Manager a big fan of Lowell native Caden Smith

LOWELL — When it is “Smitty Day,” Lowell Spinners manager Kevin Graber knows it will be a fun day at the ballpark.

That is when Caden Smith takes the mound for the Futures Collegiate Baseball League team.

Smith, a Lowell native and Saint Anselm standout, brings his fiery edge whenever he pitches and has been a major part of Lowell’s recent resurgence on the rubber.

After Smith allowed four runs in one inning of work against the New Britain Bees on June 15, the 2023 Lowell High graduate received an opportunity for payback last week at LeLacheur Park.

It was perhaps the best “Smitty Day” yet. Smith tossed six strong innings to stymie the Bees while striking out five batters and allowing only one run to push Lowell to a 5-3 win on home turf.

Entering Saturday, with Smith taking the mound, the Spinners (8-19) were continuing to rebound from a 0-6 start in their debut season in the Futures League. Lowell hosted the Vermont Lake Monsters as winners in two of its last three games. The Spinners average the second-highest attendance per game (2,400) in the league.

“I love that kid,” Graber said of Smith before Saturday’s game. “All I needed to know was that he was the first baseman and cleanup hitter at Lowell High. I was like, ‘OK, this is a guy who competes.’ ”

Smith has compiled a 3.38 ERA in 21.1 innings across five appearances for the Spinners following a strong season in the college ranks at Saint Anselm, where he recorded 48 strikeouts in 53.0 innings. Smith will be a senior at the New Hampshire school this fall.

His five strikeouts against New Britain last week marked a season high. He also dazzled in a June 9 start at the Nashua Silver Knights, tossing five scoreless frames in a 6-2 loss.

But Smith had extra motivation prior to his last outing with the Bees.

“They killed me earlier that week,” Smith said. “Just a super unlucky day, and it felt nice to go back out and just try to do the opposite. So it was kind of easy. Had a lot of good fielding behind me that day.”

Smith joins Sean McNamara (Westfield State), Seamus Scott (UMass Lowell) and Charlie Beauregard (Bard) as Lowell natives on the Spinners’ roster.

“It’s cool seeing people you know up in the stands all the time,” Smith said. “That’s probably the funniest part. You never really know who you’re going to see.”

But nothing is more fun for Graber and the Spinners when Smith brings his energy and flair to the mound.

“I’m like, ‘Alright, this is going to be fun.’ Because he pumps strikes, mixes his pitches, and throws his secondary stuff for strikes to keep you off balance,” Graber said.

Spinning gems

Smith is part of a large contingent of Lowell hurlers finding success on the bump.

Pitching was a struggle out of the gate for a team looking to find its bearings. But Graber credits pitching coach Anthony DeFabbia for a recent turnaround that is putting the Spinners in more advantageous situations to win games.

“We were walking guys, hitting guys at like a double-digit rate early on, and that’s hard to be competitive,” Graber said. “And they’ve trended in the opposite direction recently.”

Lowell dropped a 4-2 decision at the hands of the Worcester Bravehearts on Friday night, but Dylan Izenman was excellent for the Spinners. In five scoreless innings, Izenman fanned six batters and scattered only two hits.

The night before, Matt Pappalardo pitched the Spinners to a 1-0 win over Nashua in what was perhaps the best outing of the season from any Lowell arm. He struck out a whopping nine batters in six scoreless innings, scattering just two hits.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Pappalardo is a force on the mound. He saw action in the Division 3 National Championship Series against Denison earlier this month and compiled a 6-2 record and a 3.07 ERA as a member of Endicott College.

“He’s a man,” Graber said of Pappalardo. “Talk about mound presence and just presence in the group. He’s got a true leadership capital. That’s another day where if you see that he’s on the mound, it’s like, ‘Alright, we got a chance today.’ ”

McCafferty turns heads

There might not be a player with more potential than Bradley McCafferty on Lowell’s roster.

The blue-chip prospect is committed to Virginia and recently wrapped up a standout career at Austin Prep. McCafferty was tabbed the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year for 2024-25 after an electric junior campaign and joined the Spinners freshly removed from his strong senior season.

“You don’t always know what to expect with a current high schooler who’s headed to college because they haven’t had a college experience yet,” Graber said. “But I think he’s poised to arrive at major Division 1 and contribute right away.”

The talented catcher from Beverly is hitting .281 in 17 games and has been one of the most consistent bats in Lowell’s lineup. He was 2-for-4 in the team’s 7-3 win over Nashua and is hitting .308 in June entering Saturday. He’s also blasted a home run.

Confidence, McCafferty said, was the key to making the immediate jump from high school.

“I know that I’m sharing the same field and the same league as everybody else,” McCafferty said. “I have the guys on the bench all rooting for me, so to represent Lowell and the Spinners is really special, and knowing I have that backing makes me want to perform for them.”

McCafferty leaves for Virginia on Thursday and will be headed to one of the top college programs in the country with a lot of new knowledge. Base running — a trademark for any Graber team — is one of his top takeaways.

“To have that in my game has been really big,” McCafferty said. “As a catcher with some skillset on the basepaths is always a plus.”