Andrew Knepper; ESPNRISE.com

The final of the three Cincinnati Reds Area Code tryouts was almost stopped due to some eerie weather that brought rain, thunder and even some funnel clouds to Regis University.  The state of Colorado produced a fair amount of players for the Area Code Games, but this year the talent was far superior in the Rockies than in the desert.  In a tryout that was loaded in catchers and pitchers, the Reds seem to be set in completing their roster for this year's tournament in August.

The first bright spot of the tryout was when lone Hawaiian in Denver, Christian Carmichael, stepped up to the plate for his batting practice.  He displayed a smooth, potent swing with raw power. Behind the dish he threw a 1.89 pop time and showed a great deal of quiet confidence and great feel.

Another out of state athlete hailing from Farmington, N.M., was Jake McCasland, a pitcher/first baseman, who showed well on the mound.  Hitting 87-89 with his heater, 73-71 with this curve and 75-76 with his change, Jake made an impression on every scout in attendance with his consistency and his ability to throw all pitches for strikes.

Yet another out of state player, Trey Nielsen, from Holladay, Utah, had an impressive day in the field and at the plate.  With natural actions playing third, his defensive work during batting practice caught the attention of every person paying attention.  It is rather difficult to get noticed when all the attention is focused on the hitter during batting practice, but Nielsen displayed his own show.  This 6-foot-1, 195 pound gamer just fit the bill. 

Moving onto the home body of Colorado, one person needed no introduction when he stepped on the mound.  Kevin Gausman out of Grandview High School has been on scout's radars for a couple of years now.  Trying out last year as an underclassman, Gausman had a good chance of making the team, but knowing he had another year to go, he had to wait. On the mound, he was clocked at 90-92 with his fastball, 67 with his curve, and 76 with a change, he made the impression everyone that he was "electric”. 

Below are players who made a strong contribution to attend this year's game in August under the Californian sun.

Tito Nava – With one of the best performances of the day, Nava threw all three of his pitches for strikes and sat at 88-90 with his fastball with an average curve.  His change is what got every hitter off balance, clocking in at 75mph and had great sink working off of his fastball.  The most impressive part of Nava's game his he creates such quality velocities with a frame of 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. 

Adam Duke – The little brother or Brock Duke, who tried out for the Reds team last year, looks to be a little further advanced at this stage than his brother was.  Sitting at 89-91 with the fastball, 73-74 with his breaking ball, Adam repeated his delivery consistently and made one of the strongest cases to make the team.

Matt Wollenzin – A well-built catcher out of Green Mountain High School displayed raw power and good times behind the dish.

Aaron Berk – This 6-foot-3, 205 pound catcher absolutely hit the leather off of the ball in batting practice.

Marco Gonzales – being athletic, Marco ran well and hit 85-86 consistently with his fastball and a good change at 74-75.

Underclassman who impressed:

Greg Bird – Being an underclassman, you would never know it by looking at him.  Weighing in at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Greg is the perfect build for behind the plate.  He hit for great power and threw well in the pop times with a 2.03.

Austin Darby – Austin is a smooth swinging lefty with good power potential that we are looking forward to see moving in on the years.

With the Reds tryouts now officially over, the final rosters for this years games should be release within the next two weeks, check back soon to see who made it.