Friday, July 17, 2015

Out In Front: The Giants and Tyler Beede Are A Perfect Match

In this edition of Out In Front, I got a chance to talk with a "source in the industry" about the San Francisco Giants right-handed pitching prospect Tyler Beede, the number 1 prospect in my Top 10+10 Prospects list and as well as other respectable prospect lists. We talked about Beede's baseball life, from being drafted in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Blue Jays and passing it up, to pitching in the powerhouse Vanderbilt University, to being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 MLB Draft, performance this season and more that you might have never heard before.

Notes before reading my full blog post: My source requests not to be mentioned his name in this blog post to protect my source's privacy and I respect his decision to keep his identity as a secret. I will not also talk about my source in my article and in my comments and instead, I'll focus more on Tyler Beede. I know that I am not a journalist or a reporter to present to you a top-quality article presentation-wise (I'm a chemical engineering student) but I assure you that the information that you'll see here is legitimate and I did my best to deliver the information to the readers of my blog. I edited some of the things the source told me to provide better clarity and is enclosed in a parentheses.
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United States' Tyler Beede throws during the fourth inning of the All-Star Futures baseball game against Team World, Sunday, July 12, 2015, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Retreived from mediacomtoday.com

Tyler Beede created a lot of buzz in 2011 when the right-handed pitcher was considered as the number 1 prospect in the Northeast region, where he pitched for Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts and posted crazy good numbers, 14-1 win-loss record with a 0.80 ERA while striking out 189 in 96 1/3 innings over two seasons, according to MLB.com. His repertiore is a fastball that reaches mid-90s, a curveball and a changeup to give him a three potential-plus pitches to work with. In this MLB.com scouting report of him, it even noted that "he looks more of a college arm than a high school one."

Even though Tyler was drafted by the Blue Jays, the San Francisco Giants showed deep interest in Beede at that time, according to my source. My source said that "the Giants followed Tyler very close in HS and saw him for 3 years in high school on national summer circuit." My source added that "(the Giants scouting director) was at many high school games and area codes, east code pro events, (sophomore and junior summer showcases where Beede pitched)." There's a lot of concerns about pitchers being overworked in HS and ended up dealing with Tommy John surgeries but my source told me that there's nothing to worry because "when Tyler was young and (still in) high school, (the coaches kept in track) of his pitch counts (to preserve his arm in the long run)."

Beede ultimately passed up on playing for the Blue Jays and committed to his scholarship with Vanderbilt University. Beede said this in an interview of him from an article of WEEI.com.

“No regrets at all,” Beede told WEEI.com (about turning down the Blue Jays). “It was probably the best three years of my life. It was a blessing to go through some adversity in college to understand what I needed to do to get better. And it’s helped me for this level of baseball, and on, for so many reasons. Without that opportunity, I don’t think I’d be where I’m at right now, for sure. It was a great opportunity. I had a lot of fun and had the opportunity of winning the national championship.”

In Vanderbilt, Beede's performance earned mixed results. One of the problems that a lot of people talked about is the amount of walks. He allowed 148 walks in 286 innings pitched in three years playing with the Commodores and posted a 1.93 K/BB ratio. My source told me that Tyler turned down the Blue Jays and committed to his scholarship and that "helped him understand the business side of the game. Tyler felt (his time in Vanderbilt and in SEC) would help him prepare for pro ball quicker." He added that "college was more about learning structure and routine" and Giants fans don't have to worry about pitch counts because "Vanderbilt always kept him at 100 or lower (pitches in his outings)." He said that in his opinion, Tyler's decision is a good move. "Its never about the destination, its always about the journey. He learned a great deal at Vandy and matured mentally and physically," he gladly said.

The Giants isn't concerned with his not so impressive numbers and believed in his potential as a pitcher and drafted him in the 2014 MLB Draft and they did a lot of things for Beede's development like fixing his mechanics and adding a sinker and a cutter that resulted to a great numbers this season. A 4-5 win-loss record but with a 2.91 ERA while striking out 60 and most especially, he allowed just 24 walks in 89 2/3 innings so far. Beede's love for the field also produced a really good GO/AO ratio of 2.21.

