By the close of the 2011 Area Code Games, a total of 55 pitchers had topped the magic mark of 90 mph on the TrakMan 3-D Doppler radar system.
As explained in the first top 25 list of the event's pitching prospects, the rankings committee that decided the New Balance and Wilson daily player awards used a similar criteria to the one used by many of the assembled 350 scouts and over 100 college coaches who attended the event.
That criteria includes velocity, but arm action from front to back, body type, command and control, throwing strikes and body language are also some of the evaluation points.
Although he didn't hit the 100 mph mark during the week that he was shooting for, Lucas Giolito (2012) from Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) tops the list using the overall criteria, even though his outing in a 12-7 nine-inning loss on Day 3 to the Kansas City Royals was a bit below what he's been showing in other events this summer.
The UCLA-bound, 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander whose 96.3-mile-per-hour fastball last year topped the 2010 Area Code charts, hit 96.9 mph this year that's been rounded to 97 for ranking purposes.
Of the 35 pitchers selected, five are left-handers and three are from the Class of 2013.
Californians ended up with eight of the first 12 slots on the final list, although Joey Gallo of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) made a major move up to No. 7. Hunter Virant of Camarillo (Camarillo, Calif.) also came up strong and finished with a final No. 11 placing.
Area Code Top 35 Pitchers
(Final Rankings including top velocity)
1) Lucas Giolito, Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 97 mph
2) Max Fried, (no high school), 2012, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 2012, 93 mph*
3) Ty Hensley, Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.), 2012, RHP, Chicago White Sox, 93 mph
4) Trevor Megill, Marina (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 93 mph
5) Kayden Porter, Spanish Fork (Spanish Fork, Utah), 2012, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 90 mph
6) Karl Keglovits, Nazareth Area (Nazareth, Pa.), 2012, RHP, New York Yankees, 90 mph
7) Joey Gallo, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), 2012, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 94 mph
8) Freddy Avis, Menlo School (Atherton, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Oakland Athletics, 94 mph
9) Cody Poteet, Christian (El Cajon, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 94 mph
10) Cole Irvin, Servite (Anaheim, Calif.), 2012, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 89 mph
11) Hunter Virant, Camarillo (Camarillo, Calif.), LHP, 2012, Milwaukee Brewers, 90 mph
12) Chase Da Jong, Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 91 mph
13) Brady Bramlett, Arlington (Bartlett, Tenn.), 2012, RHP, Washington Nationals, 92 mph
14) Shane Watson, Lakewood (Lakewood, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 93 mph
15) Logan Shore, Coon Rapids (Coon Rapids, Minn.), 2012, RHP, Chicago White Sox, 90 mph
16) Grayson Long, Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas), 2012, RHP, Texas Rangers, 93 mph
17) Trey Killian, Mountain Home (Mountain Home, Ark.), 2012, RHP, Chicago White Sox, 92 mph
18) Brett Lilek, Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, Ill.), 2012, LHP, Chicago White Sox, 91 mph
19) Zach Elfin, Hagerty (Ovieto, Fla.), 2012, RHP, Washington Nationals, 92 mph
20) Sheldon Neuse, Fossil Ridge (Fort Worth, Texas), 2013, RHP, Texas Rangers, 93 mph
21) Tony Blanford, Boulder (Phoenix, Ariz.), 2012, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 92 mph
22) Brady Lail, Bingham (South Jordan, Utah), 2012, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 90 mph
23) James Marvel, Campolindo (Moraga, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Oakland Athletics, 91 mph
24) Matt Schultz, Oswego (Oswego, Ill.), 2012, RHP, Chicago White Sox, 92 mph
25) Will Craig, Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.), 2013, RHP, Washington Nationals, 89 mph
26) Eddie Heard, McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Oakland Athletics, 88 mph
27) Dustin Driver, Wenatchee (Wenatchee, Wash.), 2013, RHP, Kansas City Royals, 92 mph
28) Zach Quintana, Arbor View (Las Vegas, Nev.), 2012, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 93 mph
29) Ben Eckels, Davis (Davis, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Oakland Athletics, 91 mph
30) Ryan McNeil, Nipomo (Nipomo, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 92 mph
31) Ty Buttrey, Providence (Charlotte, N.C.) 2012, RHP, Washington Nationals, 92 mph
32) Dalton Brown, Ponder (Ponder, Texas), 2012, RHP, Texas Rangers, 91 mph
33) Paul Blackburn, Heritage (Brentwood, Calif.), 2012, RHP, Oakland Athletics, 92 MPH
34) Brett Stong, Andover (Andover, Minn.), 2012, LHP, Chicago White Sox, 90 mph
35) Dylan Nelson, Patrick County (Stuart, Va.), 2012, RHP, Washington Nationals, 89 mph
Note: Max Fried is listed with no high school. That's because his old school, Montclair Prep (Van Nuys, Calif.) recently dropped its athletic program