Mike Vasil is head of the class for New England prospects

Mike Vasil was used to dominating high school competition when he took the mound for Day 1 of the Area Code Games last August in Long Beach, Calif.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-handed pitcher from Wellesley, Mass., was coming off a season at Boston College High in which he went 9-0 with a 0.51 ERA. So, it came as no shock to him when he pitched five shutout innings against the top high school players from the Midwest.

That’s when Vasil’s coaches pulled him aside.

"People kept saying, ‘Do you know what you just did? That never happens here,’" Vasil said. "I know how those showcase style things go. Pitchers only pitch two or three innings. But if anybody came to any BC High games, that was a typical start for me. In terms of that stage and the amount of scouts and people high up in organizations, it was the breakout on the national stage that put me on the map."