In Long Beach, California every August, 228 of the best players in the country gather to compete against each other and in front of hundreds of scouts from across professional baseball. It’s no doubt one of the biggest events of the summer, perhaps the biggest.
On the mound, this event had everything you could ask for: fastballs reaching triple digits, breaking balls pushing 3,000 RPM, and some incredibly polished arms who looked capable of getting outs against professional hitters right now.
After watching 140 innings worth of baseball, these are the 15 arms who stood out the most.
Ethan Gustus - RHP, Roseville (CA) | Athletics
Gustus got all the headlines on day one of games, touching 100 mph in his first inning of work against a loaded Milwaukee Brewers lineup. It’s a pretty staggering feat, especially when considering that Gustus had only ever peaked at 97 mph prior to this one outing. I wrote him up here as an early summer circuit riser and mentioned him as someone who could one day hit triple digits. Little did me or anyone think that would come at the Area Code Games just a little under 2 weeks later.
Gustus features an ultra-lanky, lean 6-foot-6, 192-pound frame that looks much longer and more athletic in-person. It’s not the most durable body, one that will likely benefit from some added weight in the future.
Gustus is a quick mover down the mound who controls his limbs exceptionally well despite his taller stature. He’s ultra-flexible and stretchy, dropping down into his back leg with momentum moving down the mound, getting huge hip-shoulder separation at foot plant. It’s an ultra-quick arm and a long, loose, whippy arm action that Gustus repeats well.
The stuff was loud in this 3-inning look. Gustus sat 96-99 and touched 100 in his first inning of work with 2,400-2,700 RPM on a fastball that took off like a jet-rocket out of his hand. He would settle into the 93-97 range as the outing went on, but it still looked like a potential 70-grade offering.
The breaking ball looked above-average, in the mid-80s with sweepy two-plane shape. The changeup lagged behind the other two, a potential average offering with some fade that was clearly the tertiary offering.
The final line was 3 innings pitched, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. It looked like solid-average command. Gustus made himself plenty of money in Long Beach, and has the potential to be one of the first right-handed pitchers off the board in July.
Brady Guzzie - LHP, Conwell-Egan Catholic (PA) | Yankees
Guzzie looked like one of the more pro-ready pitching prospects at the event with polish that was evident in every facet of his game. He would pitch three shutout innings against the White Sox, looking in complete control of the outing from start to finish while racking up 6 strikeouts, walking none, and only allowing 2 hits.
Guzzie is a little smaller in stature at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, but he pitches with conviction on the mound, going straight after hitters early in counts with all weapons. It was one of the more polished, under-control operations that we laid eyes on throughout the event. Guzzie works with a low pulse and a mature, confident look on the mound well beyond his years.
Guzzie doesn’t sell out for much velocity, but it was a fastball that played up due to its tough, down-hill angle and plus carry. The pitch sat 88-92 mph throughout all 3 innings, garnering whiffs and weak contact in buckets. It was up to 23 inches of IVB.
Guzzie’s breaking ball was the main secondary here, sitting in the 78-81 mph range and blending between a curveball and a slider. He backdoored and frontdoored the pitch to both left-handed and right-handed hitters. Guzzie would also flash a changeup in the 81-84 mph range that he didn’t go to much.
Guzzie will have plenty of people in to watch him this spring. This has a chance to be the most polished left-handed pitcher in the 2027 class.
George Ferguson - RHP, Abilene (TX) | Rangers
Ferguson continues to build a case as the potential top right-handed pitching prospect in the prep ranks. He’s seemingly pitched well at every single stop so far this summer, and that was no different in Long Beach.
Ferguson was actually the first arm of the entire event to throw, working out of the 8 AM time slot against a solid Chicago White Sox lineup. He would cruise through 3 shutout innings of work, collecting 4 strikeouts while giving up 2 hits, walking one, and throwing 65% strikes.
The fastball coasted 94-95 for most of his outing and touched 96 a number of times. Ferguson rips down on the baseball with ferocious intent and backspins his fastball well. It consistently got over 2,500 RPM with explosive riding life through the zone. It’s control over command with that pitch at the moment, but Ferguson can miss bats inside the strike zone with frequency.
The changeup here was his best pitch of the day, maybe the best secondary pitch we saw in the entire event. Ferguson threw it in the upper 80s with conviction and it dove late off the fastball tunnel, getting whiffs below the zone. It looked every bit of a plus offering, maybe better. Ferguson also threw a solid 83-84 mph slider with some short bite that could become an above-average breaker.