My source told me a lot about the time Beede spent in Vandy and what the Giants did for him in the offseason. "His work in Vandy got him away from pitching, sacrificing his command and his advanced feel for pitching. They want Beede to throw hard and (the coaches) changed his tempo and delivery. He had two pitching coaches, Derek Johnson for one year and then Scott Brown for two. Vandy wanted tyler to increase (the) intensity (of his mechanics)," he said. He also said that "it was more of a tempo that didn't fit his delivery (than it was a mental thing). (Beede is) trying to rush and accelerate caused him to rotate thru delivery rather than stay through his line, staying back over rubber and use mound as energy generator. The rushed tempo caused him to disengage from pitching rubber too early." He showed me pictures to explain his point. Take a look at the pictures of him from Vandy.



Now take a look at this picture of Beede this year pitching for San Jose Giants.



You can see that then Tyler's back foot is off the ground while he's still in Vandy, his body is right in front of the plate while in SJ, his throwing arm is in a "lay down position while his back foot in off (the) rubber", my source said. "(The Giants) knew his ability and felt that allowing him to go back to his mind set in high school and (simplifying his delivery) would (allow Beede to) get (positive) results (as he trusts throwing) his pitches in the zone. Tyler knows how to throw 93-97 MPH, what he needed was to relax his mind, trust his pitches (especially the pitches that the Giants) taught him, the sinker and cutter. Now, he is back to pitching and being a craftsman."

Apart from cleaning up his mechanics and implementation of the sinker/cutter, my source also said that "in high school, Tyler grew an inch and gained 20 pounds in college, the Giants actually had him lose weight (in the offseason and now listed at 6'4", 200 lbs). His body feels great. He is younger than people realize." When I asked him about Beede's projection in his body, he said that "he has great strength coaches, so I have no doubt he will add strength, and maybe size (to help him handle a lot of innings)."

I also got a chance to talk to him about the Young Beedah's performance in the Futures Game held in Cincinnati. "I really enjoyed watching him. If you look at 0-2 pitch to first hitter he faced, you can see he is very confident in new pitches (the cutter). (Kyle) Schwarber caught him with Team USA and thought he looked great with a lot of movement," he said.


Perfect 0-2 pitch. Right on the black.
It's a cutter down and on the black that I thought it is a strike and a perfect pitcher's pitch. He said "indeed, you can see it and you can tell by (Tyler's) reaction (but) its a vision of his new mind set, throwing strikes and attacking (the zone)." He also said about the third hitter that Beede faced which is Yankees prospect Gary Sanchez, he threw a 1st pitch (sinker) that ran 12 (towards the hitter)." Just look at how the pitch starts at the heart of the plate and ends up down and in outside the strike zone. 


That's some crazy movement that Beede can generate to his pitches.
The next pitch is a good pitch down. Sanchez, possibly already knowing that Beede loves to throw his cutter down in the zone, is hunting the pitch down and even though it's a pretty good pitch from Beede, Sanchez hit it in the gap for a double. My source said that "look at all swings that the hitters had swung against him, Sanchez was clearly looking away."


Good pitch, just good hitting approach from Sanchez.

My source then addressed the concerns regarding Tyler's low strikeout numbers throughout the season from the Giants fans to the national prospect writers and others. "Most bloggers do not understand the Giants just taught him these new grips in the Spring. They will bring back his four-seamer over time. My point is, while everyone is concerned with strikeout rate, Giants are asking him to throw all of his new pitches in the zone induce more swings, in time more swings will equal to more swing and misses. (It's) going to be fun to watch him (throw) 92-96 (MPH) and then 87-90 (MPH) cutter and sinker. The refinement of the changeup and his curveball is next pitch he is being asked to work on (by the Giants staff). Why worry about (Beede's) velocity at this stage (of his) development? Would you want to have him 93-98 with no command or additional secondary other than changeup? That will make him as a 2 pitch guy. Now, he has 4 plus-potential pitches to go with a 93-97 (MPH) 4-seam fastball. All of the pieces are in place, his mind is now free of doubt and his delivery more repeatable with that changeup and sinker, he will throw a ton of ground balls and he will always be a 6-10 strikeout-a-game type pitcher," he explained. He then challenge the people to "count the number of "soft swings" Beede induced in the Futures Game" to prove his stand even further.

I asked him about Tyler's best game this year where he went 7 innings and punched out 11 batters on May 30 because I always believe that the strikeout stuff that he flashed when he's still pitching in Vanderbilt is still around and he just wants to get quick outs and weak contact. He said to he that "in that game, they (the Giants coaches) let him call his game and allowed him to mix his 4 seam back in, he punched out several with 4 seam at 94-95 (MPH)." He also addressed the national writers that often belittle the Giants' farm system as one of the worst farm systems in baseball over the past few years and said that "while (Matt) Duffy, (Joe) Panik, and Tyler (Beede) may not excite the masses or fans nationally, they are perfect fits for The Giants way and style." 

