Since 1987, Area Code Games has been a staple on the prep showcase circuit. A week-long tournament featuring some of the most talented high school players in the country, Area Code Games was once again swarmed with scouts and media looking to get an extended look at guys many expect to be selected early next summer. Per usual, Prospects Live was on-site.
The sights and sounds of Area Code Games were a spectacle. There were general managers, scouting directors, and national supervisors in droves. Beyond that, biomechanists, data analysts and hopeful player-agents filled the crowds. Not to mention the media. It was a who’s who in the industry.
Like most years, the results didn’t disappoint. 8 teams. 20 games. 1 homerun derby. 5 days of ball.
This year, hitters seemed to have the upper hand. The star of the show was Deerfield, Wisconsin IF Cal Fisher. Dominating the opposition, Fisher seemed to have a big day, well, every day. He finished the week a robust 7 for 12 with a homer, a triple, two doubles, and a walk; adding a stolen base for good measure. In a tournament featuring some of the best arm talent in the country, Fisher not tallying a single punchout was awfully impressive. For players that posted at least 10 plate appearances this week, Fisher led the tournament in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and extra-base hits. A quadruple-crown of sorts.
Fisher is a grinder. He’s more of a tournament performer than he is a “showcase pony” as one evaluator succinctly put it. A fringy runner with fringy actions at shortstop, Fisher may ultimately end up at second base or third base at the next level. He’s got the arm to play the hot corner, but at 5-foot-11, 185-pounds, he’s not your prototypical big man with projectable power. That said, it won’t matter whatsoever if he continues to mash like he did this past week.
Several hitters raised eyebrows to the delight of scouts. Sinton, Texas C Blake Mitchell was a horse at the plate going 2 for 7 with a homer, a double and 3 walks. He did strike out twice. Every ball he hit was scalded. Mitchell got a fraction of the plate appearances others did, but his .857 slugging percentage and solid approach were both impressive.
The surprise of the event may have been Phoenix, Arizona OF Duce Robinson. At 6-foot-6, 225-pounds, Robinson is a 5-star football recruit and Southern California commit. He is a blue-chip tight end prospect, many grading him the top prospect at his position in the entire country. Robinson has stayed local this summer electing to exclusively play in regional tournaments to continue his football training. His baseball stock may soar after this past week, however. Robinson went 3 for 5 on the week with a triple and a double. He drew four walks and struck out just once. Robinson is a solid average runner with a sprinter lean and tighter strides. Robinson’s been clocked 4.32 seconds home-to-first. It’s possible he could up those run times if he ever gives up football and dedicates himself to straight-line baseball training. The bat speed and raw power here is obviously robust. I’ll be interesting to see how scouts grade out the hit tool as they get a more extensive look at Robinson over the next 11 months. Scouts I’ve spoken with were quick to note he’s generally a fairly aggressive hitter with some swing-and-miss in more recent looks.
Another Phoenix product, 1B Zach Wadas put on a show blasting two homers in a 4 for 10 week. He added a double and a walk for good measure. Wadas has some of the best bat speed in the class and he’s put it on display across two “showcases”, parlaying his loud Perfect Game National Showcase performance into another big outing.
Eaton, Colorado SS Walker Martin looked great last week going 5 for 12 with a homer. He did strike out four times, but the pull-side juice was massively obvious, posting triple-digit exit velocities. Martin did showcase some swing-and-miss, but the upside in the bat and in the field was palpable. He’s a pretty explosive player with enormous upside. Martin will likely shift off the shortstop position as he gets into more competitive ball, but you’re certainly buying the bat here. A name to track this winter as we work our way into 2023.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 2B Steven Milam had a solid week going 4 for 16 with two doubles, drawing 5 walks. He did strikeout four times, though he got squeezed outside of the zone. His 17 percent whiff rate is probably more indicative of the true bat-to-ball skills here. Milam showed twitchy bounce on the dirt and projects well at his position moving forward.
Others who posted strong offensive weeks include SS Myles Naylor, C Zion Rose, 2B Kevin McGonigle, OF Dillon Head, OF Max Clark, and IF Trent Caraway.
On the pitching side, it was a bit more scattershot with walks and wild pitches being the narrative far too often. However, a trio of arms did leaves scouts and evaluators with positive reviews.
Portland, Oregon righty Noble Meyer once again stole the show, sitting 93-95, touching 97 early. He pitched five innings on the week, punching out five and didn’t surrender a single hit. He did walk one batter. Meyer showed good feed and command for a low-to-mid-80s slider working it in and out of the zone to induce swing-and-miss. His changeup featured arm-side fade and Meyer did a good job commanding it arm-side away from lefty bats. If there was once critique from scouts on the week, it would probably be Meyer’s inability to blow the fastball by hitters. According to Synergy, Meyer threw 44 fastballs and only snuck five of them by the opposition for whiffs. For a guy that throws as hard as Meyer does at this stage, you’d like to see that a tick higher, though he did live in the middle of the zone quite a bit. Still, we may be talking about the best arm in the class here.
Round Rock, Texas righty Travis Sykora once again put his elite arm talent on display in San Diego. Sykora, an imposing 6-foot-4-inch hurler, hit 100 mph three times. Of note, Orange, California standout Gavin Grahovac did an exceptional job pulling his hands in on one of those fastballs, keeping the ball up the middle, albeit for an out. Still, it was an impressive cut. Sykora was very good over three innings, striking out five hitters and allowing just one hit. A mid-80s slider with deception and two-plane tilt got a few ugly swings.
Kansas City, Missouri right-hander Tate McGuire and Mundelein, Illinois righty Ryan Geraghty both project more as relievers at the next level, but both had exceptional outings. McGuire posted three innings, touching 91 with a low-80s breaking ball, punching out five hitters and walking just two. He did not allow a hit, hiding the baseball well. Geraghty presents a ton of funk and a really unique look for the opposition. He touched 94 with immense arm-side run, flashing a low-80s breaking ball. He also threw three innings, striking out four, allowing just one hit and one walk.
It’s worth noting, the homerun derby that was sandwiched into the middle of the week was a spectacle. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 3B Daniel Cuvet ended up wearing the crown which should come as no surprise after the prodigious display he put on at the Perfect Game National Showcase. Cuvet was the last to hit and ended the event with a walk-off dinger.