OIF: Tyler Beede Interview

Hello everyone! It's not the even year that Giants fans have been hoping for as the Giants playoff run ended in the NLDS as the Cubs beat them 3-1 highlighted by the Game 4 bullpen collapse that has been the story of the season. I'm not that mad or disappointed as the Giants already had 3 titles in the past 5 years and the remaining teams have been waiting for their taste of the championship as late as more than 100 years. The bullpen issue must be addressed for next season in which I will write up in the offseason.

Meanwhile, I am planning to release my Augusta scouting reports soon but this came fresh from my personal e-mail account today and it's my interview of Tyler Beede. For those who doesn't exactly know him, he's a 2014 1st round draft pick by the Giants and he won the Eastern League ERA title this season. I got the opportunity to interview about stuff his 2016 season and some slice of Beedah. I have copy pasted the contents of the mail but edited some parts for clarity. I hope you enjoy the interview!

1. First of all, congrats for winning the EL ERA title and you came close to a K title as well. How does that feel after having a rough April?

Thank you very much, it feels good for sure. I think, like you said, after having a tough start ,in terms of statistics goes, it was nice to be as consistent as I was all year and finish strong. I really wanted to focus on getting better each outing, each week, and each month and with that process it really paid off. 

2. You went from a sinker-cutter guy last season to more of a 4-seamer on the fastball this season. Can you share some of the thought process about that transition back to more of the 2014 version of you? 

I would say the 2015 version of me wasn’t really me. It was a really great developmental year. I learned a few new pitches and almost took myself to a whole different style of pitching that actually contributed to a lot of my success this year. I got back to the old me with the fastball and the velocity really because of the 30 lbs I gained and just increasing my shoulder strength and strength in general from my 2015 off season at Cressey Sports Performance in MA and Fairchild Sports performance in TX. My thought process behind that was to be more of a strikeout pitcher, be more of the power pitcher that I have been in past years, which got me to this level in the first place. I used both of those styles of pitching this year and was able to really command the ball the best I ever have and strikeout more guys as well. 

3. This year, you have logged a career-high 147.2 IP and it seems that your stuff didn't fade at all come late-August and September. How much of a factor is your weight gain in the off season towards logging that amount of innings?

It's a huge factor and it was the main reason I wanted to really excel in the weight room in the off season and make sure my nutrition was on point so that i could remain strong throughout a whole season. I learned a lot my first full season and wound up getting pretty weak and tired at the end of the year and as a bi product didn’t finish strong so it motivated me to prove I’m a work horse and a guy who won’t miss any starts and can finish strong even with a lot of innings. 

4. Speaking of late-August, you pitched one of the best pitching performances by a Flying Squirrel in its history. How special is it to have other top prospects in the organization playing behind you in the field or in the rotation like Arroyo, Duggar, Coonrod, and Shaw? 

Those guys, and all of our other teammates are a pleasure to play with and are a very special group of players. I snag a few autographs from them whenever I get a chance because they will playing in this game for a long time to come and they’ve been exceptional teammates and great to watch as well. They make me look better than I am on the mound because of the plays those guys make behind me. 

5. You are known for your FB that can reach 98 MPH as well as a hard fading CH and a mini-slider like cutter but what impressed me the most are your sinker getting harder sink as well as your CB having a tighter bite on it in the second half of the season. Did you tinker with your grips on those pitches that produced positive results?

Yes I did. About half way through the season before facing Akron, I was throwing a flat ground to Jeff Arnold and I just tinkered with my old HS grip and we found something that day. I wasn’t overly happy with my strikeouts, but i was happy with my command of my fastball and i knew if I added a strikeout pitch like that CB that I could put more guys away and thankfully that happened the rest of the season with that pitch. The sinker was a little tougher of a change because I felt so comfortable with the grip in the first place, but I noticed hitters checking off the pitch more as the season went along because of the spacing in my fingers and therefore leading me to believe the rotation on the pitch wasn’t tight enough to draw swings. I simply closed my fingers on a different two seam grip and played around with it during that complete game and was lucky to find another weapon late in the season. 

6. Now that the Minor League season is over for you, what are your plans in the coming off season?

My plans are to get right into the weight room and get ready for next spring. There is a lot that goes into a “successful” off season and for me a lot of it comes down to trusting the process of the programs written for me by Eric Cressey, eating the right things, getting my body in shape, and strengthening my arm the right ways in order for me the recover fully from the season and also get it strong and prepared for 200+ innings next year! 

7. I will ask a question as well as a challenge. There's no need to do this but do you think you can throw 100 MPH in the next season?

I believe I will be a guy who can tap into that kind of velocity and hit 100 mph yes. The body is an amazing tool and God has blessed me with the gift of a strong arm so I plan on getting my body stronger and in positions to move even better and more explosively so that I can throw harder with even more ease. I may not be (Noah) Syndergaard but I want to be a power pitcher who instills fear in the guy standing in the box, i won’t be “fun” to face. 

8. Before I end this interview with you, may I ask if when are you going to drop your next mixtape?

I actually plan on dropping it soon, before spring training for sure! so stay tuned! 

9. Some message to Giants fans out there who will read this interview?

To the giants faithful, I may not be a current member of the team, but I’m extremely excited to play in front of you all. Im excited to play along side a special group of guys and I’m most importantly excited to start some odd year magic and make every year a Giant year! Im blessed to be a Giant and this organization from top to bottom, from the fans to the players is the best organization to be apart of in all of baseball!