There’s some funk and effort to Ferguson’s delivery, but he makes it work. This is every bit of a starting pitcher at the next level, and potentially a first-round caliber one if Ferguson continues on his steady upward trajectory.
Jake Turner - LHP/OF, Centennial (NV) | Reds
Turner is one of the top two-way prospects in the 2027 class, someone who actually won the Area Code home run derby, hitting 29 home runs to take the crown. On top of having some of the best bat speed and raw power in the 2027 class, Turner showed out on the mound at this event, and looked like someone who could go in the top-3 rounds solely as an arm.
Turner looks the part on the mound and in the batter’s box with a chiseled-up 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame. It’s one of the more physically imposing frames in the class, with present strength and length.
On the mound, it’s really unique, deceptive traits with some cross-body action and down-hill plane from a higher slot. Turner is a short strider that lacks much extension, but he still finds ways to create unique angles. The fastball was up to 96, featuring plenty of riding life that garnered 6 whiffs in this outing. Turner’s slider also looked like a potential plus pitch with firm shape in the mid-80s with 2,700+ RPM at times. He also flashed a bigger 79-81 mph curveball.
There is undoubtedly some relief risk here — Turner walked 3 in this look and would at times have trouble with his command. Still, there’s no denying the ridiculous arm talent and things he can do with the baseball. I know there are some scouts who still like the bat more than the arm, so it will be interesting to see how this profile continues to trend.
Colin Doyle - RHP, Downers Grove North (IL) | White Sox
Doyle was one of my personal favorite arms of the event, someone I could see really blowing up with a strong spring. He threw 3 innings while giving up one hit, no walks, and striking out 5.
Doyle is a physically imposing human being, standing at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds with a huge, durable frame that looks the part on the mound. Doyle moved efficiently down the slope and is quite the athlete despite his size. It looked every bit that of above-average extension with a clean, loose arm action that he repeated well.
The fastball here sat 93-95 in his first inning of work, but you’d think it was a few ticks harder with how violently it took off out of his hand. Doyle got a number of whiffs on the pitch inside the zone, and was seemingly overpowering guys at the top rail.
The breaking ball here definitely needs some work in the future. Doyle would tend to slow his arm down to get to a 79-82 mph slider that didn’t feature much teeth and had a hump. There’s still some spin capacity here to dream on a better breaker, up to 2,600 RPM on that pitch. Doyle also mixed in a splitter that he killed spin on really well and had some tumble.
Doyle pounded the strike zone and worked with an up-tempo pace throughout the entire outing. This looked like a potential day one starting pitching prospect if the arsenal takes the steps forward it has to before the spring. Doyle is committed to Duke University.
Brogan Witcher - RHP/C, Liberty (CA) | Brewers
A reclass up from 2028, Witcher had some high expectations headed into the event, met them, and maybe even surpassed them. The bat is good, don’t get me wrong. Witcher peaked north of 106 mph with a loose, easy right-handed stroke in batting practice and flashed a bazooka of an arm out of the crouch. That being said, this looked like a potential top-50-pick caliber right-handed pitcher, and it seems that’s the way this profile is trending.
Witcher came firing out the gate, hitting 97 mph with his first pitch, a fastball blown by Breakthrough OF Michael Borne. He would follow it up with a disgusting, knee-buckling curveball a pitch later, generating oohs and ahs from scouts in attendance.
The rest of the outing was much the same. Witcher sat 94-97 with a power fastball that featured 2,500+ RPM. Witcher’s feel for landing both his breaking balls consistently was abundantly clear. The curveball was comfortably a plus pitch, sitting 80-82 with sharp bite and serious power. Witcher flashed a slider variant at 81-84 mph right around 0 IVB that also looked above-average to plus.
It’s easy to see the ingredients here. It’s a blue chip 6-5, 205-pound frame, clean movement patterns and frontline stuff, with even more jumps Witcher can make if he focuses just on one side of the ball. If all that wasn’t convincing enough, he’ll be just 17 years and 11 months old on draft day.
Witcher is committed to the University of South Carolina, though it looks less and less likely that he makes it to Columbia.
Chris Grasso - RHP, St. Joseph’s Prep (PA) | Yankees
Grasso came to the Area Code Games after a standout outing at East Coast Pro, and continued to bolster his stock as a potential day one pitching prospect.
