2025 Area Code Games: 20 Hitting Prospects To Know

Top Five Area Code Hitting Standouts

1. Blake Bowen, OF, JSerra Catholic HS, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

• Commit: Oregon State
• Rank: 96

Bowen was a barrel machine throughout the Area Code Games, perhaps finding the barrel and hitting the ball hard as frequently as any hitter at the event. Overall, he went 6-for-15 (.400) with four singles, two doubles, two strikeouts and no walks.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Bowen is a big and broad-shouldered righthanded hitter with plenty of present strength. He has a slightly-open setup in the box with a bit of a bat waggle in his load but gets into a consistent hitting position with good timing and makes a standard leg kick and stride. 

He used the entire field effectively and was consistently putting the ball in play with exit velocities above 95 mph. Bowen would adjust his stance in two-strike situations at times, often spreading out a bit and minimizing his stride, but that seemed to vary by the pitcher. His most impressive at-bat might have been against California RHP Tyson Bobo, against whom he got into a 3-2 count and then pulled a 78 mph breaking ball in the bottom third of the zone to left field at 104 mph for a double.

Bowen has shown plus run times in the past, but his home-to-first times this week were more in the 4.3-4.5 second range on the BA stopwatch. He did show off a strong throwing arm from the outfield, but it was his bat, strength and impact potential that stood out the most. 

2. Jason Amalbert, SS, DePaul Catholic HS, Wayne, N.J.

• Commit: Uncommitted
• Rank: 105

Amalbert’s case as the most impressive hitter at the Area Code Games is just as compelling as Bowen’s. The 6-foot, 185-pound shortstop and righthanded hitter had loud contact in six of his 11 at-bats and overall went 6-for-11 (.545) with five singles, a double, four walks and three strikeouts.

He’s got a lean frame with an upright and open stance that comes with a high handset. He takes an uphill path on his swing with solid pullside power in batting practice. Amalbert had six balls in play that were hit harder than 90 mph, showed an ability to use the right-center gap to the opposite field and smoked a 95 mph fastball from the hand of California RHP McCoy Silicz on a line for a line-drive single.

He rarely looked overmatched all week, and even in his two “worst” at bats—swinging strikeouts against RHP Savion Sims and RHP Julian Cazares—he competed and showed solid adjustments. 

On top of Amalbert’s work at the plate, he was one of the more instinctive and impactful baserunners at the ACG. He gets great reads and jumps on the bases and looks to steal consistently. He was used as a pinch-runner on a few occasions where he quickly got himself into scoring position on steals or sharp reads on balls in the dirt. 

3. Anthony Murphy, OF, Corona (Calif.) HS

• Commit: LSU
• Rank: 61

Murphy has been a standout on a loaded Corona High roster since his freshman season in high school, and boasts a well-rounded toolset. He’s a 6-foot, 190-pound center fielder and righthanded hitter who boasts an impressive combination of power, speed, defensive instincts and arm strength. Playing for the ACG MLB Breakthrough roster, Murphy went 4-for-14 (.286) with a triple, three singles, four strikeouts and a walk. 

Murphy sets up with a narrow and upright stance in the back of the box. He features a very low handset and takes a smooth and easy swing. While his bat path can get a bit loopy, uphill and long, he has impressive whip and raw power and showed an ability to drive the ball well to straightaway center field in batting practice. Murphy has what looks to be a power-over-hit offensive profile with a slightly aggressive approach and a decent amount of swing-and-miss in his game. In Murphy’s 14 plate appearances at the ACG, he had 12 whiffs on 31 swings (39%).

He should have the pop for that approach to work, however, and he made loud contact in four of his at-bats with three batted-balls hit harder than 96 mph. 

Murphy also had a standout defensive play in center field. On a well-hit ball to right center, he took an excellent first step and showed impressive closing speed, route-running ability and athleticism to make a full-sprint, full-extension diving catch. Robbing what looked to be a no-doubt extra-base hit off the bat was one of the defensive highlights of the week. While Murphy is a strong runner underway—he’s turned in plus run times in workout settings—his speed plays down from home-to-first thanks to a long swing and finish that impacts his acceleration out of the box. 

