SF Giants lose former first round pick to Pirates in waiver claim

Despite the fact that there was no game on Thursday, there was still plenty of roster landscaping to take place for the SF Giants. One former first round pick is on the move after being claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates off of waivers.

SF Giants lose former first round pick to Pirates in waiver claim

Tyler Beede's Giants career effectively ended last week when he was designated for assignment and today's news confirms that. Beede will join a 13-17 Pirates team that needs plenty of pitching help.

This could be a good opportunity for the 28-year-old hurler and an indication of how other teams felt about Beede. The righty did not make it far down the waiver wire, so he was likely an appealing option as a reclamation project.

The Giants originally drafted Beede in the first round of the 2014 draft out of Vanderbilt University. Interestingly, he had also been drafted in the first round of the 2011 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts.

Beede moved quickly up the minor league ladder, reaching as high as Triple-A in 2017 while ranking as one of the Giants' top prospects in a thin system. He did experience a lot of success at the lower levels including a 2016 campaign in which he won the ERA title (2.81) in the Eastern League in 24 starts.

However, development is never linear and Beede's control issues worsened as he faced off against better competition. The former top prospect posted a 4.79 ERA with 83 strikeouts against 39 walks in 109 innings with the Sacramento River Cats in 2017.

The Vanderbilt University product debuted with the Giants in the following season in which he allowed seven earned runs in 7.2 frames as a rookie. Despite his struggles, Beede continued to show a mature mindset and looked at challenges as opportunities.

He returned to the Giants in the following season with his most extended look. The hurler registered a 5.08 ERA in 24 appearances with San Francisco and his performance improved as the season progressed.

Beede had an inside track as cracking the Opening Day rotation in 2020 but he sustained a UCL tear in his pitching elbow that required Tommy John surgery, which knocked him out for the entire season. After a lengthy rehab, he reappeared with the Giants, making one appearance in 2021.

Given that he was out of minor league options, Beede made the club out of spring this year and he was used in a non-leverage role. He yielded five earned runs in 9.2 innings before being placed on waivers.

Beede still flashes a quality fastball-changeup-curveball pitch mix, so it is no surprise to see a team take a chance on him. Pittsburgh's pitching staff has posted a 4.81 ERA so far in 2022, which ranks as the second-worst mark in baseball. Beede needed a change of scenery, and the Pirates offer a real opportunity to show what he can do on the mound.