It’s a premium 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame that looks the part on the mound with a high waist and broad shoulders. Grasso is a clean, low-effort mover with a shorter arm action. He sat 92-94 mph in his outing with a fastball that featured occasional sink and present tail away from left-handed hitters. That pitch and the arsenal in general were exceptional at creating weak contact on the ground — Grasso ran a 50% groundball rate throughout his two innings of work.
The breaking ball here was plus. Grasso threw it plenty to both right and left-handed hitters and worked it to both sides of the plate, showcasing advanced feel and command. He spun it north of 2,900 RPM at times in the 82-84 range with sharp, late horizontal bite when it didn’t back up on him. Grasso generated some pretty ugly swings and got plenty of chase with that pitch, especially against right-handed hitters. Grasso also occasionally flashed a changeup, but it’s the one-two punch here that will get the headlines.
These past two weeks of performance are sure to have scouts bustling into Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania to see how it looks in the spring.
Casen Reedy - RHP, Monsignor Kelly Catholic (TX) | Rangers
Reedy was quite the pleasant surprise of this Rangers pitching staff, a name that has risen up boards this summer after returning well from a full UCL reconstruction surgery with an internal brace he had back in 2025.
It’s a smaller 6-0, 183-pound frame that could hold another 20 pounds of weight, but Reedy is quite the powerful, explosive athlete on the mound with a lightning-quick arm. There’s some effort here and some no-doubt reliever risk, but Reedy actually looked really good in the control department. He finished his 2 innings of work having walked none, throwing strikes at a 72% clip.
The stuff here was explosive. Up to 96, Reedy consistently lived in the mid-90s with a fastball that took off out of his hand. It was spun in the 2,450-2,600 range for most of the outing. A slider was the main secondary here, a hard, mid-80s breaking ball that he flashed inconsistent feel for at times but flashed potential above-average traits. A splitter that Reedy killed spin on well was also an intriguing offering.
Reedy has been on a rocket ship trajectory since coming back from his surgery and definitely put himself on follow lists this week in Long Beach.
Cole Kuhn - RHP, St. Joseph’s Prep (PA) | Yankees
Kuhn worked up to 99 mph across two innings of work where he struck out 5 hitters and walked just one. The heater was in the mid-90s to start, but slowly climbed each inning up into the upper-90s when Kuhn needed it. He flashed a couple of 0 and 17 shapes with a bowling-ball sinker that dove under hitters’ bats. He also mixed in a two-seam shape with more carry.
The changeup looked pretty good at times, mimicking the sinker tunnel with slightly more depth and 10 mph of separation, also weirdly high spin rates. Kuhn’s cutter was the main secondary against right-handed hitters, with tight, hard shape. He also mixed in a slider and a sweeper with 2,900+ RPM.
Kuhn may ultimately end up in the back of a bullpen at the next level. It’s under 5 feet of extension and up to this point fringe-average strike-throwing. Regardless, he still did quite well for himself at this event.
Brennan Neal - RHP, Brookstone (GA) | Royals
Neal is an ultra-athletic right-hander with a wiry look on the mound, high waist, and the look of someone who may someday throw very, very hard.
The strikes were at times scattered in this look, but the stuff was more than loud. Neal worked up to 96 mph with a fastball that had explosive life out of his hand. Neal used the pitch a ton, but at times struggled to miss bats early on in his 2-inning stint.
Neal features a solid 82-83 slider that will have a chance to take a leap in the spring, as well as a solid upper-80s changeup. It looked like a reliever in this look with a full, max-effort delivery that produced a freakishly fast arm. Regardless, Neal is as fun as anyone to watch compete on the mound. He is straight electricity.
It feels like there’s another gear here to unlock with Neal. He’s an elite athlete with serious fast-twitch muscle fibers and more on the way to complement what is already a solid foundation on the mound. He’s someone teams will want to check in on plenty this spring.
Justin Kirchner - RHP, Harvard-Westlake (CA) | Brewers
Kirchner was super impressive in his two innings of work, and looked like a guy that will be closely watched this spring. He would finish his outing giving up no earned runs, no walks, and one hit while striking out two.
Kirchner has a good body and an ultra-high waist you want to see in projectable pitching prospects. He works well down the mound, generating slightly above-average extension from a high three-quarter arm slot that creates a down-hill angle on hitters.
