Tyler Beede

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #28 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: A standout, three-year performer at Vanderbilt, Beede was the Giants' first-round pick in 2014. He seemed poised to grab a spot in San Francisco's rotation in 2017, but disappointed in his first taste of Triple-A. Beede struggled through his first two major league starts in April, and his numbers worsened when he was sent back to Triple-A before moving to the bullpen for the last three months of 2018.
  
  Scouting Report: Beede is at a crossroads in his career, with questions as to whether he is a starter or reliever. Out of the bullpen, Beede shows flashes of plus stuff with a fastball up to 97 mph. His three offspeed offerings--a cutter, curveball and changeup--lack consistency and vary in grades depending on the appearance, but his hard breaking ball and late-fading changeup flash above-average potential most often. While his pitch mix suggests Beede could remain a starter, his below-average control hurts those chances. Beede, who has struggled with his control since his time at Vanderbilt, walked more than six batters per nine innings in 2018. He has a career 5.81 ERA in 190.2 combined innings at Triple-A and in the majors.
  
  The Future: The Giants don't seem fully committed to moving Beede to the bullpen quite yet, and he could get one last chance as a starter in Triple-A. If he remains ineffective early in 2019, Beede could make it back to San Francisco as a reliever. His stuff should play up in shorter stints, but he'll only be effective if he stays around the strike zone with more regularity than he has in the past.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #3 prospect in 2018
  Beede appeared ready to compete for a job in the Giants rotation entering 2017. Instead, he scuffled through 19 starts at Triple-A Sacramento before a groin injury ended his season in late July. Beede's velocity dipped in 2017, as the plus fastball he previously pitched with became an average to above-average pitch, sitting 91-93 mph and touching 95. He uses both a two and four-seamer. Beede's velocity has waxed and waned before, but his biggest hurdle to big league success is his subpar command, which has plagued him since college. Beede mixes in two average secondary offerings in a cutter and curveball and has a below-average changeup, but he doesn't land them consistently. His curve has flashed plus before, which leads scouts to think it could return to form in the future. However, there are concerns Beede uses too many pitches, which keeps him from developing a feel for any one pitch. Beede's development has been full of hot streaks and setbacks, much like Chris Stratton, who broke into the Giants' rotation in 2017. A Stratton-esque leap is possible in 2018, but Beede doesn't miss many bats and now profiles as a possible No. 4 starter.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #1 prospect in 2017
  A two-time first-round pick, Beede turned down the Blue Jays out of high school as the 21st overall pick in 2011. He went to Vanderbilt and dominated as a sophomore, going 14-1, 2.32 and leading Division I in wins. He also ranked inside the top 10 in the nation for hit rate per nine innings (5.7) despite plenty of wildness (5.6 walks per nine, 14 wild pitches). He threw more strikes as a junior, but wasn't as effective. The Giants selected Beede 14th overall in the 2014 draft and signed him for a shade more than $2.6 million. After letting him go out and pitch like he had at Vanderbilt in his short first pro season, San Francisco reworked his delivery in 2015 by slowing down his tempo and simplifying his windup. Beede said he models his deliver now on that of Zack Greinke. He starts his delivery slowly, but the tempo builds as he gathers on the rubber. The Giants also asked him to focus on throwing more two-seam fastballs and cutters and relying less on his power four-seamer. The approach helped him thrive at high Class A San Jose in 2015, but he hit a wall following a promotion to Double-A Richmond, in part because his stuff backed up. He started throwing more in the high-80s to low-90s instead of showing the mid-90s velocity he'd shown in the past. Back in the Eastern League in 2016, Beede more consistently got to the mid-90s velocity he showed in college, which helped his entire repertoire play better. On his best nights he'd touch 96-97 in his final inning of work. He led the EL in ERA (2.81), finished second in strikeouts (135) and fifth in opponent average (.248). One of the keys to Beede's big step forward in 2016 was his emphasis on conditioning. In a January camp that included several big leaguers, Beede won the Giants award for the hardest worker. That hard work paid off when his fastball returned to the 92-94 mph range he had showed at Vanderbilt. His heater sat 90-92 mph in 2015. Now he touches 97 mph deep in games when needed. Beede has quickly grown to enjoy manipulating his two-seamer, but the higher-velocity four-seamer is always in his back pocket. As important as his fastball is, he succeeds because he has a varied assortment of pitches. Beede's curveball is a plus pitch at its best. He still needs to command it better, but if he can land it more consistently, it could be his best secondary pitch. His above-average 87-90 mph cutter is more consistent--though sometimes he throws it too much. It plays well off his sinker with consistent running action. His changeup took a slight step back in 2016, but it has been above-average in the past and was average in 2016. Beede has come a long way from the all-power, all-the-time approach he once used, but he's no soft-tosser after regaining the power he seemed to lose in 2015 in his first full pro season. He now can pitch--or he can overpower. His body control still wavers enough to make it hard to see him ever having plus control, but he has refined his delivery to the point where average control is possible. Beede could be a future mid-rotation starter with enough stuff and control to thrive in the big leagues. He will head to Triple-A Sacramento in 2017 for further refinement, but the Giants believe he has come far enough that he would be able to handle the big leagues in 2017.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #2 prospect in 2016
