Seth Beer is a B-L, T-R 1B/OF for Clemson who burst onto the college baseball scene with a sensational freshman campaign after finishing HS a semester early so he could enroll at Clemson in January and play the 2016 College season. Don't get too excited by that. He would have been 4 months short of 20 yo by draft day so he was just getting caught up with his age-appropriate class.
Beer is a big kid at 6'3, 200 lbs and looks strong and athletic. He's got a strong arm that PG clocked at 90 MPH off the mound and 91 MPH from the OF. The bat is special with a sweet swing that at times reminds of a college 1B who was drafted #2 overall, Will "The Thrill" Clark. The big knock on Beer is his lack of speed. His best 60 yd dash time for PG was 6.99 which is not fast, but they list as 73.5 percentile. PG had him as the #2 HS prospect going into what would have been his senior season. Instead, he won the Dick Howser Trophy as a college freshman. His BA slipped a bit as a sophomore but the power was still there along with a very sweet K/BB. Here are his college stats to drool over:
2016: .369/.535/.700, 13 2B, 18 HR, 62 BB, 27 K, 203 AB.
2017: .298/.478/.606, 17 2B, 3B, 16 HR, 64 BB, 35 K, 2018 AB.
I mean, just stare at those K and BB ratios for a minute! That combination of strike zone control and power is compelling and not something you see very often.
OK, even if Seth Beer is stuck at 1B, (I am not convinced he cannot play LF in the majors, at least early in his career) I'm not sure that matters if he comes with what might be the best draft bat since Kris Bryant. Wouldn't any of us be thrilled if we had the 1/1 and it turned out to be Will Clark or Joey Votto or Paul Goldschmidt? That is the kind of bat we're talking about here. Maybe there is not a clear #1 draft prospect this year, but there is a clear #1 bat and it belongs to Seth Beer. With the kind of pedigree this kid has going all the way back to early HS, I could see John Barr being all over him as he loves bats and he particularly loves bats with pedigree.
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DrB's 2018 Draft Board:
1. Seth Beer, 1B, College(Clemson).
2. Jarred Kelenic, OF, HS.
3. Nander De Sedas, SS, HS.
4. Kumar Rocker, RHP, HS.
5. Ethan Hankins, RHP, HS.
6. Brady Singer, RHP, College(Florida).
7. Nick Madrigal, 2B, College(Oregon St.).
8. Brice Turang, SS, HS.
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Another great name!
ReplyDeleteA Beer giveaway night coming to AT&T?
ReplyDeleteMmmmm... Beer. /drool
ReplyDeleteDrB, I have to say I was caught quite off guard by this post. Beer was the first player I profiled on Twitter. I knew who he was, saw that his stock was down (BA left him off their recent mock draft), and figured he'd be a fun first player to dig into. He struggled this summer for Team USA, and people are now saying he shouldn't even be playing 1B at the next level (WTF??). I was ridiculed via Twitter for suggesting a return to his freshman year slash-line could have him back in top 10 consideration.
ReplyDeleteLong story short, while I would currently take a handful of players above him, I do think there's a very real chance the Giants have their eyes on him, and that he does have the potential to be one of the premier bats in this class. He has, quite literally, dominated the college scene at various points during the last two years.
I feel very relieved that you posted this, as I was starting to think maybe I was just a little off my rocker...
Cove Chatter
Thanks Covechatter. I think the current obsession with defense creates an almost knee-jerk reaction out there against DH/!B prospect types, and it is true they have to hit a ton to crack the big leagues at those positions. On the other hand, historically, some of the best returns on investment have come from first base draftees and prospects.
DeleteMy draft board is fluid and can change at any time now or leading up to the draft. Who knows? Beer might struggle his junior year and drop off my board entirely, but as of right now, he looks like a special bat to me, enough so that I really don't care if he is strictly a 1B, but I am not convinced he could not play LF for the Giants and RF for some other teams that don't have a Triples Alley to cover. He has more than enough arm to play RF.