4. Leo Nockley, SS, Wyoming Seminary HS, Kingston, Penn.

• Commit: Uncommitted (2027)
• Rank: 9

Nockley is a member of the 2027 class but was one of the standout pure hitters of the event. He’s an undersized lefthanded hitter and middle infielder with a 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame and impressive feel for the barrel. Playing for the ACG Yankees, he went 3-for-10 (.300) with a triple, a double, a single and four strikeouts.

The slick-swinging lefthanded hitter has a smooth and easy swing. He starts with a higher handset but consistently gets them into a good launch position through his load and with his lower half employs a standard toe tap. He fires his hands directly to the ball, and he has a relatively compact path that leads to plenty of line-drive contact. Nockley showed an impressive ability to use the entire field, and his most impressive batted-ball came against a 90 mph fastball that he smoked to left field for a ground-rule double. The ball came off his bat at 97 mph and showed surprising pop for his size.

Nockley also showed off some athleticism and body control as a defender at second base. He corralled a Landon Thome groundball in the hole to his glove side, which required a spin and off-balance throw to first base while he was falling away towards the right field line.

5. Landon Thome, SS, Nazareth Academy, La Grange Park, Ill.

• Commit: Tennessee
• Rank: 150

Thome is the son of Hall of Famer Jim Thome, which helps explain a lot of the heavy-handed nature of his lefthanded swing. Listed at 6-feet, 185 pounds, Thome emphatically checks the cliched box of “the ball sounds different off his bat.” He created extremely loud contact all week, both in batting practice and during games.

Thome has a slightly-open setup in the lefthanded box with a steep and uphill bat path but a fairly loose and easy operation that leads to tons of pullside power. He showed above-average raw power in batting practice, then homered in his second at-bat of the event against a 94 mph fastball from Texas RHP Braydon Wisener. Thome got into a 3-2 count then jumped on the middle-in heater and pulled it just over the right field fence with a 101 mph exit velocity. 

One of Thome’s more impressive pieces of hitting came against RHP Pablo Figueroa when he was behind in a 1-2 count. Figueroa attacked him with a solid 79 mph breaking ball at the bottom of the zone, and Thome did an excellent job getting his barrel down and the bat head out on the pitch to drive a solid line drive to right field. 

He generally put together competitive at-bats all week, and went 4-for-14 (.286) with a home run, three singles, four strikeouts and two walks. He will swing and miss at times and occasionally gets a bit pull-heavy and leaks out to the first base side with his lower half.

Thome played shortstop and second base and has fine defensive actions, though his longer exchange and footwork might fit better at third base.

Will Adams, 1B, Hoover (Ala.) HS

• Commit: LSU
• Rank: 145

Adams is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound lefthanded hitter who showed an excellent combination of power and bat-to-ball skills. Hitting for the ACG MLB Breakthrough Series, Adams went 3-for-14 (.214) with three singles, two strikeouts and two walks with plenty of additional hard contact that didn’t show up in the box scores. His loudest contact was a 103 mph laser of a line drive against an 89 mph fastball that went right to second base for a quick line out.

In addition to his ability to drive the ball with authority, Adams showed some of the best contact skills at the event. He didn’t swing and miss through his first 14 plate appearances, and in total, he had just one miss on 22 swings—a 5% miss rate. He also showed a solid understanding of the strike zone and rarely expanded the zone with chase swings. Adams was also an offensive standout at the East Coast Pro. 

Dylan Bowen, SS, Hanover Central HS, Cedar Lake, Ind.

• Commit: Oklahoma State

Bowen is an athletic righthanded hitter and shortstop with a 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame. He showed solid actions in the box and impressive speed underway. Playing for the ACG White Sox, Bowen went 3-for-8 (.375) with a double, two singles, one strikeout and two walks. His double would have been a triple, but he tripped while rounding second base and to scamper back and settle for two bases instead of three. The double was a hammered line drive into the left-center gap against a 79 mph changeup that came off his bat at 97 mph. 

Bowen has a crouched and open setup at the plate and also has a very low handset in his stance before getting them up around shoulder height in his load stage. He made one slick defensive play at second base on a dying line drive to his backhand. He made a sliding snag then spun around while getting up and made a solid throw to first with plenty of time to convert the out. 

Spencer Browning, SS, Pleasant Grove HS, Texarkana, Tex.

• Commit: Arkansas
• Rank: 87

Browning is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound shortstop and righthander hitter with 70-grade speed who put a charge into the baseball consistently at the Area Code Games. Overall, he went 3-for-13 (.231) with three singles and two strikeouts for the ACG Rangers, but he made plenty of hard contact that didn’t fall for a base hit, as well.

Browning has a crouched and even setup at the plate with a level bat path and solid bat speed. He consistently hit the ball hard up the middle throughout the week and showed impressive balance and rhythm in the box. His loudest contact was a smashed groundball against a 90 mph fastball that came off his bat at 95 mph and ate up the opposing shortstop.

James Clark, SS, St. John Bosco HS, Bellflower, Calif. 

• Commit: Princeton

Clark is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound lefthanded hitter and shortstop who showed a solid toolset across the board for the ACG Brewers. He went 4-for-14 (.286) with a triple, a double and two singles while striking out four times and walking once. Clark has an upright stance with a high handset and an awkward hitch that cuts off his bat path occasionally, But he also displays a direct path to the ball, solid bat speed and sneaky pop for his size. 

He hit three balls harder than 93 mph. One of his most impressive balls in play was a double he smoked to the opposite field against a 92 mph fastball. He drove the ball into the left-center gap at 97 mph. He’s a strong runner who turned in plus run times out of the box and also showed above-average arm strength and a few slick plays on slow rollers at third base where he needed to get the ball in and out of his glove quickly. 

Connor Comeau, SS, Anderson HS, Austin

• Commit: Texas A&M
• Rank: 27

Comeau is a projectable lefthanded hitter who’ll still be 17 years old on draft day. He showed some feel for the barrel with the ACG Rangers and went 6-for-10 (.600) with two doubles, four singles, two strikeouts and a walk. Comeau has a lean and lanky frame at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds and uses an open and upright stance in the box. He still needs to add a significant amount of strength, but he does have a loose and easy lefthanded swing. 

He used the opposite field a ton, both on a few inside-out balls slapped the other way and a handful of hard-hit balls that came off his bat at 90+ mph. Five of his six base hits went to the left field side. Comeau could have more power in the tank in the future as he adds strength to his frame and learns to turn on the ball with more frequency to his pull side. 

Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian HS, North Richland Hills, Texas

• Commit: Texas
• Rank: 1

The top-ranked player of any draft class always has a target on their back. Both from the opposing team and in the eyes of evaluators who—consciously or not—will have elevated expectations for tools and performance anytime that player is on the field. In the 2026 class, that’s Emerson. He’s the No. 1 prep player in the class and has ranked in that spot for a few years now. 

He lived up to expectations at the Area Code Games with the Rangers, and went 5-for-12 (.417) with five singles, three strikeouts and a pair of walks. Listed at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, Emerson has a crouched and slightly-open stance with a clean, low-maintenance swing that comes with balance, bat speed and a slight uphill path. Emerson has an advanced offensive approach, and he identifies the ball quickly out of the hand to go with excellent swing decisions and innate feel for the barrel. He did a nice job handling both velocity (including a sharp line drive single to right field against a 94 mph fastball) and secondaries and did nothing to dispel his reputation as one of the best pure hitters in the class. 

Defensively, Emerson looks the part of a big league shortstop. He has quick hands to go with clean footwork and defensive instincts. He made a few impressive plays at both third base and shortstop, and showed a plus arm on a great relay throw from shortstop to home.

Zachary Geertsma, SS, Governor Livingston HS, Berkeley Heights, N.J.

• Commit: Mississippi State

Geertsma is a strong and physical righthanded hitter with a 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame and an aggressive offensive approach. He can put a charge into the ball and did so frequently at the Area Code Games for the Yankees. Overall, Geertsma went 4-for-11 (.364) with a home run, a double, two singles, three strikeouts and no walks. 