  Beede spurned the Blue Jays as a 2011 first-round pick out of high school to head to Vanderbilt, which he helped to the 2014 College World Series title. The Giants signed him as the 14th overall pick in 2014. The Giants have reworked Beede's delivery and approach, scrapping the full hands-over-head windup. Now he simply breaks his hands at his waist and uses a simple hip turn. He also adjusted to a slower-tempo delivery with a quick finish, something Beede says he modeled after Zack Greinke. Instead of relying on a 92-95 mph four-seamer up in the zone, Beede focused on using a 90-93 mph sinker and a developing cutter. He wore down late, losing weight and struggling to use his legs, and he also nibbled too much at Richmond. Beede's cutter is a potentially above-average offering, but he leaned too heavily on it, throwing it to righthanders when he would have been better served to use his average changeup and fringe-average curveball. Beede has athleticism and a five-pitch mix, but below-average control has been a long-running problem--he walked 4.7 per nine innings in college and 3.3 as a pro. Thus he is a risk to reach his ceiling as a No. 3 starter.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #2 prospect in 2015
  Beede has tantalized scouts for years, but even after four years in the spotlight, he's still an intriguing blend of talent and risk. A first-round pick by the Blue Jays out of high school in 2011, he turned down $2.4 million to head to Vanderbilt. Beede was the Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year as a sophomore in 2013, sandwiching that with two erratic seasons. While Vanderbilt won the College World Series in 2014, Beede struggled in his last three postseason starts. The 14th overall pick in 2014, he signed for $2.6 million, more than he turned down out of high school. Beede has three plus pitches at his best. Blessed with an extremely quick arm, he has a well above-average fastball that sits 92-95 mph at its best and touches 97. His changeup has developed into a plus pitch as well, and he's shown a hard 80-82 mph plus curveball, though in the second half of this college season he lost the feel for it and it became much loopier. Beede is athletic, extremely competitive and has shown a feel for setting up hitters. How quickly he progresses and how far he goes depends almost entirely on him learning how to keep his delivery in sync more consistently. He's shown well below-average control everywhere he's pitched--from Vanderbilt to USA Baseball's College National Team to pro ball. The Giants are known as a team with excellent pitching instruction, and Beede has a lot of work to do, but if it all comes together, he could one day front a rotation. He'll head to either low Class A Augusta or high Class A San Jose in 2015.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #15 prospect in 2014 draft
  Beede was the fourth high school pitcher drafted in 2011, after Dylan Bundy, Archie Bradley and Jose Fernandez. The Blue Jays and Beede didn't come to terms, though, with the Jays offering $2.4 million and Beede seeking $3 million or more. He headed to Vanderbilt and struggled as a freshman but seemed to put things together while earning Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year honors in 2013. Even in his 14-1, 2.32 season, Beede walked 5.6 per nine innings, and he had a rough summer with Team USA, with his delivery getting out of sync when he couldn't find the strike zone. He has thrown more strikes this spring (3.3 BB/9) but has been more hittable, and scouts give him average control grades with below-average command. Nevertheless, Beede looks the part of a first-rounder at an athletic, powerful 6-foot-4, 215 pounds with a clean arm, and he flashes plus with three pitches. At times he pitches with a well above-average fastball, reaching 97 mph and sitting 92-94. His changeup has been his best secondary offering this spring, earning plus grades, and he throws one of the hardest curveballs in the draft at 80-81 mph, giving him a third plus pitch. Beede has a big personality and rap alter ego (Young Beedah) and was the life of Team USA's clubhouse despite his struggles last summer. He's a wild card in the first round whose last starts, particularly at the SEC tournament, will be watched closely as scouts look for signs of improved strike-throwing.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Eastern League #17 prospect in 2016
  Beede dominated in his return to Richmond. He ranked second in the EL with 135 strikeouts as he abandoned his more contact-oriented approach from last season. Beede held his mid- to high-90s velocity deep into starts, including a few fastballs that peaked at 97 mph. In his penultimate start of the season, he threw a two-hit shutout against Hartford on just 94 pitches. He struck out 11 that day, which tied a career high. He was particularly dominant in August, when he struck out 43 over 33.2 innings. Beede also throws a two-seamer and changeup that grade as plus, and a breaking ball that has sharpened over the course of the season. With renewed ability to get swings and misses, he could have a future in the middle of a rotation.
