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Area Code Games: Day 2

August 7, 2019
PBR California Staff

Blair Field, Long Beach, CA - Day Two of the Area Code Games started with batting practice for the A's team followed up with the Brewers playing the Yankees in the first game of the day. When a game has three hits and no runs finishing 0-0, the pitchers get the attention and spotlight in the coverage. For the A's team, batting practice allowed us to see their raw power and ability to handle the bat before the rest of their games this week. Here's the standouts from today. 

Brewers:

2020 RHP Hunter Barnhart (St. Joseph) - Arizona State commit. Full and strong build at 6-2, 195, Barnhart started on the mound for the Brewers and flashed quality stuff before an injury pulled him out of the game after only 1.1 innings seeing him strike out 2. The delivery has deliberate speed to it showing depth out of the glove before an average front knee and H-3/4 release point showing strength in the arm. FB 89-92 working the bottom half of the zone and locating the pitch well. SLD 75-77 showed feel in it's 11-to-5 shape; pitch broke deep with late action showing length into the zone to steal strikes and get swing and misses. CHG 81-83 with late bottom having bits of cut on the action; pitch was used early in the counts to keep hitters off the FB. Here's hoping the injury is minor.

2020 RHP Kelena Sauer (Kamehameha HI) - Uncommitted. At 6-3, 205 Sauer shows a long frame with space for projection having some strength currently. Sauer came in after Barnhart got injured and bailed the Brewers out going 3.2 innings, striking out 5 and effectively shutting out the Yankees offense and keeping them in the ballgame. Working from a stretch only delivery, Sauer showed athleticism with his very high front knee lift allowing his loose arm to work with length out of the glove before showing a mid-slot release point. The slot made it tough for Yankees hitters to square up the baseball leading to lots of weak contact. FB 86-91 T92, worked 90-91 in his first inning before settling in at the 87-89 range over his last two. The pitch moved around the zone being firm at the plate and getting swing and miss when going up through the zone. SLD 71-75 showed wide sweep using the pitch on both sides and flashing some tilt; versatility in the pitch as he was able to create swing and misses and land for early strikes. CHG 78-81 showed run and sink slowing the arm a bit, but being able to effectively locate the pitch and change sequences with it. Sauer controlled the zone all outing looking to pound down and away before moving pitches to change hitters eye sights and keeping them off balance. There's still projection in the stuff and from his slot could be an effective weapon for a college program. 

A's:

2020 C Tyler Soderstrom (Turlock) - UCLA commit. 6-foot-2, 188 pounds lean athletic build with athleticism. Soderstrom has continued to show why he's one of the top catchers in the entire state looking comfortable at the plate on Monday lining out and tripling. Even though the A’s didn’t play today, he stood out working through three solid rounds of batting practice showing plus bat speed and flashing plus raw power as he popped a few big HR. During the rounds he worked the middle and pullside of the field making loud contact and getting the barrel through the zone. 

2020 INF Nick Yorke (Archbishop Mitty) - Arizona commit. 6-foot, 195 pounds medium frame, athletic build with present strength. Yorke has been one of our favorite players to cover and showed the big league tools in the swing during batting practice. Consistently put good wood on the baseball as he drove balls throughout the field flashing above average raw power with a few home runs and easy carry through the gaps. Yorke has a knack for finding barrels in games doing the same thing during batting practice. 

2020 1B Michael Brown (Vacaville HS) - Washington commit. Brown has an impressive stature standing in at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds with length and strength in the build. Brown showed off his plus raw power as he easily drove the ball all over the field and deep over the fence. The ball explodes off the barrel showing the power is no joke; hit a couple that were very high and long with the big-boy strength we've seen at the NorCal ProCase and in season. The last two days Brown has put himself squarely in the conversation as one of the top players to watch during the event and over the 2020 season. 

2020 INF Tommy Troy (Los Gatos) - Stanford commit. Medium, full build with current strength. Troy showed well during batting practice working gap-to-gap and showing easy carry from a quick, compact bat. Troy showed us he had pop during the NorCal ProCase and today was a similar showing driving balls deep into gaps and over the fence. 

2020 OF Chase Davis (Franklin) - Arizona commit. Lanky, full large build. Davis started slow making loud contact during the first round, looking like he was rushing to get to the baseball. That all changed in the 2nd round where Davis unloaded on the baseball driving moonshots over the wall in RCF and RF with ease; he found his rhythm and timing allowing his body to work in sequence and the barrel to work upwards through the zone. When his swing is on time, the raw power is easy plus and the contact is very loud. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
California State Games CA 08/17 Vanguard University
Kern County Prospect I.D. CA 09/07 Cal State Bakersfield
SoCal Prospect Games CA 09/14 JSerra High School
NorCal Top Prospect Games CA 09/21 College of Marin
Rising Stars Showcase CA 09/21 Santiago High School
N. CA Uncommitted Senior Games CA 10/06 College of Marin

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