We were now close to ending our great conversation about Beede and there's just some final topics that I want to know about. I asked him if Tyler is ready for the bright lights of the Big Leagues and he feels that "Tyler will be a great addition to bullpen this fall or spot starter. He is mentally and physically ready for Big Leagues. Tyler has less than 100 innings as a pro, another 4-5 starts and he will be ready to rock (the Majors)." "I think SF Giants fans will be VERY happy once Tyler gets to Big Leagues, he is a good hitter and excellent fielder (aside from being a dominant pitcher)," he added. I think that all caps on very is something we should take seriously, like all of the things that my source said.

Beede is not yet a finished product in my eyes. I asked if what will be the things that Tyler will work on improving in the future. He said that Tyler will work on "his curveball and its 12-6 rotation and handling the running game." He believes that Beede's curveball that he flashed in the Futures Game that I commented on my previous blog post that lacks true sharp break is just a matter of "lack of reps and they are bringing it back in the 2nd half." About the running game, I got worried because if Beede will make his mechanics quicker to home, he'll experience the same command issues that he experienced in Vanderbilt. He makes sure that there's nothing to worry about because "(the Giants coaches) will just have him go knee to knee instead of gather (in the stretch position) and it's just a simple fix so no worries there. I am just excited to see the 2nd half." I am just excited as well to see Beede pitch.

I am so excited to see Beede pitch in the 2nd half that I thought that he's going to pitch yesterday just like Mella did. But the source said that he's going to pitch next week. I see that they're giving Tyler a lot of rest. A well-deserved grace period.
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That's the end of the conversation and if my source will ever read this, I thank you once again from the bottom for the opportunity to talk to you and it's been a blast. That ends this edition of Out In Front. I hope that you enjoyed reading this article about Tyler Beede. There's just one thing that he said that really left a mark for me and quite possibly the summary of all of the things that he said and I wrote. 

"The Giants are the perfect match for Tyler Beede." I truly agree.


33 comments:

  1. Whoa! This is a really, really cool read. Thanks Wrenzie (and your trusted source) for putting all this together. I had no idea Beede was still going to be available to us in the draft. Crazy things can happen. The fact that the G's scouting had followed him so intently? Yeah, looks like they got their man.

    I had thought Tyler's leg drive got his arm into a 'stuck' position at Vandy. He'd be starting his arm motion while his plant foot was hovering a couple inches off the ground. I think maybe Vandy wanted him to 'pitch taller' for the extra 'downhill' plane and such. Shorter stride and all that. I love how he's been 'keeping his line' more recently. Looks great. Gee, could I use more cliches? lol.

    I also love that the Giants are building his confidence back up by getting him to return to what he does. The natural feel and rhythm must be essential for pitchers. Being able to attack the zone against more advanced hitters can be a dangerous proposition... Gotta have a lot of trust in one's ability to execute pitches. Like you, I believe Beede is well on his way.

    I oftentimes read how people jump to conclusions about prospects. "He's been bad" or "can't hit/pitch"or whatever. I wonder how much perspective these same people use to view prospects? Is it just about filling the shiny box score? I mean, at the end of the day... Who really *cares* if a guy can outperform other short-season, A+, AA, or AAA players? lol.

    There has to be a development path. A plan. In which we'll sometimes see stats suffer. Learning. Development. Improvement. Growth. For example, I think very highly of the Pirates organization. They don't let younger prospects throw as many breaking balls until they show they can attack with their fastball. Could be really tough on a guy who's ridden his CB/SL all the way into the pro ranks, huh?

    My point? I'm not terribly worried about his current K rate. Beede clearly needed to address his walk rate as a priority. He's learning a couple new pitches. Getting acclimated to life in pro ball. I love his sinker movement. Let his pitches work. That four-seamer will still pop- even better when he's capable of plus-command. Oh, and I believe Tyler has long been using Eric Cressey's HPT (High Performance Training) system. Which has proven to increase velo for many pitchers. I guess that's part of the "great strength coaches" your source refers to.

    If Beede can become a fixture in our SF rotation, it would go a long way to keeping our window open. I love the "relax his mind, trust his pitches" and references to how Duffy, Panik, and Beede fit our Giants system perfectly. Media fanfare might be nice, but to the victor go the spoils! I'm plenty happy with what our farm has helped produce for us. And hope Tyler Beede can be one of the next ones to make that jump. Dream big... Geez, sorry so long... Cheers!