• 
  Ranked California League #16 prospect in 2015
  The 14th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Beede breezed through the Cal League in his full-season debut, requiring just nine starts before the Giants bumped him to Double-A Richmond. The control problems that plagued Beede for much of his college career at Vanderbilt would later resurface in the Eastern League, but in San Jose he showed his best control since high school, allowing just a 1.5 walks per nine innings. The Giants worked to clean up the athletic Beede's mechanics and keep him on a straight line to the plate. He spotted his low-90s fastball that peaked at 94 to both sides of the plate, adding sinking and tailing action in on righthanders. He showed a nice feel for mixing in his plus changeup and hard, low-80s curveball. Beede has a solid baseball IQ, and Cal League observers lauded his pitchability. Still, he needs to trust his stuff more and not try to be too fine with his location.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #89 prospect in 2017

• December, 2016 Scouting Report
  Background: A two-time first-round pick, Beede turned down the Blue Jays out of high school as the 21st overall pick in 2011. He went to Vanderbilt and dominated as a sophomore, going 14-1, 2.32 and leading Division I in wins. He also ranked in the top 10 in the nation for hit rate per nine innings (5.7) despite plenty of wildness (5.6 walks per nine). He threw more strikes as a junior, but wasn't as effective. The Giants selected Beede 14th overall in the 2014 draft and signed him for a shade more than $2.6 million. San Francisco reworked his delivery in 2015 by slowing down his tempo and simplifying his windup. He starts his delivery slowly, but the tempo builds as he gathers on the rubber. The Giants also asked him to focus on throwing more two-seam fastballs and cutters and relying less on his power four-seamer. The approach helped him thrive at high Class A San Jose in 2015, but he hit a wall following a promotion to Double-A Richmond, in part because his stuff backed up. He started throwing more in the high 80s to low 90s instead of showing the mid-90s velocity he'd shown in the past. Back in the Eastern League in 2016, Beede more consistently got to the mid-90s velocity he showed in college, and on his best nights touched 97 mph in his final inning. He led the EL in ERA (2.81), finished second in strikeouts (135) and fifth in opponent average (.248). Scouting Report: One of the keys to Beede's big step forward in 2016 was his emphasis on conditioning. In a January camp that included several big leaguers, Beede won the Giants' award for the hardest worker. That hard work paid off when his fastball returned to the 92-94 mph range he had showed at Vanderbilt. His heater sat 90-92 mph in 2015. Now he touches 97 mph deep in games when needed. Beede has quickly grown to enjoy manipulating his two-seamer, but the higher-velocity four-seamer is always in his back pocket. As important as his fastball is, he succeeds because he has a varied assortment of pitches. Beede's curveball is a plus pitch at its best. He still needs to command it better, but if he can land it more consistently, it could be his best secondary pitch. His above-average 87-90 mph cutter is more consistent, though sometimes he throws it too much. It plays well off his sinker with consistent running action. His changeup took a slight step back in 2016, but it has been above-average in the past and was average in 2016. Beede has come a long way from the all-power, all-the-time approach he once used, but he's no soft-tosser after regaining the power he seemed to lose in 2015 in his first full pro season. He now can pitch or overpower. His body control still wavers enough to make it hard to see him ever having plus control, but he has refined his delivery to the point where average control is possible. The Future: Beede could be a future mid-rotation starter with enough stuff and control to thrive in the big leagues. He will head to Triple-A Sacramento in 2017 for further refinement, but the Giants believe he has come far enough that he would be able to handle the big leagues in 2017.