The fastball was in the 91-93 range for most of the outing, up to 94 in the 2,350-2,400 bucket for the most part. A bigger curveball that he would flash with 12-6 action in the 79-80 mph range with 2,500+ RPM worked as the go-to secondary. Kirchner also threw a hard cutter in the 86-87 range, as well as an 82-84 mph changeup with some fade.
This is one to watch closely if the stuff takes another jump between now and July like it has over the past 12 months. Kirchner flipped his commitment from Yale to Vanderbilt in May, and could be a tough sign.
Cole Dunlap - RHP, Edmond Memorial (OK) | White Sox
Dunlap had an impressive outing against the Yankees, going 3 innings while allowing only 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 earned run, and striking out 3.
It’s only 5-foot-11, and there’s not a ton of projection remaining, but Dunlap flashed one of the most complete pitch packages of the event, showcasing real feel for all 3 of his offerings.
The fastball sat 94-97, and Dunlap held velocity well throughout the outing. His best pitch was a mid-80s slider that dove off the fastball tunnel and flashed impressive traits with tight, hard shape. He also mixed in an 88-90 mph changeup that he went to mostly against left-handed hitters.
Dunlap’s stuff continues to tick up. It’s a sturdy frame with a strong, packed lower-half and potential starter traits. He is committed to TCU.
Grant Sperandio - RHP, Memorial (TX) | Rangers
Sperandio would start the second game of the event for the Rangers against a solid Royals team, dueling off against fellow potential day one draft prospect Greyson Parker.
He endured some trouble early on, but remained poised and would get out of a jam with 2 runners on and no outs in the first inning, going on to face 9 hitters and get 9 outs in a row. His final line would be 3 innings of 1-run baseball, 3 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts.
Sperandio sat 93-95 with his fastball and touched 96, showing some feel for working the ball to both halves of the plate. Sperandio’s sweepy breaking ball sat in the 79-83 mph range and got a number of ugly swings. He spun that pitch north of 2,800 RPM at times, and it looked above-average. The changeup was also good with fading action that he deployed primarily to left-handed hitters that got a number of whiffs inside the zone.
Sperandio is a fringe-average extender down the mound, but he still features plenty of starting pitching qualities. He is committed to the University of Texas.
Andrew Carlson - RHP, Trinity Classical Academy (CA) | Brewers
Carlson worked like he had a flight to catch after the 8 AM time slot, pounding the strike zone and getting after hitters early on in counts. It’s a strong, workhorse 6-3, 230-pound frame. There may not be much upside left in the body, but it was a very intriguing, polished “now” product.
Carlson got up to 96 mph in his first inning of work, sitting in the 92-96 range throughout his outing. It’s not the most metrically appealing fastball, and one that can at times fall off in terms of velocity and command as he works later in games, but Carlson showed exceptional feel for working that pitch to both halves of the plate and putting it where he wanted, especially during his first inning.
Carlson’s breaking balls looked good in this outing, with the slider being his best: a tight, hard gyro shape in the low 80s that he tunneled well off of the fastball to right-handed hitters. He also mixed in a mid-80s cutter that bridged the arsenal well. A 79-82 mph changeup with some depth and fade was probably his best secondary during this look, a pitch that he sells with good arm speed and showed feel for at the bottom of the zone.
Carlson’s extension was right around 6’2”-6’4” on Trackman, he moves decently well and has the type of command to where it’s easy to see him starting long-term. This may not be the highest ceiling arm in the class, but one that could still have consideration as a day one pick come July.
Traxton Roberts - RHP, Armstrong (IL) | White Sox
Roberts looked like the Midwest arm in this class who comes out sitting 94-95 in the spring and immediately vaults himself into top-3 round conversations. It’s a long, lean 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame that still has room to hold 20 pounds and will benefit hugely from winter gains.
Roberts sat 89-93 in this look with a fastball that didn’t look too overpowering, but that he got a number of whiffs on at the top rail against Rangers hitters and that he also spotted well. The slider was just alright in this look, but it still flashed desirable shape and spin rates north of 2,600 at times. He also mixed in a bigger mid-70s curveball, as well as a mid-80s changeup.
There are definite steps this has to take forward between now and July, but it’s easy to fall in love with the projection and athlete on the mound. Roberts will also be turning 18 just around draft day and will be on the younger side of the 2027 class.