Entering 2026 with a ton of brand new faces, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox look to repeat last year's success on the mound. Y-D strung together high-level pitching performances to reach the 2025 CCBL World Series. In four of the first five postseason games, Y-D's pitching staff allowed one earned run or fewer, winning all four of those contests. Its season came to a halt with a 19-2 loss in Game 2 of the World Series, but in 2026, Y-D seeks to hoist the Arnold Mycock Trophy behind a pitching staff loaded with talent.
Right-Handers
The winningest manager in the CCBL, Scott Pickler, returns for his 28th season at the helm of Y-D and has a plethora of right-handed arms at his disposal to start the summer. Here’s some flamethrowers to look out for.
Danny Nelson is one of Y-D's most intriguing young pitchers entering the summer and showed major strides of improvement throughout his freshman season at Clemson. The Hershey, Pa. native struggled early on with the Tigers, yet Nelson flourished in the last six weeks of ACC play. Nelson was ranked the 103rd-best freshman in the conference during the preseason; not only did his play far exceed that ranking, but his 2.65 ERA in his last nine appearances led him to be named an All-ACC Freshman — one of 12 players to receive the honor. Nelson has a great opportunity with Y-D to carry the superb back-half of his freshman season around the Cape.
After limited appearances in 2025, Easton Teel became an ace for Oral Roberts this spring, leading the pitching staff in multiple statistical categories, including strikeouts. Teel has a sub-three ERA across two seasons with the Golden Eagles and was named to the All-Summit First Team in 2026. Y-D will rely on Teel to stretch out his appearances, as the sophomore went six-plus innings in half of his outings this spring.
Hunter Watkins, one of Y-D's beloved returning players, was a core piece of the team's championship run last year. If he can come anywhere close to replicating his 1.96 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in four starts from 2025, Watkins has the potential to be a major factor in Y-D's rotation. Although missing all of the 2026 collegiate season with Oklahoma State, Watkins is already in Yarmouth and looks to bring a trophy to Red Wilson Field.
Y-D’s opening day pitching staff features several reliable arms, and Taylor Penn sits at the top of that list. Following solid seasons at both Western Kentucky and in the Northwoods League last year, Penn made a big decision, transferring across the country to Arizona State, and it paid off. The sophomore made 22 appearances, going 6-0 with a 3.45 ERA. More importantly for Y-D, Penn left over 85 percent of his own runners on base — good for top 10 among the nation’s qualified pitchers. Penn’s fastball sits around 92 mph, but his kick change in the low 80’s is what scouts rave about.
Zach Russell had a breakout year for the University of South Carolina in 2026 and looks to establish himself as a premier setup man in the Cape. Last season with the Gamecocks, Russell had trouble finding the zone at times, but this year was a whole different ballgame for the South Carolina native. His ERA dipped to 3.26 in an expanded role, and he induced 24 more groundouts than last year. Russell, along with several other right-handers, gives Y-D another reliable late-game arm.
Left-Handers
The incoming southpaws will bring a ton of swing-and-miss stuff to Y-D, as the five lefties averaged 10.0 K/9 this college season. They also did an excellent job limiting power, allowing just 0.7 home runs per nine innings.
Pickler could use Andrew Wright in a closing role, who struck out 50 batters in just 35.1 innings at Cal State Fullerton this year. The junior was named to the All-Big West Second Team, posting a 3.86 ERA with five saves, and helped the Titans reach their conference championship despite being the fifth seed.
Y-D has two freshman lefties in Brock Ketelsen and Cooper Underwood, who both flashed their star potential this college season. Ketelsen is a 6-foot-4 two-way player for Stanford who recorded multiple scoreless outings against ACC opponents and was a top-100 player coming out of high school by Perfect Game.
The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Underwood in the 12th round out of high school, but the Acton, Ga. native chose to stay close to home and play for Georgia Tech. Underwood made six starts before moving to a relief role in his first season with the Yellow Jackets, and his two longest outings of four and five innings came without allowing a hit.
Not many SEC relievers were limiting damage as much as Logan Prisco, who let up only five extra-base hits in nearly 29 innings of work for South Carolina as a sophomore. Prisco has an ideal lefty frame at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, and has all the tools to be a bulk/setup man for Y-D.
It’s shaping up to be a big summer for Robert Satin, who’s expected to be the only Division II player on Y-D's opening day roster. Satin was one of the best pitchers in the country for the University of Tampa, earning ABCA Div. II Second Team All-America honors, as the Spartans recently won the Division II Championship on June 6. The junior put up a 2.61 ERA in over 113 innings for the Spartans, working primarily with a fastball, cutter, and changeup, rounding out a strong lefty group for Y-D.
The pitching staff has its eyes set on the Harwich Mariners at Red Wilson Field on Saturday, June 13, at 4:30 p.m. for Y-D’s season opener.
