We’ve published countless videos, conducted several interviews, completed a lengthy podcast with a full breakdown and now we’re completing the final part of our comprehensive coverage of Area Code Games. Beginning with the underclass event, we’re going to provide a breakdown and scouting notes for each of the eight teams that participated in the event. Let’s conclude our coverage of the Area Code underclass with perhaps the best team – the Yankees.   

(All prospects are in the 2025 class unless otherwise noted.)

YANKEES
It wouldn’t make sense to lead off this report with anyone other than the event’s best leadoff hitter – Rett Johnson. A quick-twitch athlete with a confident, joyous presence that seemingly rubbed off on others, Johnson hit .500/.727/.667 with four walks and zero strikeouts; his line was a true representation of his skill and performance with nothing fluke-like about the left-handed hit tool and plate skills. A plus-plus runner, the 5-9 center fielder ran down the line in 3.9 seconds in one at-bat and 4.07 seconds in another. An all-around stud, Johnson was undoubtedly one of the best players and prospects in the event.

If you’ve read Five Tool’s summer coverage, you know how much Eli Willits has impressed us. The best prospect in the Pudge Rodriguez World Classic, a premier 2025 event, Willits proved he could excel on the national stage, too. As a 2026 prospect playing against many of the best 2025 players in the nation, Willits made a strong case to be in the mix as the best position player prospect in the event (not named 'Ethan Holliday' division). The switch-hitting infielder from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School (Oklahoma) finished Area Code with a .714/.778/1.000 slash line across nine plate appearances with two walks and just one strikeout. His advanced hitting feel routinely stood out from the left side and he even smacked a single up the middle from the right side, too. 

Defensively, Willits showed outstanding range at third base and made one of the event’s most impressive plays at second base – he ranged over towards first base with the infield in, fielded a ball on the move, looked the runner back to third and then sprinted over to first base to touch the bag before the runner could. But as impressive as he was at both third base and second base, Willits is a shortstop where his defense could be future plus, if the arm continues to get stronger, thanks to the way his feet, bend and hands work in athletic unison to create baseball poetry. A plus athlete with outstanding instincts and makeup, Willits, the son of former MLB outfielder and current Oklahoma assistant coach Reggie Willits, was so impressive he might have put a few future sixes on his scouting report – hit, run and defense. The fun part? He’s still two years away from being the focus of the guys writing the professional scouting reports.

While Willits’ skill and impact were a little more obvious in game action, Alex Harrington’s (Cathedral Catholic; California) sky-high projection, feel for impacting the game and future tools were in that elite prospect tier, too. At 6-2, 170 pounds, Harrington is an obvious projection candidate physically with some of the best bat speed and rotational acceleration in the event. With impressive barrel feel that created some surprising pop off the bat, it’s easy to dream on the Stanford commitment adding substantial power in the future to accompany his hitting feel and good chance to stick at shortstop with plus wheels and athleticism. Harrington was a stud quarterback, too, although it looks like he’s just focusing on baseball now.

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest Alex’s favorite target when he was under center/in the gun was his twin brother, Hunter Harrington. Blessed with similar athleticism, projection, talent and future tools, Hunter, also a Stanford commitment, looked to be a little bit more physical/stronger than his brother with a tick more powerfully explosiveness while Alex plays with more polish, impact and hit feel. It’s easy to envision Hunter flying around the outfield because you can find tape of him flying around the football field making plays. Moving back to the infield, I left San Diego a big fan of Jamie Zee Jr. (Bergen Catholic; New Jersey) and 2026 prospect Aiden Ruiz (Stony Brook Prep; New York). 

Zee, a Notre Dame commitment, bounced around the diamond with the type of energy and build that reminded me some of 2022 upperclass Yankees standout Kevin McGonigle, who had a similar short but compact, strong build with athleticism and explosive traits. Zee doesn’t have the power or swing to lift balls over the wall like McGonigle showed, but he played with a similar confidence and impacted the game in a similar way. Maybe the best way to say it is Zee is simply a baseball player; he’s the type of guy you point out and say, “that guy is solid.” As for Ruiz, he’s undersized at 5-9, 155 pounds but plays with the heart and confidence of a 6-2, 190-pound infielder. His motor was outstanding, he ran down the line in 4.08 seconds from the right side and he has the type of hitting skill to spoil pitches, get deep into counts and put the bat on the baseball at a high rate. Additionally, he’s a gamer with standout defensive skill that profiled well at second base, but he’s probably a future shortstop. 

