Area Code Games Notebook: Early Standouts

LONG BEACH—The 2016 Area Code Games are three days old, and the amateur scouting community has had a chance to begin identifying some of the top talent at this year’s event. Here’s a rundown of how the talent has fared through Monday, with a roster-by-roster look. (Click the team name to view the entire roster)

Brewers (Southern California)

The Brewers typically compile one of the most talented squads at the Area Code Games. Last year’s squad included 2016 No. 1 overall pick, Mickey Moniak, fellow Phillies draftee Kevin Gowdy (a second-round pick), and Yankees first-rounder Blake Rutherford, among numerous draftees. The Brewers have played two games so far.

• Hunter Greene took his typical, professional-style batting practice session. Greene looks to stay back and pepper the opposite field with line drives to open up his BPs before turning on the ball in the later rounds. In high school, Greene gets pitched away often, and he has typically had more doubles power to the opposite field. He’s transitioned from swinging a 33-inch bat to a 33.5-inch bat to try to improve his power to the opposite field in preparation for the spring. When he wants to let it rip, Greene has at least plus raw power.

On the mound, Greene showed explosive stuff, as he tends to every time he takes the mound. Greene’s slider in particular impressed early on, showing hard 10-to-4 sweeping action. He also pounded the bottom of the strike zone at 95 mph. He buried his changeup in the dirt often but has shown feel for that pitch in the past.

• Calvin Mitchell showed a fluid and easy lefthanded stroke in BP. Mitchell has excellent timing in the box, and he shows the ability to extend his arms through the point of contact.

• Je’Von Ward showed an athletic lefthanded swing in BP, with the ability to generate line drives up the middle. Ward has long levers that point to future power.

• Nick Pratto has proven to be one of the best baseball players in the country over the past two years. He starred for USA Baseball’s 18U National Team in 2015, primarily as a pitcher. Pratto has excellent strike zone awareness and rarely expands the strike zone. So far, he’s drawn four walks, flown out twice, doubled and struck out once. Pratto’s double came on a sharp, well-struck fly to left center field. When he struck out, Pratto had chased a curveball through the bottom of the strike zone. Frustrated, he flicked his bat towards the dugout and hustled out of the box on the dropped third strike. Pratto has gamer tendencies and is regarded as an excellent clubhouse guy. He has good hands at first base and has shown command on the mound in the past.

• Third baseman Jayson Gonzalez has shown impressive power at points this summer, but he has been primarily a fastball punisher. Gonzalez put a breaking ball in play for a routine groundout to second on Monday, a promising sign, but scouts will be bearing down on his ability to barrel spin going forward.

Royals (Pacific Northwest, Western Canada)

The Northwest isn’t always thought of as a baseball hotbed, but every year players from the region emerge on the national scene. Last year, Brady Whalen and Christian Jones were among the team’s standouts.

• In his BP rounds, Jason Willow showed a short, slightly downhill righthanded stroke geared for backspin, and he generated impressive life off the bat, showing power and the ability to hit line drives to the opposite field gap and up the middle. Willow has shown impressive power potential, both in batting practice and in game action, but he’s also swung and missed at a few pitches on the outer half.

• Clayton Keyes, who played for the Royals in 2015, has a more physical build this year. He showed average bat speed and solid gap power.

• Johnny Homza, who some scouts consider to be the best player out of Alaska in years, showed some intriguing offensive workout tools. He wraps his hands slightly to load and can be prone to the topspin rollover to his pull side. But he showed the ability to drive the ball out over the left-center field fence and to stay back and hit a hard line drive to right-center field. He has some natural timing in BP.

• Shortstop Kyler McMahan has been one of the most impressive infield defenders of the entire summer showcase circuit, and he’s giving Brewers shortstop Nick Allen a run for his money as the top defender in the class. McMahan has lightning-quick feet, smooth hands and can throw it over to first. McMahan is 1-for-4 at the plate so far with an infield single. He had one well-hit ball up the middle for a flyout. The best run time from home to first that Baseball America has recorded was 4.36 seconds. He did not shine in batting practice, but his defensive tools are loud and he’ll be important to monitor going forward.

• Righthander Stephen Emanuels evoked Cubs prospect Bailey Clark, who the BA crew saw often at Duke this year. Emanuels has a 6-foot-5 frame and a long arm action, like Clark, as well as shotgun command for parts of his outing, but Emanuels showed a loose arm through release and a projectable upper-80s fastball. He also spun the baseball well more often than not, showing a deep 10-to-4 slider that projects as an above-average offering if he can improve his fastball command.

White Sox (Midwest)

Last year, the White Sox had high draft picks in Gavin Lux, Ben Rortvedt and Cole Stobbe. This year’s roster includes projectable position player talent and a few high-ceiling arms that are more pop than polish, but could be very good a few years down the line.

• Sam Carlson, a two-way talent listed as a pitcher on USA Baseball’s 18U national team roster this year, punished baseballs in BP, showing above-average bat speed and hammering hard line drives up the middle with ease. He has a slight hand drop and wrap to load, but he times it well and has a frame geared for power.

• Conner Uselton, who entered the summer as one of the highest follows after an outstanding underclass career, got off to a strong start this week, obliterating balls with low, line-drive trajectory in batting practice. Uselton has a deep arm bar hitch to his swing, but he hit so many hard line drives regardless.

• Calvin Greenfield went 3-for-3 in his first game (though his third hit could be scored as an error; he hit a hard ground ball into the diving glove of Nick Egnatuk, but the throw to first was offline). In his second game, Greenfield walked, hit a hard line drive to left field for a double, then hit another hard line drive to second, reaching on an error. In his third game, Greenfield hit a line drive up the middle, evading a diving Darren Baker in center field for a single. He’s put the ball in play with hard contact six times in as many at-bats, and he’s been on base every single time that he’s had the opportunity to do so.

Greenfield, a catcher, has dominated at the plate, but it remains to be seen whether or not he can remain behind it.

• Righthander Ben Jordan, listed at 6-foot-9, pitched on Sunday night. He showed excellent arm speed and his fastball reached 93, settling in in the low 90s. Jordan also showed a deep, long breaking ball. Jordan has to work on keeping his delivery in sync, but he has a high ceiling if he can put things together.

Yankees (Northeast)

The Northeast team takes pride in competing on a national scene, and in recent years, the Northeast Yankees have shown the ability to compete with the top regions in the nation. Last year’s squad was incredible, including high draft picks such as first-rounders Jason Groome (Red S0x) and Alex Kirilloff (Twins) and numerous projectable players who could turn into premium prospects after college.

• Leugim Castillo, whose name is Miguel backwards, showed fascinating raw power in BP. Castillo is a three-sport athlete from outside of Buffalo, N.Y., a gifted athlete with minimal baseball experience compared to that of his peers. His game at-bats are still catching up to his BP shows, but he has tools that cannot be dismissed.

• Andrew Papantonis showed pull power and quick hands in BP. He’s been one of the more impressive standouts from the Northeast in recent weeks.

• Nick Egnatuk has some moving parts to his swing, but when his kinetic chain stays connected, he shows plus bat speed and the ability to smoke line drives up the middle. Egnatuk has bat speed and he’s shown the ability to use it in game action thus far. He has made some decent plays at third base, but it isn’t clear if that will be his long term home defensively. He has a strong arm and an okay first step.

• Quentin Holmes has shown outstanding pure speed and defense, making quick reactions in center field and making difficult plays appear routine. Holmes also has shown well offensively, driving the ball with authority to his pull side. Holmes is a high-energy player, and players on the Northeast roster seem to gravitate to him.

• Righthander Nick Storz has more muscles than a seafood restaurant. He’s built like a tight end, with a massive 6-foot-6 frame that has plenty of muscle. Storz reached 94 mph with his fastball in his outing and also showed a tight, sweeping breaking ball. Storz has been seen often this summer and has made impressive strides in terms of his command and pitchability, though he did allow some hard contact in his outing.

Reds (Four Corners)

Last year’s Four Corners squad struggled, but the roster did include solid prospects in Nick Quintana, Chad McClanahan and Jack Little. This year’s roster has a little more oomph on the mound.

• Blake Paugh has fast hands, and he used them in BP to smack hard line drives to his pull side and up the middle. Paugh’s hands drop slightly as he loads, and he creates a level bat path conducive to contact, keeping his bat head in the zone well. When prompted by coaches, Paugh was able to drive the ball to right-center field, hitting the ball with trajectory in between a lazy fly and a line drive. Paugh has made hard contact in game action several times, and has a chance to prove that he can hit on the highest stage.

• Jacob Gonzalez showed raw power and wiry strength. He pulled line drives and nearly took a high-trajectory fly out to center field. When Gonzalez let it loose in the late rounds, he hit one of the furthest BP home runs of the event, hitting one far over the New Balance sign in left center field.

• Six-foot-6 lefthander Trevor Rogers showed easy velocity and a projectable slider. Rogers has been under the radar a bit so far this summer, but he isn’t any more. Rogers will turn 19 in November; he and his twin sister were held back when they were in first grade.