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    1. Thanks for loving it Mr. carmot! I actually thought before that Beede's Vandy delivery is pretty off because thankfully I am still young, my body still allows me to be an athletic guy (even though on the 20-80 scale, I am like 40) and repeat almost everyone's delivery. I never figured out why because I'm not that great of a pitcher, and my source who knows baseball and pitching well explained that to me. I was like enlightened by the great teachings.

      I always take guys who often bash the Giants minor system (ehem, Keith Law) for producing meh prospects while right now, we have All-Star Joe Panik the "utility guy" according to Law, Duffy and BCraw. I always believe that there's something that needs to click for the player to get that gears going. In the Giants case, they did really well on Duffy, Panik, Beede, etc. I'm still pretty bummed about Crick.

      My source didn't specify the strength coaches that Beede has but I assure you that he knows Beede really well. That's just the most that I can tell about him. I love the potential of Beede. Let's pair him up with MadBum for the longest time and please, don't trade the guy.

      I'm always cool with long comments like this. Always shows how much you rave about the guy. Now, it's time to take a look at the problems on video embedding. Cheers!

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  2. Dang. Looks like Blogger doesn't like the way I try to embed URL links. Here's the link for Tyler Beede and Cressey's HPT. Some really fascinating reading, IMO:

    http://www.ericcressey.com/tag/tyler-beede

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    1. Watched it and it's really fascinating to watch Beede's mechanics that way. Pretty much changed by the way the guy explained to me but oh well, Beede is really good! I'll try to get to the links that Blogger won't allow to be embedded and I'll see what I can do.

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    2. Welp, that didn't work. I guess copy paste is the only thing to do with it.

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    3. Yeah, no biggie.

      I just can't use some HTML tags, maybe they are not enabled? To embed a link, I usually use "a href" and "underline" tags to make it show/represent that it's a link. It also means people can just click on it, one wouldn't need to highlight the whole link and right-click to open it. But like I said, it's no big deal. Cheers.

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  3. Great post Wrenzie.A lot of good information.

    2014 Draft

    Beede-1st Round
    Garcia-2nd Round
    Webb-4th Round
    Coonrod-5th Round
    Slater-8th Round
    Cole-26th Round

    Last years draft looking pretty good right now.Bonus if Davis has successful move to the mound.

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    1. Thanks a lot Mr. david! '14 draft looks really good right in my eyes as well with the cream of the crop Beede is really good right now! Untradeable!

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  4. Wow! That was a major tour-de-force, Wrenzie. (Stands and applauds).

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    1. Thanks a lot DrB! I'm really grateful that I got a chance to talk with him and allowed me to share his thoughts on my blog for free! I just deliver it. Big credits to the guy! He's a great person and a great baseball mind! He's not really known but he knows Beede really well.

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    2. I second this, DrB. Great work Wrenzie. You are obviously enjoying yourself here, and I'm enjoying your work. Awesome post on Beede!

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    3. Yes, great work! Keep up the good work!

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  5. Great read. At this point in time I have Beede down (in my head) as the #1 Giants pitching prospect. Not because of this article, but because of the growth and development he's shown. Unlike the former 'consensus' #1...

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    1. Thanks for loving it Mr. Moses! Tyler's a great student of the game surrounded by a great group of people that supports and helps him develop to who he is right now. Cricky's like Bear Grylls. He's being dropped on a really remote place and he's trying to get out alive.

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  6. Stratton-8IP 4H 3R 2BB 6K 2.42 ERA
    Another solid start for Stratton.Another start like this and he can replace Hudson in the rotation.Like the second half of last year.The back end of the rotation looks gassed.Stratton,like Heston.Could be a big shot in the arm

    Arroyo-2 for 4 3B(3) .337 AVG

    Gomez-2 for 5 RBI(24) .363 AVG

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    1. I never thought Stratton would boom like this in one of the most hitter friendly environments that's the PCL. Wrote about him in the previous OIF post.

      Arroyo and Gomez are just flat out hitting machines!

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  7. Osich,and Strickland giving the oen a boost.
    Vogelsong pitching two solid innings in relief.Got the win and finished the game.

    Another trade idea:Marcel Ozuna.I think the Marlins just sent him dowm.I've always like Ozuna's tools.He can play all 3 OF positions.He has a good arm.He has good speed too.Pagan's a ticking time bomb at this point.He's a gamer.He's been playing hurt for about two months.

