Posted by Andrew Knepper

Year after year high school baseball players cycle though the summer showcase circuit to be evaluated by major league baseball scouts and year after year there is always some young shining talent that gets picked in the top few picks of the MLB amateur Draft like, Josh Beckett (1999 1st Rd - 2nd pick), B.J. Upton (2002 1st Rd.- 2nd pick) and Clayton Kershaw (2006 1st Rd. - 7th pick).  Ever since the game started, scouting and searching for the best players around has become a passion, lifestyle, and occupation and with the top high school recruiting events such as the Area Code Baseball Games and the East Coast Showcase, MLB scouts who run these teams have recruited and showcased the best-of-the-best for years.

	Elsa/Getty Images
	Josh Beckett is one of the reasons for Boston's recent success.

From the number one overall pick to the 1,365th player taken in the draft, high school players are always targeted for their tools and makeup which the scouts see as a project down the line.  Now, do most of these players who attend these showcases end up in the Majors? I would have to say no.  Do most of them end up getting drafted and forgo their signing bonus to receive full rides to Division 1 schools?  I would have to say they will attend school, but looking at the track record of these top-notch events and the scouts who recruited them for these showcases, these scouts know what they are doing.

Taking a look in today's playoff championship series between the Phillies and Dodgers and the Red Sox and Rays, there are an abundance of players who attended the Area Code Baseballs games as high school standouts.  Some of these players were picked in the first round while others were selected in the 9th round and above, but one thing remains the same, the professional scout will find you.  The list below is a compilation of players who attended the Area Code Baseballs Games that are in the running for the World Series Title.

Team - Name - Year Attended Area Code

	Area Code Baseball
	Josh Beckett played on the Texas Rangers at the 1998 Area Code Baseball Games. At that time he was a 6-4, 188 pound righty out of Spring, Texas.

Los Angeles Dodgers:
Andre Ethier - 1999
Clayton Kershaw - 2005
Blake DeWitt - 2003
Nomar Garciaparra - 1990
James Loney - 2001
James McDonald - 2000
J.P. Howell - 1999

Philadelphia Phillies:
Jimmy Rollins - 1995
Ryan Howard - 1997
Pat Burrell - 1994
Geoff Jenkins - 1991
Jayson Werth - 1996
Ryan Madson - 1997

Boston Red Sox:
Jacoby Ellsbury - 2001
Coco Crisp - 1996
Dustin Pedroia - 2000
Josh Beckett - 1998
John Lester - 2001

Tampa Bay Rays:
Scott Kazmir - 2001
B.J. Upton - 2001
James Shields - 1999
Grant Balfour - 1995