Brooks, a Charleston native, throws his first pitches at Lowell Park for the Kettleers. (Photo by Alysa Rubin)

Joe Pratt | Baylor University

The Kettleers’ roster consists of over twenty players above 6 feet tall, but few of them come close to the long-casted shadow of Daniel Brooks. Standing at a steep 6 feet, 8 inches, the true freshman out of the College of Charleston appeared in the 6th inning of Cotuit’s exhibition game with the Lexington Blue Sox. 

Brooks entered a 1-1 ballgame at the time as the Ketts’ fifth pitcher of the contest. The righthander caught three Blue Sox looking, striking out three in order. After the game, Brooks noted that he used the scrimmage as an opportunity to regain his feel since arriving at the Cape. “I was just ramping up [and] trying to get my arm strength back up. My velocity and my pitches were down, but they were still good and had good break to them,” he said. While most of his bids were in the lower 90s, the three Blue Sox who faced Brooks failed to connect. Brooks also featured some offspeed which kept batters on their toes. Head coach Mike Roberts told Brooks after his outing that “[He’s] never seen anyone have [the] feel for four pitches,” and Brooks’ length helps him fire lower velocity pitches right by bat barrels, especially with a diverse repertoire of pitches. 

The performance displayed on Sunday mirrored Brooks’ appearances with the Cougars. In just over 44 innings thrown, he tossed 55 Ks in 12 games, earning CAA All-Rookie team honors. But now that the season is over, he is prioritizing experience and enjoyment in the CCBL. 

“I’m just trying to have fun, because sometimes you can take [baseball] too seriously, and you just have to remember [that] it’s a kid’s game,” he said. “I’m just trying to do that and just get back to normal throwing-wise.”