Striker Pence

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #1 prospect in 2026 draft
  School: Santiago HS, Corona, Calif.. Committed: Uncommitted. Age At Draft: 19.3
  
  Pence—the nephew of former major league outfielder Hunter Pence—is freakishly talented. He’s a 6-foot-6 righthander who threw eight pitches at 100 mph at the Area Code Games in August 2025. Two months later at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., Pence threw four fastballs at 101 mph, unprecedented velocity for a 16-year-old in the United States. It’s extraordinary arm speed and velocity for Pence, who sits in the mid-to-upper 90s with explosive life and armside run to his heater. There’s still more strength projection in Pence’s frame, but it’s already an elite, high-octane fastball. Pence complements his fastball with a hard slider that ranges from the low 80s to the upper 80s. It’s not a consistent pitch yet, but he shows feel to spin his slider with flashes of sharp, late break and two-plane depth at its best to miss bats. Pence understandably hasn’t needed to throw his changeup much yet, so it’s behind his fastball and slider. He’s a solid strike-thrower, though like nearly all 6-foot-6 pitchers his age, he’s still learning to sync up his long limbs to repeat his release point. Pence is on the older end of the 2028 class, but he would be one of the best pitchers if he were in the 2027 or even the 2026 class, with the upside to develop into a front-end starter.