His home run came in an 0-2 count when he got an 84 mph changeup middle-middle and yanked it over the left field fence at 100 mph and an estimated 394 feet. Geertsma likes to swing—he swung on the first pitch in five of his 11 plate appearances—and does have some miss tendencies. He will expand the zone, but his pullside impact and the frequency of his hard contact was impressive. 

Brady Harris, OF, Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville, Fla.

• Commit: Florida
• Rank: 4

Harris is one of the more dynamic hitters in the class—he was also a standout at the East Coast Pro—and went 1-for-9 (.111) with four walks, three strikeouts and a single. While the overall line doesn’t jump off the page, Harris continues to put together impressive ABs that hint at his offensive upside. He generally put together solid at-bats and shows a good understanding of when to swing and when not to. He’ll hit the ball incredibly hard when he does connect, though that impact also comes with a swing that can get a bit lengthy with swing-and-miss tendencies vs. all pitch types.

His most impressive contact of the event came against Texas RHP Trey Rangel. Rangel attacked with a 98 mph fastball on the first pitch, and Harris jumped on it. He smoked a ground ball back up the middle that came off his bat at 101 mph, and while he only reached because of an error, it showed his ability to handle elite velocity with impact. 

His two other best pieces of contact came on the final day of the event. He worked a full count against New Jersey RHP JJ Drennan, then jumped on a breaking ball that hung over the middle of the plate on a line at 94 mph into left field. His other impressive barrel was also against Drennan, this time a first-pitch fly out on a 91 mph fastball that he drove to right field at 94 mph. 

Carter Hadnot, SS, Aquinas HS, San Bernardino, Calif.

• Commit: Uncommitted (2027)
• Rank: 13

Hadnot was the most impressive defender at this year’s Area Codes, showing off slick actions and a no-doubt shortstop profile. He’s a lean and wiry switch hitter with a 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame and will need to add more strength, but as a 2027-eligible and rising junior, he has plenty of time to do that. At the plate, Hadnot went 0-for-7 with two strikeouts and three walks. He showed a solid understanding of the strike zone and hit a few well-struck flyball outs—including a fly out to center against an 87 mph fastball that came off his bat at 90 mph that he just got under.

The glovework was the highlight for Hadnot. 

He is a buttery smooth mover in the field with ideal shortstop actions and advanced instincts for his age. He got plenty of reps at both shortstop and second base and made most of the plays with ease. Hadnot knows how to attack the baseball and positions himself nicely on slow rollers and while ranging up the middle. He does a great job getting the ball in and out of his glove quickly when necessary, and he also has an above-average arm with impressive carry when he needs to really let the ball go. He’s also a plus runner who clocked a 4.1-second run time from the lefthanded batter’s box.

Jaden Jackson, SS, St. John Bosco HS, Bellflower, Calif.

• Commit: UCLA
• Rank: 154

Jackson is a compact and filled-out lefthanded hitter with a 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame and a twitchy swing. He uses a wide stance and has both a high handset and high back elbow, with some prominent bat waggle in his load before he fires a quick and level swing through the zone. Despite the moving parts in his pre-load phase, Jackson showed solid contact skills in his seven plate appearances. 

He went 3-for-6 (.500) with a double, two singles, a walk and no strikeouts and swung and missed just twice on 16 swings (43% miss rate). All three of Jackson’s hits came with loud contact. He singled to center field at 100 mph against a 77 mph slider, doubled to left field at 96 mph against another 77 mph slider and singled to center at 103 mph against a 91 mph fastball. 

Jaxon Matthews, OF, Hough HS, Cornelius, N.C.

• Commit: Clemson
• Rank: 55

Matthews is a physical lefthanded hitter with plenty of strength and power with an offensive approach that’s clearly trying to tap into that power frequently. Listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Matthews has an unconventional setup at the plate. He has an open and wide setup with his lower half and starts with a deep handset that doesn’t lead to a negative move in his load stage. Instead, he coils his lower half with a big leg kick in his load and fires his hands with great bat speed and an uphill path.

