San Francisco Giants:Prospect Watch-Tyler Beede

As they have many times in recent memory, the San Francisco Giants selected one of the best arms in the draft in 2014 draft. Selected 14th overall, Tyler Beede has already ascended to the top of the team’s prospect list.

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Tyler Beede was drafted with designs for him to become a number 1 starter. His mastery of three pitches coming into the league is already impressive, as most young starters come in with two quality pitches. He sits in the mid-90’s with an exceptional sinker/changeup. If that was it, usually it would be enough to get to the big leagues.

But Beede also features a quality curveball and has the chance to pick up other pitches as he progresses up the ladder. At 22, he was younger than most of his competition in Double-A last year. He spent half of a season there, making 13 starts for the Richmond Flying Squirrels and going 3-8 with a 5.23 ERA.

His main problem in Richmond was his control. Prior to being promoted, he had a 2-2 record and a 2.24 ERA in 9 starts for High-A San Jose. The difference was he walked just 9 in 52.1 innings in San Jose, but 35 in 72.1 innings with the Flying Squirrels. This led to throwing more stressful innings with more runners on base.

His strikeout totals have gone down steadily since he was drafted, but that is not a cause for concern as long as he keeps his walks down. He locates his pitches well when he is on, and will learn to trust his stuff.

The key here is throwing first pitch strikes so he doesn’t get behind right away. Once he gets behind in the count, he tends to press, and then he can’t locate his changeup as well.

Beede is very similar in stature to another top prospect, Phil Bickford. Beede is 6’4″ and 200 lbs, while Bickford is 6’5″ and 205 lbs. So just as Bickford can, Beede still has some room to fill out physically. But he is athletic and maintains the speed on his fastball into the later innings.

The projected outlook on Beede is that of a frontline starter. He is likely looking at a year in Double-A, but could end up in Triple-A Sacramento at some point his season. He could even be in line for a September call-up if he has a strong summer.

The main thing with Beede is to get all the moving parts in order, and get them consistent. It’s not nearly as much of an issue as it was when Tim Lincecum was out of whack. But Beede’s stuff is so good, he can miss bats just by throwing it down the middle.

There is one other thing, Beede also can flow a little on the mic. He has a few songs on youtube, but Fallin is the one that stands out to me. It’s from 2013, since he has been pretty busy with baseball and all. But maybe we can have a player on the team making a World Series song sometime.

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At any rate, the young man is looking like a great draftee for the Giants and he could pay dividends quicker than what the team even thought.