Striker Pence, the nephew of former San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, announced on Instagram on Thursday afternoon that he is reclassifying from the class of 2028 to the class of 2027.
Striker, 17, is a right-handed pitcher from Santiago High School in Corona and is already considered the class of 2027 No. 2 prospect and the top prep pitcher in the country, behind Dylan Seward of Norco.
Before reclassifying, Baseball America had Striker ranked as the No. 1 player in his class, while Perfect Game has him ranked as a 10.
Perfect Game vice president of scouting, Jered Goodwin, said what separates Striker from the rest of his class is being able to utilize his tools and seeing how they translate in competition.
Considered a power arm pitcher and having a 6-foot-6 frame, while weighing 185 pounds, Striker has already shown why there is so much excitement surrounding him.
Striker’s pitch arsenal includes a fastball that sits at 98 mph and reaches up to 101 mph, while his slider sits in the mid-80s.
In August last year, he caught everyone’s attention while pitching in the Area Codes game at Blair Field in Long Beach by throwing seven straight pitches at 100 mph.
The knock against Striker has been commanding his fastball when it reaches triple digits. If he is able to locate his fastball better, he will have a chance to unlock another aspect of his game.
In a game against Orange Lutheran last season, he showed just what the potential of his slider could look like in a league game against Orange Lutheran.
Striker threw a slider towards the lower outside part of the strike zone, making University of Texas Commit, Brady Murrieta, drop to his knees swinging for a strike.
Santiago finished last season with a 19-12 record and finished third in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 baseball playoffs.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
