Westhampton Beach - It's difficult to take your eyes off Mark Podlas on the baseball diamond, always has been. Since he was a young lad, he had the sweet swing from the left side, the cannon to keep base runners honest, the gazelle-like speed in tracking a fly ball. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound outfielder from Remsenburg has been ahead of the learning curve right out of the batter's box, skipping tee ball and flying around the bases ever since.

Earlier this month in Long Beach, CA, hundreds of eyes were transfixed on Podlas at the prestigious Area Code Games. He's used to the extra attention but not typically the dozens upon dozens of Major League scouts and college coaches

Mark Podlas participated in the Area Code Games in California earlier this month and left an impression on pro and college talent scouts.

who were on hand for the six-day event. It's just one chapter in one crazy summer for the Westhampton Beach senior. While his high school teammates shelved their cleats in favor of flip-flops upon last season's conclusion, Podlas has kept pushing ahead, with a Division I scholarship and/or selection in June's Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft on his mind and within his grasp.

"It's definitely been busy," he said with a laugh.

For his Area Code team - coincidentally named the New York Yankees, for whom Podlas would love to play - he was one of two Long Island prep players named to the New York Yankees team, joining T.J. Pecoraro of Half Hollow Hills West. He was invited to participate in one of five local tryouts; Podlas attended the Trenton tryout in late June and received the call that he'd been selected in time to work out with the team on July 14 at, of all places, Yankee Stadium. Once in California, the fastballs sped up to the low 90s in some instances. The curves and sliders curved and slid with even greater bite. Podlas certainly didn't back down from the challenge, going 3 for 10 in five games.

"I was hitting the ball really hard - sometimes it would fall in, sometimes it was right at people, but I thought I was having pretty good at-bats," Podlas said. "It was great. I'm now becoming more comfortable facing kids throwing 92 or 93. It was probably the highlight of my summer so far."

It's a summer that's included a two-week tournament in Marietta, GA, a Perfect Game national showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, a workout at Yankee Stadium and Sunday's Summer Rivalry Classic Invitational at Fenway Park, an exhibition game put on by A&M Yastrzemski Events and Akadema Inc. that benefited the American Heart Association. Naturally the game pitted the Red Sox, a team picked by Boston scout Ray Fagnant, against the Yankees, who were selected by Yankees scout Matt Hyde. The teams settled for a 9-9 tie in which Podlas went 1 for 4 with an RBI. Defensively, he split time between left and right field, playing in the shadows of the famed Green Monster.

Senior Mark Podlas has not yet made his college decision yet but even that might change should he be drafted by a major league team.

"You're right up against the wall; it was really strange," Podlas said. "Right field was even harder because it goes from 300 to 380 feet really quickly. It was fun up there."

Podlas, who has started in center field for Westhampton since his freshman year, hit .484 with five home runs, 24 RBI and 13 stolen bases as a junior this past spring. The summer has given Podlas a taste of what the next level will be like, whether it's as part of a pro team's farm system or as a college athlete. In Marietta, players went two weeks straight of nothing but baseball. Podlas called it grueling but enjoyable nevertheless. And if he admitted to winding down, "Yankee Stadium workouts keep you pretty fresh," he said. "You're out in the outfield and all of a sudden A.J. Burnett is throwing a bullpen and Brian Cashman comes out."

At each stop, he's worked to exhibit that he's a complete hitter and center fielder. Podlas' 60-meter sprint time has been registered as low as 6.7 seconds, a mark to be considered above average at the high school level. His chief focus is to put more muscle on his 6-2, 190-pound frame. Senioritis won't likely bog down Podlas on the ballfield, even if he's likely to make his college decision this fall. His final season in Hurricane green, which begins April 5, 2010, against Shoreham-Wading River, leads right up to next June's MLB draft. He can rest assured knowing that he's put in the work in preparation for the next step in his baseball career, but even still, now isn't the time to rest at all.

"One of my goals is to get drafted out of high school, but I'm thinking more along the lines of going to school and getting an education," Podlas said. "I honestly think it would be better for me to progress and get bigger with a college program than go the professional route."

The route's taken him through the ranks at Westhampton and all over the country. It's just a matter of time before Podlas knows where he'll go and what jersey he'll wear next.