Speaking of gamers, Wake Forest commit and catcher Andrew Costello (Cathedral Prep; Pennsylvania) oozed future leadership traits and carried himself with a quiet confidence in the batter’s box. Don’t let the stat line fool you (being hit by a pitch twice didn’t help): He can hit from the right side and made hard contact multiple times only to watch it find a glove. Ruiz’s high school teammate and Costello’s future college teammate Jordan Serrano swung one of the loudest barrels in the event, which included smacking a 91 MPH fastball out to right field for a game-tying, two-run homer in the seventh inning. A right-handed hitting outfielder with projection remaining, Serrano only hit the ball hard when he put it in play and also moved well in the outfield. DeMatha (Maryland) product and uncommitted right-handed hitting outfielder Bud Coombs created loud contact several times, which included some very deep fly outs and a liner into the right-center gap. Physical and athletic, Coombs is a star running back for one of the nation’s best high school football programs and is a true multi-sport prospect there weren’t many players who could hit the ball harder.

On the mound, the Yankees didn’t lack intrigue and talent and were led by the event’s Pitcher of the Week, LSU commitment Zion Theophilus. With one of the best sliders at Area Code, the Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) right-hander put on a dominant show during 3.0 no-hit innings with just one walk and eight strikeouts. In addition to impressive stuff, Theophilus could attack with just his fastball-slider combo because his control and command were impressive, too; the righty was able to hammer his glove side against right-handers, which the occasional fastball to the arm side before snapping off sliders to his glove side for strikes and in the dirt for whiffs. The breaking ball was 80-83 MPH with spin around 2300 RPM while his fastball was 89-92 MPH with spin around 2400 RPM. Given how well he threw strikes and commanded his stuff, it wasn’t a surprise that the right-hander’s delivery checked a lot of the boxes you look for, too. 

At first glance, a viewer might have thought Dustin May’s long-lost cousin took the mound for the Yankees. But don’t let the long, curly red hair distract from the performance and stuff – Danny Nelson was a major dude on the mound. In 4.2 shutout innings spread across two appearances, Nelson gave up just one hit, issued no walks and struck out four. A product of Hershey High School in Pennsylvania, Nelson possessed one of the best deliveries – he decelerated especially well after a quick, clean arm delivered strikes – and arsenals in the event. The Clemson commitment used a fastball (88-92 MPH), curveball (around 78 MPH), slider (around 82 MPH) and changeup (83 MPH). He left Area Code as one of the best bets to throw quality strikes in the future and toed the rubber unfazed by the competition and stage. 

Two-way prospect and Duke commitment Justice De Jong had a couple bright moments with the bat, but after the pitching look he delivered, it’s hard not to project him as a pitcher at the next level. In 2.0 perfect innings, De Jong struck out three and ran his fastball up to 93 MPH. A strong 6-3, 210 pounds, the New York prospect was able to consistently locate his fastball to his arm side and execute his changeup (85-86 MPH; 1800 RPM) for whiffs down-and-away to lefties. As for his curveball, he threw it in the 74-77 MPH range with spin around 2500 RPM and some occasional late sweep late in the zone that gave it a two-plane appearance. He had feel for throwing it for strikes early in the count to keep hitters off guessing fastball. Like Nelson, De Jong’s pitch-to-pitch focus was impressive; he refused to give away a pitch and took pride in executing, like when he struck out a batter with a changeup and satisfyingly pounded his glove as he bounced off the mound.

Wake Forest proved it’s here to stay because in addition to the players mentioned above, it already has a commitment from Seton Hall Prep (New Jersey) right-hander Marcelo Harsch, too. Thin and tall with long arms, the righty fired lively, heavy sinkers up to 93 MPH at hitters and also threw one of the event’s best sliders at 82-87 MPH with mean bite towards the dirt; he racked up whiffs with the slider early and often and his 84-86 MPH changeup played off his sinking fastball well. Let’s end with a couple of uncommitted standouts… Another pitcher who shined in two appearances was right-hander Myles Upchurch. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out four in 4.0 shutout innings. Once Upchurch, who attends St. Albans School (Maryland), settled in, he tightened his control and began to throw more strikes. At 6-4, 215 pounds, Upchurch touched 93 MPH with his fastball and both his slider (81-82 MPH with true shape; around 2500 RPM) and changeup (81 MPH; 1600 RPM) showed major promise as potential swing-and-miss offerings. If his fastball command can continue to progress, Upchurch will unlock a new level of impressive performance. 

There are imposing dudes on the mound and then there are guys like Erick Peralta, who look like future Big Ten tight ends and create uncomfortable at-bats. Listed at 6-5, 215 pounds, the uncommitted prospect from New York attacks hitters with a unique look – it’s a higher release from a low three-quarters, nearly sidearm slot. And that played into the sinking action on his fastball up to 93 MPH and he coupled that with an 80 MPH slider with sharp sweep the other direction. Peralta also showed a 75 MPH changeup with 1529 RPM, which gave him another really intriguing offering to work with. He might have more of a relief outlook long-term, but he also has the type of unique look that coaches like to have on a pitching staff. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor