By Alan Matthews
August 12, 2004

Top 10 prospects

These were the top prospects at the Area Code Games as judged by scouts at the event. Some players who appeared in the AFLAC Classic came to the Area Codes after that game, but they arrived too late for most scouts to get a good look at them and were not considered for this list.

1. Henry Sanchez, 1b, Mission Bay HS, San Diego 2005
2. Michael Bowden, rhp, Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora, Ill. 2005
3. Kyle Drabek, rhp/3b, The Woodlands (Texas) HS 2006
4. Kyle Hancock, rhp, Rowlett (Texas) HS 2005
5. Josh Bell, 3b, Boynton Beach (Fla.) HS 2005
6. Aaron Thompson, lhp, Second Baptist HS, Houston 2005
7. Josh Wilson, rhp, Whitehouse (Texas) HS 2005
8. Brett Jacobsen, rhp, Cactus Shadows HS, Cave Creek, Ariz. 2005
9. Mark Pawalek, lhp, Springville (Utah) HS 2005
10. Scott Deal, rhp, Curtis HS, University Place, Wash. 2005

The Area Code Games traditionally have been one of the best venues of the summer showcase season for scouts to check out the top high school players in the upcoming year's draft class. And while scouts are generally hard to please, most scouts who attended this year's event at Blair Field in Long Beach came away unimpressed with the talent pool they saw.

"Overall, it might have been one of the weaker Area Codes I've been to," a National League scouting director said. "You can bitch about it, but this is what you have to choose from. For me going into the year, it wasn't going to be a good pitching year anyway.

"But I think kids are going to get better."

With the AFLAC Classic taking place simultaneously across the country (see Page 47), some of the country's top players were unable to participate in the 18th annual Area Code Games, opening the stage for lesser-known players to boost their stock.

"People say that the year is down, but the fact is that AFLAC took the majority of power arms and the bigger tools guys," an NL scout said.

"A few years ago out here I can remember (current Baylor righthander) Mark McCormick blowing 96, but I didn't see any of that," another NL scout said. "The only thing close was (Michael) Bowden, and he's not even a guy that does it real easy."

Bowden, a rising senior at Waubonsie Valley High in Aurora, Ill., has made the most of his summer showcase tour. He also stood out at the East Coast Professional Showcase before crossing the country to appear in the Area Codes, where he flashed the best velocity at the event.

Bowden pitched between 90-92 mph, touching 93 in his second of two outings. His secondary stuff has plenty of potential, with a 77-80 mph slurvy breaking ball and a 79-81 mph changeup.

West Coast Armory

Aaron Thompson was another intriguing arm. A thin, projectable lefthander from Houston's Second Baptist High, Thompson had arguably the best combination of stuff and control at the event. His fastball sat at 88-89 mph but came out of his hand easily with good movement. Thompson is especially tough on lefthanded hitters, running his pitches in on their hands and working his slider and curveball away and down in the strike zone.

The two most debated players were Henry Sanchez and Kyle Russell. Sanchez, a 6-foot-2, 270-pound first baseman from San Diego's Mission Bay High—which produced 2004 No. 1 overall pick Matt Bush—was easily the most noticeable player in attendance given his massive frame.

Some scouts said his size would work against him as he advanced through professional baseball, while others saw enough agility and skill to write him up as a close follow for next spring. Sanchez is strong and handled the bat well, showing an impressive approach for a teenager with his size. He homered and sent another handful of line drives deep into the alleys and off the wall.

"I don't think the body is bad; he's just a monster," an NL scout said. "He reminded me of Prince Fielder. He can flat-out rake. He has a really good idea of the strike zone and he hits the ball to all fields. Nobody hits the ball out in Blair Field, but I'm watching this guy hit, and he is mashing everything."

Sanchez and Bush led Mission Bay to its 2004 sectional championship in one of the most competitive high school baseball regions in the country. His experience, combined with a good work ethic, makes his overall package attractive.

Russell is an example of a player who popped up on scouts' radars at a young age but has yet to develop the raw tools that made him a high-profile underclassman two years ago.

He performed well at last year's event and again last October at the Perfect Game/Baseball America World Wood Bat Fall Championships in Jupiter, Fla., but was a disappointment this summer. He homered in his first game in Joplin, Mo., at USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars and made the junior national team, but went 4-for-20 with seven strikeouts overall in Joplin. He struggled mightily in Long Beach, failing to get a hit with 12 strikeouts in 19 at-bats, unofficially.

"It looked like he was uncomfortable at the plate every time; it was like a different guy," an NL scout said. "He went backward somehow."

"I don't think he squared up a ball all summer," an NL scouting director said. "I am trying to figure out what everyone likes other than his body."

Of course, the 2005 draft is still nearly a year away, and the summer is used in part as a gauge for scouts to plan their coverage for the high school season. The Area Codes marked the last wide-scale national event on the summer showcase circuit and raised more questions than it answered.

"This might be a year where you have to wait and see how these guys show up next spring," an NL scouting director said. "The summer gives you an idea of what's out there and where they're at in their development.

"We'll just wait and see. We're not drafting tomorrow."