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This past weekend, Area Code Select West took place at Dodger Stadium, a two-day event featuring some of the top high school talent on the West Coast. There were two major takeaways from the weekend. Walker Buehler level tight pants were all the rage and the talent pool was absolutely loaded. One thing to know about this event in comparison to other Area Code events is this was 40 hand-selected players, the cream of the crop if you will. These are the players who stood out in comparison to their peers. This piece will end with a couple interviews with players.
C, Kehden Hettiger, 2023
Hettiger is a switch hitting catcher with a solid build but room to grow. The right side is his weaker side in terms of power but shows good bat path and it’s reasonable to assume he can be a hit-over-power guy from the right side. The left side is where he catches attention, using his hips well and driving the ball with authority. All things considered he’s a bit pull-happy from the left side but he has a good approach and seeks pitches to drive. He stood out in Sunday's game with a towering no doubt home run to deep right field. Defensively he has a strong arm and is a catcher that does a little bit of everything well. Room to grow in the receiving department but solid transfer and makes strong accurate throws to the bases.
OF, Duce Robinson, 2023
This was the headlining prospect entering the event. For starters, Duce Robinson is a beast, standing at 6’6 and 225, a frame that has plenty of room to get even bigger. He’s extremely athletic, as he is the top Tight End prospect in the nation along with being a top outfielder. Two-sport athletes are always intriguing, but what makes it more unique is despite his senior status, he did not sign on NLI day, which raised eyebrows for both industries and has people asking a lot of questions, including myself when I got a chance to interview him after the game.
Postgame Interview Transcript:
Me: “Duce, coming out here, big showcase, all different kind of high school guys, lotta guys you’ve played with before, what does it feel like getting to come out here play with friends, teammates even?
Duce: “it was awesome, you know they put on an incredible event, got to play with, alongside, some of the best in the country, best players in the country, which is always fun. Just coming out here and competing with all these guys is just a lot of fun”
Me: “Going through your winter, take me through it a little bit, what did you do to prepare and come out here ready to win?”
Duce: “Yes sir, I’ve been playing basketball, but we’ve been hitting a bunch, we started hitting around the end of football season, is when we really started to ramp up hitting again. We’ve been out in the cages a bunch and just trying to get ready for this event and spring coming up.”
Me: “Talked about a little bit of basketball, little bit of football, obviously lot of eyes on the two way aspect of your game. Didn’t sign with a college, any insight you want to give us to that, I know it’s probably a question you’re getting a lot right now.
Duce: “To be honest, not really sure yet. The deadline is April 1st for when I have to be signed, so I’ll definitely have my decision by then, but in terms of like a timeline, and everything, its just kind of like whenever it feels right. Whenever I fully know that I want to go to that school.
Me: “Are you feeling like you want to commit more to one sport, or are you going to go to the school that’s going to give you the best two way offer?”
Duce: “No sir, I want to go to the school that can offer the best development on both sides, both sports, somewhere the coaches work well together. You know that’s huge for me, especially being a big relationship, we want the coaches to have a good relationship and we just want to make sure that everyone is working together well to develop the best in both sports”
Me: “Anything you look forward to most for your upcoming spring, last baseball season in high school?”
Duce: “Just excited, just excited to, you know, fully get back on the field.”
During the weekend, Robinson showed off his size and raw power with tons of hard hit contact in batting practice, but the swing has a lot of moving parts that have a hard time finding rhythm at times. His first round he nearly eliminated his leg kick, something a lot of players in the event did for their first round. The difference is, it felt like it suited Duce, who has enough raw strength to get away with that and found himself on time a lot. Defensively he’s quick, and athletic which is no surprise, and he took some quality AB’s on sunday, working multiple walks and seeing a ton of pitches. All in all his event was less impressive than a few others which is why I included honorable mentions at the end, but it’s hard to not be captivated by such a presence.
C, Ralphy Velazquez, 2023
This was far and away the guy who used the weekend to raise his stock. He shared a round of batting practice with Robinson, a name who came into the night with the most talk for the reasons mentioned. However it was Velazquez who silenced conversations around the ballpark with his rounds of batting practice. He showed a great approach, not trying to do too much, a simple slightly lower stance, with minimal pre-pitch movement but a compact swing followed by great extension and explosiveness. The ball sounded differently off his bat, as he roped line drives all around the yard. Then the round that truly caught my attention, after hitting a ball off the end, fouling the next pitch off he took a second to collect himself, and then it happened. He roped one off the scoreboard as USC, a ball that would give you whiplash as it left the yard. He proceeded to hit one even higher off the same scoreboard a few pitches later. Every ball he hit that round was a rocket. In game action he was the star leading the game early with a home run to dead center field, which is a feet on its own, but he did this in the first inning of Sunday’s game action.
He proceeded to go a perfect 4-4 in 6 plate appearances, he tacked on a ground rule double straight down the opposite field line, a double to RCF, and another line drive base hit. Simply put, he did not hit a ball lightly and featured a great approach where he didn’t miss his pitch. Defensively behind the plate he showed soft hands and a quick transfer and release. The arm has natural strength but found himself put in tough spots trying to do too much on a few throws bouncing them far before the bag during drill throws. That being said, he handled new pitchers well in live performance. After the game, I got the chance to talk with Ralphy about his incredible performance.
Postgame Interview Transcript:
Me: “Ralphy, coming out here, how’d you feel in front of a lot of eyes last night and a lot of eyes today, coming out, big performance today, what did that feel like?”
Ralphy: “You know, like I try to do too much cause I know there’s people here. I just try to think I’m still playing a kids game, trying to hit something hard, don’t fall behind in counts, drive the fastball, and I got a hold of a couple changeups today, so I just won my approach today. Putting balls in the gaps like I do and everything went well.
Me: “Definitely went well today, walk me through a little bit of the preparation you went through this winter to feel ready for this spring.”
Ralphy: “Oh ya, I just went through a lot of mechanical adjustments and everyone was asking why are you changing this, why are you changing that, and I was just like, it’s something I’m working on and its ended up becoming a good thing after doing all those adjustments, it led to that today.
Me: “Last night, batting practice, foul a ball off, readjust the batting gloves, hit a ball off the scoreboard, I want to know as a hitter, what’s going through your mind, lot of eyes, is there something you tell yourself about something you want to do in between pitches to really feel you’re in a good place?
Ralphy: “Ya just don’t do too much. Just keep working the gaps, I try to stay center all the time and pull happens. I try to hit the gaps, left center, center field, and that ball off the scoreboard was just because I was early, If I stayed within my approach that’s a line drive to left center field but I was early and just caught it out in front.”
Me: “What are you looking forward to most in the spring, last spring in high school, anything in particular looking forward to most?”
Ralphy: “Ya, winning with my boys. Ya winning with the boys we have a very very solid team this year and I think we can go a long way.
OF, Billy Carlson, 2025
Carlson may have been one of the more fascinating players on the weekend. At 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, Carlson looked like he had swapped jersey’s with Aaron Judge. Provided his age, he was swimming in his uniform. Billy posted a few rounds of batting practice featuring a lot of loud contact, as he sprayed line drives all around the diamond. He also finished the night with a round of line drives including one that carried over the fence. On a chilly night in LA where the ball wasn’t traveling at all, he hit one of a handful of balls that left the yard. He ended Saturday with the best Infield/outfield you’ll see. He looked like he belonged despite his age, moving gracefully as he made defense look easy, with smooth picks and soft hands. He showed off surprising arm strength that leads you to believe he’ll be a SS when he lands at Vandy in the fall of ‘25 (assuming he makes it to campus). He also made some great double play turns, saving a few bad throws and turning them into defensive gems, all while making it look carefree. His glove was a tier above everyone else at the event. Sunday’s game featured solid AB’s from the infielder, including a loud fly out to the track that for a split second looked like it could have left the yard.
Postgame Interview Transcript:
Me: “Billy, 2025 grad, Vandy commit, how does it feel coming out here, getting to play in front of a lot of older guys, how do you feel you compared?”
Billy: “I mean, it was awesome to compete against these guys, I had a lot of fun out there but I think I held my ground. I had a lot of while doing it.”
Me: “Long two day event, is there anything you really took away, you felt like was a great experience, besides the event as a whole?”
Billy: “Ya it was awesome to hear from the older guys for sure, guys that are getting ready for the draft and stuff like that and just learning from them.
Me: “Take me through, obviously I mentioned it already but, the Vandy commit, big baseball school, anything you felt going through that process that made you choose them? Were they the first school that came to you? How did you make that decision?”
Billy: “The coaching staff was awesome, Mike Baxter was the recruiting guy there, we just connected on the phone and I really like the way he went about things and stuff like that, it just felt like the right fit for me.
Me: “As you’re getting older, still young in high school though, what was your process through this winter, getting ready for the spring, anything you did differently than in years past?”
Billy: “No, just working hard, trying to get in the weight room and get a little L-b’s on me. But ya just staying in the weight room and working hard for sure.”
Me: “Anything you’re looking forward to the most this upcoming spring here?”
Billy: “Just playing high school ball with the boys for sure, that’s a lot of fun.”
Me: “Is there an at-bat or a moment this weekend you really enjoyed or a guy you specifically liked to face?”
Billy: “hmm, I faced Seth Hernandez, he’s a great arm, but I didn’t come out on top but ya he’s a great guy to compete against for sure.
Be on the lookout as later this week for the top pitching prospects that took the mound for Sunday’s game action