DrB's 2015 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #1 Tyler Beede

Tyler Beede, RHP.  DOB:  5/23/1993.  6'4", 200 lbs.

Vanderbilt(college):

2012:  1-5, 4.50, 71.2 IP, 4.00 BB/9, 8.50 K/9.
2013:  14-1, 2.32, 101 IP, 5.61 BB/9, 9.18 K/9.
2014:  8-8, 4.05, 113.1 IP, 4.21 BB/9, 9.24 K/9.

Rookie AZL:  0-1, 3.12, 8.2 IP, 4 BB, 11 K, GO/AO= 1.50.
Salem-Keizer:  0-0, 2.70, 6.2 P, 3 BB, 7 K's.  GO/AO- 1.40.

Tyler Beede was the Giants first round draft pick in the 2014 draft, #14 overall.  He has been an elite prospect since HS when he was drafted in the first round by the Toronto Blue Jays at #21 overall.   He chose to go to Vanderbilt and had a strong career there.  He's a big kid with almost perfect pitcher's dimensions.  On video he looks like a big strong strapping kid who may weigh 10-15 lbs more than his listed weight and he still looks like he has room to fill out!.  He just is a very commanding presence on the mound dominating the batter's view.

He has a strong, aggressive looking windup and delivery with a 3/4 release point.  It looks like he may still have a bit of variance in the location of that release point.  He has a 4 seam FB that sits 92-94 and has touched 98 against Xavier in the college playoffs.  He is not just a hard thrower though.  He also has a plus curveball and a change up that has been described as "plus-plus"  When he lost command of his FB in the college WS, he was still able to get batters out with the change.  Kyle Crick may throw harder with the FB, but his secondary stuff is not nearly as developed.  Again, there is more to "stuff" than just velocity.

Beede's pro debut was limited to an extremely small sample size as he had to wait for the college WS to end before signing and I am sure the Giants did not want to tax his arm anymore after the extra college work.  His pro numbers were similar to his college numbers.  From a tools and "stuff" standpoint, Beede is, by far, the top pitching prospect in the Giants system.  The big concern is his command/control.  First of all, I don't think his command issues are quite as serious as they've been made out to be.  His walk rate was a lot worse in 2013 when he had a dominant season. Timmy had worse walk rates in college.  Sonny Gray's walk rates at Vandy were almost as high as Beede's, in the high 3's.  Secondly, the while the Giants Pitcher Whisperer reputation may be a bit overblown, they do have a track record of helping pitchers overcome command problems.  Thirdly, I think his stuff is so dominant that once he gets the hang of pitching to wood bats, his confidence will skyrocket and he will be much more comfortable challenging hitters.

Lastly, I would like to break down a video that I think has freaked a lot of people out.  It's of one inning from his Arizona League experience.  The Video was posted by Conner Penfold from Giant Potential.  Beede was indeed wild to the first two batters he faced, walking both, and not really coming at all close to the strike zone.  Here is the pitch sequence of the next 3 batters:

Batter 3:  Ball 1, low and away.  Foul pop.  Called strike, inside corner at the knees.  Weak check swing for strike 3.  Ball looked in the zone on outside corner.

Batter 4:  Ball, Foul, Ball, Foul, flyout to RF by RH batter.  Late on FB.

Batter 5:  Ball(slightly high).  Ball, low and away.  Foul.  Swinging Strike FB just below letters.  Called strike 3, outside corner at the knees.

So you see, after walking the first 2 batters with pitches that were not near the strike zone, he really settled down and dominated the next 3 batters to get out of the inning.

I don't know about you, but I see that as a big positive in a video that has been widely cited as worrisome.

I would think Beede should start the 2015 season with San Jose.   I think he will do well and move fast.  I can easily see him getting a September callup, starting 2016 in AAA with a final ETA of midseason 2016.  I think he is going to be the next great Giants homegrown starting pitcher in a line that started with Matt Cain followed by Timmy and Bummy.  He really was an easy choice for #1 Giants prospect for 2015.