By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

Starting on July 26, I embarked on a baseball binge, traveling to five cities across the country over the course of 29 days. In that time, I went to Tampa for the East Coast Professional Showcase; Indianapolis for the Prep Baseball Report Future Games; Long Beach, CA, for the Area Code Games; Chicago for the Under Armour All-America Game; and New York City for the Metropolitan Baseball Classic. Squeezed between Chicago and New York were two nights at home where my clothes went from my suitcase into the laundry and back into my suitcase.

To wrap up the trip, I’m going back through my notes and highlighting players that stood out the most. We’ll start with pitchers, 15 of which are listed alphabetically below.

Tyler Benninghoff, RHP, Rockhurst HS, MO
While other teams were recycling arms toward the end of the Area Code Games, the White Sox still had some new ones to march out to the mound. Benninghoff was held until the last day to take on the Brewers. He entered the game in the third and pitched three innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a hit batter while striking out three. At 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, the Arkansas recruit has a long, projectable frame. His arm is quick and loose, generating a fastball that started out sitting 87-90 mph and remained in the high 80s throughout his appearance. His best pitch is a curveball, that has good 11/5 shape and depth at 75-77. It flattened out at times, but he can throw it for strikes and use it as an out pitch. Pitching from a 3/4 slot, he also has a good changeup with sink at 81.