The 2024 Cape Cod Baseball League season is nearly upon us, with opening day slated for Saturday, June 15. All ten teams have games on the first night of the season, getting this campaign started with a bang.

At 5:00 PM, the Harwich Mariners will travel to Cotuit to take on the Kettleers, and the Brewster Whitecaps will visit the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Then, at 6:00, the Orleans Firebirds will take on the Bourne Braves, the Falmouth Commodores will play the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, and the Chatham Anglers will head off-Cape to take on the Wareham Gatemen.

The regular season will run until August 4, with the playoffs starting on August 6 and ending on August 11 or 12, depending on how the final series plays out.

There will be an all-star game in Falmouth on July 27, too, where the league’s best players will show off their skills, and some will even compete in the annual home run derby.

All Cape Cod Baseball League games are free to attend and are an excellent way to spend an evening in the summer during your getaway. Here’s some additional information on the upcoming season so you can plan your Cape Cod vacation.

Teams and Players to Watch in 2024

The 2024 Cape Cod Baseball League season will be a competitive one, and it’s almost certain you’ll see some future Major League players if you check out a game or two. A total of 219 Cape Cod League alums were selected in the 2023 MLB Draft, including Paul Skenes, who played for the Wareham Gatemen in 2021 before being selected first overall in the draft last June.

In fact, 35.5% of all players taken in the last MLB Draft played in the Cape Cod League at some point, and the first overall pick has been a Cape Cod League player in five of the past six drafts.

The Bourne Braves won the Cape Cod League championship for a second straight season in 2023, and they look like they’ll be a powerhouse again in 2024. The team is returning at least three players from last season and will have ten players who played in the ACC and seven from the SEC.

Pitcher Brayden Risedorph and second baseman Kodey Shojinaga are two highly-ranked players for the upcoming MLB draft who will play for Bourne in 2024. Shojinaga is looking to build upon an outstanding sophomore season at the University of Kansas, where he hit .346 with five home runs and 36 RBIs in only 184 plate appearances.

JJ Wetherholt should return for another season with the Chatham Anglers in 2024. Wetherholt, ranked eighth for the upcoming MLB Draft, missed most of his junior season at West Virginia with a hamstring injury and will look to get some reps in this summer while waiting to hear his name called in June.

One of the most exciting players on the Cape this summer will be Australian slugger Travis Bazzana, who just finished his junior season at Oregon State, smashing 19 home runs to go along with 49 RBIs in only 39 games. Bazzana also hit .432 and is ranked as the second-best prospect in the 2024 draft. He’s likely to suit up for Falmouth this summer.

The only player ranked higher in the upcoming draft than Bazzana is Charlie Condon, who will also play for the Falmouth Commodores. Condon hit .477 with 26 home runs and 56 RBIs in 40 games as a sophomore at Georgia and will put on a show this summer on the Cape. If you’re in the Falmouth area, it’s a good idea to get out to a game or two to see these future superstars in action.

Brewster will return Hunter D’Amato, Davis Diaz, and Clark Candiotti, key contributors from 2023, to a team that almost upset division-leading Yarmouth-Dennis in the first round of last year’s playoffs. The team should be stronger this season, particularly on offense, with another year of development from D’Amato and Diaz.

The Orleans Firebirds will likely be led by Roch Cholowsky, who just finished his freshman season at UCLA. Cholowsky likely would have been an early pick in the 2023 draft but opted out to fulfill his dream of playing in the Pac-12 for the Bruins. He’ll take his talents to Orleans this summer after an impressive NCAA rookie season where he hit .282 with three home runs and 19 RBIs in 38 games.

More top prospects will surely be added to team rosters as we get closer to the season, and these players decide how they want to spend their summers. One thing for sure is that the Cape Cod League has become the country’s top destination for future Major League players, so you’re bound to see some stars in the making on your vacation.

The Game Day Experience

As mentioned, all Cape Cod Baseball League games are free to attend, although the teams appreciate donations at the gate. You can also purchase food and drinks at the concessions or bring your own snacks, dinner, and beverages to the park with you.

The fields have bleachers, but most are relatively small. Most locals bring chairs or blankets and find a spot to watch the game, as you can spread out pretty much anywhere as long as you aren’t on the field of play.

Overall, the Cape Cod League is like watching baseball from a bygone era. You’ll be transported back to a time when baseball wasn’t about large stadiums or commercialization but about the game.

This league gives you the chance to see some of the best college baseball players on the planet in an intimate environment, so it could be a focal point of your Cape Cod vacation if you’re a sports lover.