He doesn’t ever get cheated and takes huge hacks in games no matter the count. That approach leads to loud impact—he hit four balls harder than 91 mph—but also comes with real miss tendencies. He swung and missed on eight of his 20 swings (a 40% miss rate) and struck out five times in 11 plate appearances. Matthews went 3-for-10 (.300) with a triple and a pair of singles. 

Carson May, C/1B, Olathe (Kan.) East HS

• Commit: Kentucky

May is a physical righthanded hitter with lots of strength and power in a 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame. He has an upright setup and keeps his hands far out in front of his chest with an arm bar in his load, but he gets to above-average power with ease in batting practice. His impact ability translated to games, as well, and while he went just 2-for-9 (.222) with a pair of singles and strikeout, May’s batted-ball quality was excellent. 

May hit three balls harder than 100 mph that didn’t fall in for hits—two smoked groundouts and one fly out to center field—and both his singles were 92+ mph line drives to center field and right field, respectively. May’s consistent contact quality was impressive, though he’ll need to sharpen up his actions and hands to stick behind the plate.

Brady Murrieta, C, Orange (Calif.) Lutheran HS

• Commit: Texas
• Rank: 31

Murrieta is a 5-foot-10, 185-pound backstop and righthanded hitter who showed solid raw power in batting practice, then was a barrel machine in each of his first three plate appearances in games. Overall, Murrieta went 2-for-7 (.286) with a double, a single, one strikeout and no walks for the ACG Brewers. He’s a maxed-out hitter who doesn’t have much more room on his frame to add strength, but he showed present impact by stinging the ball at 101 mph, 96 mph and 98 mph in his first three trips to the plate.

Murrieta entered the ACG with a reputation as a standout defender and did a nice job behind the plate in Long Beach with a few pop times in the 2.00-2.05 second range. 

Gunner Skelton, SS, Columbia (Tenn.) Academy

• Commit: Vanderbilt

Skelton was one of the hitting standouts at the East Coast Pro, and he doubled down with another strong performance at the Area Code Games for the Royals. He went 3-for-11 (.273) with a double, two singles, four strikeouts and two walks.

Skelton had four plate appearances with impressive loud contact—all of his hits plus a 93 mph ground out to second base against a 92 mph fastball—and also looked good in the field. He showed impressive actions and a good exchange at third base, with a plus arm that has great carry and should be able to easily keep him on the left side of the infield. 

Tyler Spangler, SS, De La Salle HS, Concord, Calif.

• Commit: Stanford
• Rank: 5

Spangler entered the Area Code Games as the No. 5 prep player in the class and the third-ranked shortstop behind only Grady Emerson and Jacob Lombard. He’s a tall, lean and projectable hitter with a great frame at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and a well-rounded toolset.

Spangler has a slightly-open, upright stance with a standard leg kick and a high back elbow with a high handset. His swing is extremely fluid and easy with a direct path to the ball in games that pairs nicely with a keen batting eye and an ability to use the entire field.

Overall, he went 3-for-12 (.231) with three singles, two strikeouts and two walks to go with a handful of rolled-over ground balls to the pull side. Spangler’s loudest contact of the week was a lineout against a 95 mph fastball from RHP Cooper Sides. Spangler got ahead 1-0, then swung through a 94 mph fastball middle-middle. Spangler then spit on a changeup low and way to get into a 2-1 count and got another chance at a middle-middle fastball, this one at 95 mph that he turned around on a line at 103 mph that went directly to the first baseman. 

Spangler showed another impressive piece of hitting when he got down in an 0-2 count against RHP Anthony Murphy. He got an elevated 91 mph fastball and hammered the pitch the other way on a low line drive just over shortstop that came off his bat at 97 mph. 

He looked the part defensively at shortstop, as well, showing fluid and rangy actions. His feet work nicely around the bag, and he showed the body control and athleticism necessary to make a number of off-balance throws.

Spangler made a few high-level defensive plays. One came on an abrupt short hop up the middle on which he flashed impressive hands and reactions. Another came on a ground ball up the middle where Spangler ranged behind the bag, made a slick grab then spun and threw from the back of the infield dirt to nail a 4.19-second runner. He’s got a plus arm and knows when to use it.