San Francisco Giants: The Future for Pitcher Tyler Beede

Once a promising prospect for the San Francisco Giants, a difficult 2018 season for Tyler Beede gives us more questions than answers.

Tyler Beede made his major league debut for the San Francisco Giants in April of 2018, but things quickly went downhill from there.

He made two starts in the big leagues and posted an 8.22 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits and eight walks with eight strikeouts.

Beede made 10 starts at Triple-A and posted an ERA of 7.27 (38/47) in those starts with 45 strikeouts.

In June he moved to the bullpen for the rest of the season. Things weren’t much better there with a 6.67 ERA (20/27) 24 appearances with 30 strikeouts.

In 15 of those 24 appearances, Beede didn’t allow an earned run. It’s just that when he did allow a run, he usually turned into multiple runs.

The one thing that was really promising, and is common for starters who move to the bullpen, is that Beede’s strikeout numbers improved. Usually, when a starter has great stuff, it plays up once moved into a shorter role.

So what is the future of the former first-round draft pick who was once considered the best prospect in the Giants system?

At this point in his career, especially when you consider the injuries, it’s hard to see him making an impact at the major league level as a starter.

It’s hard to say that considering he’s only made two starts in the majors, but even his work as a starter in the minors the past two seasons haven’t been great.

The one thing the San Francisco Giants could do with Beede is make him an opener. I’m not a huge fan of the concept of an opener, but obviously it has some merit with how the Tampa Bay Rays use it last season.

Beede’s skill set obviously plays up in shorter outings. So maybe you have him start the game and tell him to give it max effort for as long as he can.

If not, then I think the hope is that Beede can become a long reliever at the end of the game like an Andrew Miller. Someone who can bridge the gap between the starter and closer when your team is ahead.