Area Code Games Top 10, Best Tools

By Alan Matthews
August 21, 2007

LONG BEACH--Each summer, scouts from across the United States conduct tryouts with many of the nation’s best high school players and select the best performers to attend the Area Code Games in Long Beach. Following are the top 10 prospects from the Class of 2008 in attendance at this year’s event, as judged by Baseball America national writer Alan Matthews in conjunction with scouts in and college coaches in attendance. The ranking reflects the player’s overall ceiling, with some consideration given to event performance.

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AREA CODE GAMES TOP 10 PROSPECTS
Rank	Player, Pos.	High School
1.	Kyle Lobstein, lhp	Coconino HS, Flagstaff, Ariz.
2.	Aaron Hicks, of/rhp	Wilson HS, Long Beach
3.	Gerrit Cole, rhp	Lutheran HS, Orange, Calif.
4.	Jarret Martin, lhp	Centennial HS, Bakersfield, Calif.
5.	Tim Beckham, ss	Griffin (Ga.) HS
6.	Kyle Skipworth, c	Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
7.	Anthony Gose, lhp/of	Bellflower (Calif.) HS
8.	Tyler Chatwood, of/ss	East HS, Redlands, Calif.
9.	Robbie Grossman, of	Cy-Fair HS, Cypress, Texas
10.	Austin Dicharry, rhp	Klein-Collins HS, Spring, Texas

BEST TOOLS
Category	Player, pos.	High School
Best Batting Prospect	Tim Beckham, ss	Griffin (Ga.) HS
Best Power Prospect	Bobby Stone, 1b	Montgomery (Texas) HS
Fastest Baserunner	Randall Thorpe, of	Heritage HS, Colleyville, Texas
Best Pitching Prospect	Kyle Lobstein, lhp	Coconino HS, Flagstaff, Ariz.
Best Fastball	Gerrit Cole, rhp	Lutheran HS, Orange, Calif.
Best Breaking Pitch	Austin Dicharry, rhp	Klein-Collins HS, Spring, Texas
Best Control	Anthony DeSclafani, rhp	Colts Neck (N.J.) HS
Best Defensive Player	Tyler Rahmatulla, ss	Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, Calif.
Best Arm	Aaron Hicks, of/rhp	Wilson HS, Long Beach
Best Defensive Catcher	Kyle Skipworth, c	Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
Most Exciting Player	Aaron Hicks, of/rhp	Wilson HS, Long Beach