Top 50 Class Of 2026, 2027 Standouts From The Area Code Games

The Area Code Games underclass event offers major league scouts and college coaches a look at some of the top high school players in the 2026 and 2027 classes.

Eight teams are picked by MLB scouts and split up by region. Ben Badler was on hand for the event, which featured an array of players ranked among our 2026 Top 100. 

Below are 50 of the top players from the event. We’ll start with the five players who stood out the most, both in terms of their prospect status and performance at the event. Then we break down the position players and the pitchers from the 2026 class who stood out, followed by 2027 names to know and before wrapping things up with a look at some sleepers with helium potential. 

Leiter, Yoho Headline Weekly Roundup Of Statcast Darlings

Every Monday morning, Eli Ben-Porat analyzes 10 minor leaguers with Statcast data that jumps off the page. Today’s stars include a particularly encouraging development for Rangers righty Jack Leiter, and a Brewers reliever with an absolutely ridiculous changeup.

No, seriously. Watch a couple of these.

But they are far from the only interesting prospects catching our attention. Other highlights include…

• Momentum for a touted Yankees southpaw

• A Blue Jays shortstop with huge upside

• An early look at Kyle Teel’s data

• The best prospect traded at the deadline

• An update on The Martian

Minor League Baseball Managers Vote On Prospects With Best Scouting Tools

Baseball America’s minor league Best Tools is one of the longest-running features we have done, stretching back to 1983, which means that Dwight Gooden, Kirby Puckett and Orel Hershiser were among the first year Best Tools honorees.

As has been the case since 1983, these winners were compiled as voted on by the managers for each league. Check out the winners in each league below, which includes categories such as Best Batting Prospect, Best Power, Best Pitching Prospect and so much more.

ADDITIONAL BEST TOOLS COVERAGE

MLB Best Tools: We poll managers, scouts and execs on the top major league players as well. Read more…

Making The Grade: Here’s why Bobby Witt Jr. may be the most tooled up player in the majors. Read more…

Was Witt The Star We Saw Coming? A few years earlier, Witt dominated minor league Best Tools in a way rarely seen from prospects. Read more…

Get our latest issue! Bobby Witt Jr. graces the cover of our annual Best Tools issue. Preorder here…

Each day this week, we’ll dive deep on prospects who caught our attention at each level. Low-A is up first. Here are the players to know.

• Leodalis De Vries

• Brody Hopkins

• Jaison Chourio

We’re hiring a college baseball writer! You can check out the full job description here.

Here’s what’s trending at Baseball America…

• RoboScout dropped a new Dynasty Top 100 prospects

• The 2019 MLB Draft class is shaping up to be one of the greatest classes ever

• Ethan Holliday carves a path to the 2025 draft amid great expectations

• Here are the top 25 prospects from the Cape League this summer

• We dropped Complex League Top 20s last week. You can find the FCL list here and the ACL list here.

• These 35 players stood out at USA Baseball’s 16U/17U NTDP

August 19, 2024: Mariner Meltdown, Guardians Lead Shrinking, Playoff Race Updates

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