by Andrew Knepper

Halfway through this year's Area Code Games, we have seen a combined no-hitter by the Cincinnati Reds team, the cycle from Joshua Sale of the Washington Nationals and elite pitching from all clubs. During the first nine games, there have been handfuls of standout individuals making a name for themselves. Here are our mid-week standouts:

Ian Krol -- One of the best pitching prospect at this year's games, Krol only attended for one day, but during his two innings of work he struck out five of the six batters he faced. He showed great command with his fastball that averaged 86-89 and a hook that fooled everyone he faced.

Chad James -- He's a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher who has three good pitches with a fastball that sits around 88 MPH, a change-up that sits around 76-78 MPH, and a hook that breaks around 73-76. Throwing from the left side, he has a high leg kick and hides the ball well and looks to have a high ceiling.

Bryce Harper -- Even though we have written about Harper nonstop, he keeps giving up reasons to include him in this list. With an outstanding arm behind the dish that several Vegas area scouts have graded as plus, he has thrown out several runners easily this week. At the plate, he has not been fooled once as he has not swung at a bat pitch yet. He has good strike recognition and hits the ball with authority to all fields. Yesterday, he nearly missed a big fly by hitting a towering fly ball to left field. Also, don't forget that he is only 15 years old.

Geoff Baldwin -- This power hitting, left swinging first baseman has shown a solid swing all week hitting a few balls to the deep power alleys and his defensive play is what is separating him from other first baseman.

Tom Lemke -- This towering right-handed pitcher from Phoenix has shown great command with solid velocity with his fastball sitting at 88 MPH.

Tyler Matzek -- Tyler started the first game for the Milwaukee Brewers Blue squad during an exhibition game and gave the Chicago White Sox trouble. A six-foot-three left-handed hurler, he mowed down the six batters he faced with his 92 MPH fastball that showed great movement.

Tyler Skaggs -- This loose throwing lefty stands in at six-foot-four and is mechanically sound, with a smooth release, while the ball comes out of his hand very well.

Cameron Garfield -- Hailing out of Murrieta, Calif., Garfield has been on scouts' radars for a long time and is now showing his tools at this year's games. He has hit the ball with authority and has played well behind the dish during his innings of work.

Geno Escalante -- He has had an outstanding performance during his time behind the dish at the Area Code Games. He was 3-for-3 in throwing out runners and should be 4-for-4 but no one covered the bag and the runner was allotted second base.

Kenny Diekroeger -- Kenny has been playing great all-around ball the entire week. Not only has he looked good on the field, but he was also the top SPARQ Rated athlete recording an 85.96 rating. Hitting balls to all fields with a nice gap stroke, Kenny has been the hottest hitter on the Gray team.

Mitchell Haniger -- He has the potential for a great future. Mitchell has impressed everyone with his approach at the plate and his defensive versatility.

Stephen Bruno -- Coming out of the Northeast from New Jersey, this middle infielder has shown great range while working in the field. He gets good jumps off of the ball and shows a quick release that has got his team out of a few jams. With his bat, he possesses a nice flat swing that shows decent gap power.

Eric Brady -- Eric is a smooth fluid shortstop who displays a strong throwing arm across the diamond. He seems to be a perfect fit at the shortstop position so what scouts are seeing is what they are going to get.

Demetrius McKelvie -- Demetrius is a very athletically gifted player who is a two sport prospect that plays safety in football and outfield in baseball. With a large frame of 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, he is being recruited in both sports but wants to stay in baseball. On the field, he looks to be a corner outfielder in the future with a 7.07 60-yard dash and a strong bat with power to the gaps.

Randal Grichuk -- Randal has absolutely crushed the ball the entire tournament. On one pitch he hit to left center, he cleared the wall easily by 30 feet and the ball roughly traveled 400 feet. Every ball, an out or a hit, has been hit with authority.

Colton Cain -- Like Randal, Colton has been mashing the ball. The entire Rangers team has been very strong on the offensive side of the ball, but Colton has stood out over most. He has a large frame at 6-foot-3 225 pounds, and he uses every ounce of his frame to generate an aggressive powerful swing. On the mound, he has been solid as well, mixing his pitches well and dominating the opposing hitters.

Cohl Walla -- Walla is a pitcher as well as an outfielder and with his tall and lanky frame of 6-foot-4, 170 pounds he looks to add more pop and velocity as he fills into his frame.

Joshua Sale -- To say the least, Sale has had one of the best performances for the week. Last night, Thursday the 7th, Joshua left the yard with a bomb to right center field that was in the rage of 390 feet to cap off a decent day's of work recording a "cycle for the first time in recent memory at the Area Code Games.

Kyrell Hudson -- This two sport star (football and baseball) recorded the fastest 60 time of evaluation day by blazing a 6.33 on the SPARQ Timing systems. In the field, he has tracked fly balls with ease, even though he has had to cover large amounts of ground and on the base paths he is almost guaranteed to record a stolen base every time he reaches the bag.