presently see him as an early day two prospect within the second or third round (picks if selected, may be too tempting for him to pass regarding the offered pool even with another two years of eligibility remaining).
| C Easton Carmichael | Oklahoma | Draft Eligible: 2025 |
Cape Numbers: .299/.372/.496 (.868), 10 2B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 22 R, 6 SB,13 BB, 26K (17.8%)
Switz’s Notes: An emerging offensive star out of Oklahoma who bears a keen eye and impressive ability to make contact to all fields at the plate. Carmichael carried that success from back-to-back springs in the Big-12 onto the Cape this summer and continued to display his bat-to-ball skills in front of MLB scouts. I believe the bat can play for the next level, and it is the best tool at his disposal. It should translate to solid contact and batting average production in the pros. He’s improved as a hitter every spring by lowering his K% and gradually improving the free passes. The Cape gave him a different feel and level of competition this summer, yet he held his own. However, there really isn’t any future value regarding the power and home run department in his profile, which hurts him in many phases of the game (especially with him making a possible move to 1st base) and looks to be more of a hard contact doubles hitter that could sneak some pop over the wall in smaller ballparks. Advanced metrics and analytical teams that value ballpark factors in their amateur evaluation and roster construction process may roll the dice of putting him in the lineup and trusting he can muster the pop needed for run production (similar to how the Reds implemented Kyle Farmer in their infielder with his hard contact abilities and RBI producing upside. An example I used in my report of giving him a Kyle Farmer power comp.).
That said, Carmichael needs to make further strides behind the dish to become a better catcher for the next level and match his bat profile. When watching Carmichael, he is proficient at the advanced traits and skills behind the dish teams desire (framing and blocking) and shows some strain in the fundamental level tasks (arm strength and receiving). I do believe there's time for him to be able to fix these issues, as we have seen other household college catchers who have gone pro having the same issues (Ex. Zach Collins, 1st round White Sox 2016). Thus, it gives me the feeling that if he goes to a team that has a strong player development and catching development program, he can develop into being a catcher at the major league level that had athletic traits but some warts in their game behind the dish like the example from my report of Lucroy, coming out of the draft and through development.
The only red flag in Carmichael's game going into the spring that worries me that he cannot control is where he is played when the lineup card is turned in and is a point of emphasis during fall ball that will control his destiny for the spring. Over the summer for YD, in most of the games I saw with Carmichael, he was either chicken scratched in at DH or first base for the Red Sox. Last spring, Oklahoma used him primarily as a DH in their lineup down the stretch (roughly 64% of contests in the 2024 spring) due to his inability to control the running game and weaker arm strength. If college and summer ball coaches are already emphasizing moving him off catcher for the next level, it doesn't give a good sign of confidence that scouts and minor league staff will give him a chance behind the dish. Nonetheless, suppose Carmichael takes the reins in fall ball to establish himself as "the catcher" for the Sooners in 2025. In that case, he has a decent shot at staying behind the dish for the early beginnings of his pro-level career (especially with this next year's catching class looking more top-heavy than depth). If Carmichael creates mystery, loses the battle, or creates platoon work behind the dish for 2025 and gets regulated back to DH/1B duties. Then, it wouldn't give strong signs for him going into next year's draft without some further power established in his game.
Next time I’ll have full reports and notes on some of the guys that grabbed my eye over the summer on the Cape that little are talking about.