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    1. I love to get Ozuna as a young OF to build around in the future but he's so young and the marlins will not give up their core OFers of Yelich, Ozuna and Giancarlo along with Fernandez. I don't see the possibility of Ozuna to us. More of Parra though.

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    2. Good point.I was thinking the same thing.I can't believe he was sent down last week.

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  8. Gritty win tonight.
    Pence with the big 2 run HR in the 7th

    Casillla looked a lot better tonight.Looks like he needed the rest.Fastball up to 95 mph.

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    1. Casilla got the velocity but I'm still pretty worried about his wildly effective outings. I still want to have the Cuban Missile closing games out for us, plus he looks good in Orange and Cream.

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  11. Excellent post, Wrenzie. A very enjoyable read.

    One question, did your source only talk about Beede or might there have been some information on other Giants' prospects?

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    1. Thanks Mr. Roger! My source only talked about Beede. No clear reason why he didn't mention other Giants prospects.

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  12. Hey Wrenzie, check it out! You see who hit a HR today in the AZL? And had a stolen base!

    Since I'm bringing it up... you already know who. lol. Seven starts in 23 games. He had a stretch where he only got on the field once in ten days. Today was his fourth game in the last 17 days. SMH. Gotta play him if we want to see that development. IMO, dude is a clutch hitter.

    You've seen my comps (of high leverage situations). I'm not giving up on him, I'm stubborn like that. Cheers.

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    1. Yeah. Saw that 2-4 with a HR. Didn't check out the games today while they play though. But Angomas could be something. I just want a few more reps. And starts.

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  13. Cory Taylor-3IP 3H 0ER 7K 0BB
    Three inning save for Taylor.Mccovey Chronicles Minor Lines,mentioned scouts were more impressed with his movement than his 95-97 mph fastball.I like the old school save.

    Austin Slater is quietly settling in at Richmond.

    Today:
    Tomlinson 1 for 1 HR(2)

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  14. Santos-2IP 2H 0R 1BB 2K
    Garcia-2 for 3 2B(14)
    Slater-2 for 3 .299 AVG
    Biagini-5IP 5H 1R 2BB 2K 1.91 ERA





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  15. Miguel Gomez-2 for 4 .368 AVG
    If he can catch,and play 3B.I'm pretty sure he can play some 1B.He can back up Garcia.Play 3B when Arenado needs a day off.He might be a better player than Arenado.We'lll see.And,maybe start at 1B.We don't have a first baseman producing in low A Augusta.

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  16. Hey Wrenzie. Me and one of my crazy notions...
    Would you trade Belt + Beede for George Springer?

    HOU might be interested, since they're trying to get to the playoffs and will be without Springer for a long while (broken wrist). Could really use Belt at 1B to help their push, Brandon returns home. They got heaps of CF prospects, maybe one ready to take over.

    For us? We'd have an elite CF/OF under cost-control for years. Gotta go get Morse back from MIA. Should be easy enough. Or figure a way to get Lind, LaRoche or Allen Craig for 1B? Could we entrust 1B to Duvall? Just wondering, your thoughts? I know, I'll get ridicule from others for even mentioning something like this. Whatever, it's just a mental exercise.

    Oh, and my "word of the week" is modasho! So many Giants hitting well. You understand, I think. Cheers.

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    1. Hello Mr. carmot! I'm sorry for being away on my blog for a week due to things that take my time away from my blog couple it with the passing of my grandmother.

      If I'm Lunhow, the first thing I'll do is to make sure the goddamn Cards don't hack away my secret infos ever again. Second, I'll probably say no to this trade. Houston got 3 DHs with + power potential but questionable defense (Gattis, Carter, and Singleton) and adding Belt will add more problems for the Astros. They will have questionable defense (Springer is much better a defensive OFer than Belt) even if they will have Beede.

      For the Giants, quality pitching is much harder to find than quality position players and Beede is a replacement for the oldies even though we can add one ace in the offseason like Price and Cueto. Problem with that is they're old too but they have things going on their way like Cueto's deception and Price's premier fastball command. Giants rely on pitching and defense and replacing Belt for Duvall is not a really good idea. Springer's potential is really tempting though because of the five-tool potential that he brings to the table. I'll probably add someone like a Colin Moran to make this a done deal.

      Searched for modasho and it's a 3-hit game. Guess I'll add that to the book. MODASHO! I am happy that you express your thoughts here and I'm happy that you are not a guy who just flaks on people. Cheers!

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