SAN DIEGO – Five Tool is back in San Diego for the prestigious Area Code Games. Hosted by the University of San Diego, Area Code is inarguably one of the premier high school baseball events on the calendar. And it helps the weather is typically perfect. 

This year, the event begins with Area Code Underclass, which will last four days of games before the event transitions to the main event. On day one, there was no shortage of standouts. Here are four takeaways:

(Note: We’ll have more detailed, team-by-team reports after the underclass and upperclass events conclude.)

1) It’ll be tough for an underclass pitcher to top Seth Hernandez’s (Elite Academic Academy; California) performance for the Brewers to open the day. Imagine showing up for an 8 a.m. game in San Diego and seeing an overpowering fastball up to 95 MPH and quality secondary stuff to go with it. Not fun. Hernandez’s fastball, which actually played up through the zone, was so good he didn’t really need much else, but the Vanderbilt commitment showed a curveball and changeup that have the makings of being true swing-and-miss offerings, too. It’s easy to see why Hernandez, who gave up just one hit in 3.0 innings and struck out seven with two walks, is regarded as one of the top 2025 right-handed pitching prospects in Texas. 

In one inning, A’s right-hander Dax Hardcastle ran his fastball up to 92 MPH with a good slider with quality spin and bite. 

2) Remember the name Quentin Young. A 2026 prospect from Oaks Christian in California playing for the MLB Breakthrough Series team, Young would have been the most impressive hitter of the day if not for the guy in section three. At 6-5, the right-handed hitter showed advanced bat-to-ball skill and hitting feel, which included hitting fastballs, breaking balls and showing hard impact off the barrel. In his first at-bat, Young recognized and spoiled a good two-strike slider and pulled it into left-center field for a double, showing his strength. He also showed a huge arm from third base and in the outfield during pre-game in-and-out. Major prospect. 

But MLB Breakthrough Series was on the wrong side of a Reds offense that took its walks and capitalized on chances to do damage. In particular, Hagen Wright (Red Mountain; Arizona) was very impressive and the Arizona State commitment showed notable power and the ability to create some loud impact off the barrel. 

3) Omar Serna saw two pitches total. He hammered both for homers. In his first at-bat against a quality arm throwing a fastball up to 94 MPH, Serna mashed a heater so hard you could hear it hit the scoreboard. He’s lucky USD didn’t deliver him a postgame bill. 

The next at-bat, Serna (Dobie) anticipated breaking ball and crushed the first one he saw over the right-center fence. Oh. The LSU commitment also has a very strong arm from behind the dish, too. 

Along with right-hander Marcos Paz, Serna gave the Rangers squad a huge lead, which it barely held on to after a late charge from the White Sox. Speaking of Paz, he was fantastic. The physical, uncommitted righty tossed 3.0 dominant, no-hit frames with five strikeouts. It was Paz at his best – calm, poised, and effective with three pitches that all created whiffs. 

By the way… 2026 prospect Ethan Holliday – yes, the younger brother of Jackson – made an eye-opening play at shortstop that was jaw-dropping good and partially because he made it look so effortless. We didn’t get to see him swing the bat much because he refused to chase pitches and saw a lot of balls, but I’m guessing we see a big-time hit tool emerge before his time in San Diego is over.

4) The nightcap featured the Nationals versus the Yankees and was a game dominated by pitching before a dramatic walk-off win by the Yankees. Nationals starter Avery Shiflett carved up the opposing lineup with just two pitches – a quality fastball up to 88 MPH that beat hitters in the zone and a future plus curveball with spin up to 2700 RPM that he could throw for a strike, add a hint of sweep to or bury when ahead. For a young, tall, long lefty, Shiflett threw strikes very well. 

The Yankees closed out their win with two of the most impressive arms of opening day – Seton Hall Prep’s (New Jersey) Marcelo Harsch and Poly Prep Country Day’s (New York) Justice De Jong. Harsch, a Wake Forest commitment, is a 6-4, lean and long righty who fired a sinking fastball up to 93 MPH; racked up a ton of whiffs with a slider he had feel for adding some break to at 82 MPH and throwing much harder up to 87 MPH; and his changeup at 84-86 MPH was mixed in effectively with true promise as a quality third pitch. In 2.0 innings, he struck out five and his only mistake was throwing Arkansas commitment Alexander Peck (University School; Tennessee) a two-strike fastball after getting two whiffs with his slider the previous pitches. Peck promptly smacked the heater down the right field line to drive in a pair. 

As for De Jong, a Duke commitment, he showed a future plus curveball at 74-77 MPH win spin around 2500 RPM that occasionally made hitters a tad weak in the knees. Additionally, De Jong threw a lively fastball up to 93 MPH and proudly executed a firm changeup at 84-85 MPH against lefties. In 2.0 perfect innings, he struck out three and would have been the day’s most impressive arm if not for Hernandez. The only batter to make hard contact against De Jong was IMG Academy (Florida) 2025 outfielder and Vanderbilt commitment Dean Moss. Moss watched a curveball dropped in for a strike and then lined the next one at the shortstop. Based on what we saw on day one, I'd be surprised if Moss isn't discussed as one of the best pure hitters in the event once it's complete. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor