Baseball America Highlights 3 Texas High School Players from Area Code Games

Baseball America recently put together a Top 10 Performers List from the Area Code Games and Texas High School Players made up 3 of the top 4 players.

1. Simeon Woods-Richardson, RHP
Kempner High, Sugar Land, Texas

Woods-Richardson pitched on the event’s first day and made an immediate impression, striking out the side in his first inning on just 10 pitches. The Texas commit worked quickly, throwing a 90-92 mph fastball and mixing in a sharp 12-to-6 curve that was mostly 77-78 mph. His second inning wasn’t as easy, and his breaking ball wasn’t quite as sharp, but he made another appearance three days later and touched 95 mph with his fastball.

“I think more velocity’s coming because you can see the arm quickness that he has,” one scout said. “If you look at him close, you still see that he has a baby face, so it’s going to come. With how athletic he is, and he’s already a strong kid, I think he has tremendous upside.”

In addition, Woods-Richardson showed plus raw power in batting practice, hitting several balls out of Blair Field and creating real two-way interest.

3. Adam Kloffenstein, RHP
Magnolia (Texas) High

Kloffenstein showed an impressive three-pitch mix, including a low-90s fastball, located to both sides; a mid-80s changeup that looked similar to his fastball out of his hand; and a sharp 79-82 mph breaking ball that he consistently located down in the zone.

4. Max Marusak, OF
Amarillo (Texas) High

Relatively unknown on a national stage before this event, Marusak was perhaps ACG’s most exciting player, showing legitimate 70-grade speed (on the 20-80 scale) and some pop to his pull side with a double that hit the bottom of the fence in left field.