• Drew Swift has shown impressive actions at shortstop. If he can prove himself with the bat, Swift could push himself into very strong standing in the class.

Rangers (Texas)

The Lone Star State had one star last year in Astros first-rounder Forrest Whitley, who didn’t have his best outings last year at the Area Codes. This year’s roster has some power arms but appears to be lacking an elite position player prospect, though there are some players with tools.

• Cole Turney showed his typical pull-side power, launching balls out to right field in BP. He still has some moving parts that could give him trouble consistently getting to his power, though he has raw elements and notable athleticism.

• Shane Baz starts from a moderately high hand set and throws his hands at the ball. His bat path was predictive of the high trajectory of the balls he hit, but he showed power potential, hitting high fly balls over the fence. Baz is a two-way recruit committed to Texas Christian.

• Jacob Pearson is 2-for-7 with a walk and a triple, which came on an elevated 93 mph fastball. Pearson has shown impressive bat-to-ball ability throughout the summer, and he is at least an above-average runner.

• Righthander Alex Scherff has present physicality and arm strength. His fastball reached 95 several times and settled in at 91-94. Scherff flashed feel for his changeup, which he was able to locate to either side of the plate when he was on. Scherff throws his changeup with a grip similar to a forkball. He gave up a good amount of solid contact, and did not show the electric pitchability that he has shown in the past. Even so, his raw stuff is too much to dismiss.

• Tristen Lutz, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound outfielder, has shown a compact swing and some bat-to-ball skills. His bat will be closely monitored going forward.

Nationals (Southeast)

The Southeast team offers a unique blend of talent from various parts of the region, and the team doesn’t always get all of the top prospects from Florida, as those prospects often attend the East Coast Pro Showcase the week before the Area Code Games instead. However, last year’s roster included Bo Bichette, who had not attended ECP, and showed jaw-dropping bat speed and hitting ability in Long Beach. The Nationals also had lefthander Jesus Luzardo last year, whom the big league Nationals drafted and signed.

• Zach Daniels comes from the same high school as Astros prospect Daz Cameron. Daniels showed volcanic bat speed in BP, as he has since Baseball America first put eyes on him back in the summer of 2014. His swing won’t be for everyone, but the natural twitch to him makes him significant.

• Joe Perez is one of the most fascinating prospects in the class. He showed huge raw power to his pullside in BP, but he also has excellent stuff on the mound and has made drastic improvements since the beginning of the summer.

• Christian Robinson made consistent hard contact in batting practice. He hits the ball with high trajectory often, and as he matures and improves his timing, Robinson could develop at least above-average raw power. He is one of the youngest players in the class. Robinson is 1-for-7 with a walk so far this week, but his lone hit came on an opposite field home run to left field. Robinson has shown near-average speed and arm strength, though he is still learning how to use his tools. He’s made hard contact on multiple occasions this week.

• Righthander Brandon McCabe is best known for his loud grunt that he uses to intimidate opposing hitters, but he also flashes stuff. McCabe didn’t necessarily have his best stuff at Blair Field, but he showed a low-90s fastball and flashed a tight 12-to-6 breaking ball. McCabe throws from a high three-quarters, near over-the-top arm slot. His fastball has previously been recorded in the mid-90s.

• Infielder Mark Vientos has yet to show off the explosive bat speed that he showed last week at the East Coast Pro Showcase. After a long summer, he could simply be tired.

Athletics (Northern California)

Last year’s A’s saw a few top prospects emerge, most notably with righthander Matt Manning establishing himself on the national scene when he showed impressive arm strength and athleticism at last year’s Area Code Games. The Tigers wound up drafted him ninth overall. The A’s also had Cardinals first-rounder Dylan Carlson.

• Shortstop Jamal O’Guinn showed the rare ability to hit authoritative line drives to the opposite field in BP. O’Guinn has strength and bat speed to go with a fullback body type. O’Guinn has shown very well offensively and has shown some intriguing actions at shortstop. His defense will be closely monitored.

The team’s most famous player is Dusty Baker’s son, Darren Baker, who hit gap-to-gap line drives, showing off the natural timing you might expect from the son of a major leaguer. Baker has a compact, contact-oriented swing. He lacks power, but that is not an essential piece of his game.

• Quentin Selma showed line drive ability to both gaps, with a natural ability to sharply backspin the baseball.

• Catcher Troy Claunch has shown impressive defense behind the plate, and he’s 2-for-5 in game action. Claunch is playing in the games for his second year in a row.

• Physical righthander Darren Nelson, listed at 6-foot-8, 255 pounds, pitched downhill and showed a deep 11-to-5 curveball.