Introducing Tyler Beede Who May Join Impressive Jays Pitching Depth

Below is everything I could gather about the Jays 1st round pick. Hopefully it lets you know as much as you need to know about him. We all hope that the Jays can sign him ASAP and that he’ll join the already impressive Arsenal of Arms in the Jays Armery.

Introducing Pick#21: Tyler Beede

RH Pitcher / 6’4″ 200 lbs / Massachussetts

Birth Date: May 23rd 1993 (18 years old)

High School Team: Lawrence Academy (17-2 in 2010/11)

College: NA. Committed to Vanderbilt if he doesn’t sign.

Quick Facts:

• Also Played football (Tight End) for Lawrence Academy.
• Prodraftcentral has a scouting report on him available here.
• An interview with Tyler from FBK is available here.
• John Gray of Soxprospects.com had an interview with him available here.
• There’s a Q&A with him available here.
• One of his best accomplishments this season was a perfect game.
• Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues (a Yankees Blog) wrote a glowing article about Beede, available here. The best quote from the article is “High school guys that have shown command of four pitches are definitely a rare breed.” Mike later posted a quick note that had Beede stating his intention to attend College and that it was good for the Yankees because it would make him slide down in the draft – presumable to them. So much for him sliding to the Yankees!
• An MLBDraftGuide write up is available here.
• Was a 2010 AFLAC All-American.
• Yet another Q&A is available here, from Brandon Hall on ESPN.com.
• Was ranked 10th in the MaxPreps Top 100 rankings. Other Jays in that ranking’s top 50: Daniel Norris was 6th, Andrew Suarez was 20th, Christian Lopes was 22nd, Matt Dean was 37th, Dwight Smith Jr was 44th.
• Says that he used to model everything he did on Josh Beckett, but that he has since swtiched to modeling himself after Curt Schilling. Both have championship rings, so I’m pretty happy with either or.

Stats:

• 2010: 6-1, 1.08 ERA, 45.1 IP, 87 Ks
• 2011: 7-1, 1.80 ERA, 56.1 IP, 114 Ks

Interviews/Videos:

• A ton can be found on YouTube.

Pre-Draft Rankings:

• BA: #35
• Keith Law: #30

First things first, let’s get a feel for what kind of stuff Tyler Beede has by reading what he has to say about his own arsenal of pitches, taken from this May 27th 2011 interview:

"“I throw a four-seam fastball that sits in the low-90s, I’ve been able to reach the mid-90s with it here and there. My changeup, which is a circle change, is probably my best pitch. It is my go-to pitch in almost any situation and I feel comfortable throwing it in any count. In the offseason, I worked on a 12-6 curveball as my coaches at both Lawrence and Vanderbilt wanted me to try and develop it a bit better. I had thrown it for a few years but it really wasn’t a strong pitch, now it has become one of my best pitches, sitting in the 70s with the hard 12-6 bite.”"

You get a really good sense for what he has to offer, and you also get a full sense of just how much he respects and loves the program he is committed to at Vanderbilt. When you develop a pitch, while still in High School, based on what the College you commit to wants you to do, you have bought into that organization. Back to the stuff though, as I’ll touch on the signability again later, it’s an impressive grouping that projects the possibility of 3 plus pitches. One of those, the change up, has a real possibility of becoming a plus-plus pitch that can push Beede into a #1-2 category if all falls into place beyond that pitch.

In total, Beede can hit speeds with 3 pitches in 3 different categories: 75-78 MPH (curve), 82-88 MPH (change up), and 91-95 MPH (fastball). The seperation from one sets up the perfect amount of range to throw hitters off by constantly changing speeds. The fact that Beede is already comfortable using his change up at any time – and for strikes – doesn’t allow hitters to simply sit on a fastball, or the opportunity to cheat a little by starting their swings early. Therefore, so long as Beede can consistently get ahead of hitters, he should be able to make good on his talents and make it to The Show.

How well he does in the majors, if and when he gets there, is another story altogether. As many people will tell you, a lot about pitching is between the ears, not just in the arm. How he reacts to pressure, the spotlight, the situations, and the glory of making it to The show will determine how much success he can have. So how does the mental side of the game work for Beede? Well, it all starts pre-game, as he stated in a Q&A:

"“I watch a lot of video before games, with my mechanics. I’m just trying to get it in my head, because I’m a mental pitcher. I kind of just adjust as the game goes on. With whatever’s working after I come from the pen, if the curveball’s not working I’ll try and throw a little more in the game, first few innings, just to get a feel for what I’m going to do today. It’s just an inning by inning thing, I’ll take my adjustments when I get them.”"

It seems to me that this young man is very focused, smart, and serious about taking the time required to be the absolute best he can be on the mound. That kind of package isn’t something that just happens, Beede has made it happen for himself. Just as Roy Halladay is constently working on bettering himself to be as dominant as he is, Beede seems to have the fire to make that kind of commitment. He doesn’t take anything for granted.

Let’s talk a little about the future. There are 4 sides to his situation. First, whatever he decides is what will happen. That’s the end of the line. But, the second part fo the equation is his family-friends-and agent. How will they influence the process of getting him signed as a Toronto Blue Jays prospect? Then we have the Vanderbilt side of things and his relationship with the coach there. And finally, the Jays who invested a #21 pick overall in his talents. To me, that’s where it really begins, and here’s why.

One of the main reasons Beede mentioned he wanted to go to the Vanderbilt program was because of its success in churning out 1st rd picks like David Price and Sonny Gray. Well, guess what, the Jays did make Beede a first round pick before he even set foot in the Vandy program, so that solves that reason for going to Vandy. You’re already a first rounder….how much higher are you trying to go? And are you willing to risk injury to get to go 1-2-3 or top 10 overall? My guess at this point would be that he’s satisfied with being drafted in the middle portion of the 1st round and that it makes signing him that much easier to do than if he had fallen to the Jays in the 2nd rd, as Daniel Norris did.

But, there’s another clincher for the Jays. Apparently, Norris and Beede already know one another and Beede has already Tweeted about their being “Blues Brothers” and that Jays fans better be ready for both of them, something that has to indicate that he is already anxious to join Norris as a part fo the Jays organization.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Jays drafted Tyler Beede in the 1st round knowing full well that it could make signing him a little easier and that they will get it done. We’ll see when it happens, but at this point I definitely expect him to join a new class of Jays pitchers ready to fill the lower parts of the minors in late 2011 and 2012.

The new depth chart in trios at each level (in no certain order of talent)?

• AAA: Brad Mills, Brett Cecil, Scott Richmond
• AA: Joel Carreno, Zach Stewart, Henderson Alvarez
• HiA: Deck McGuire, Nestor Molina, Chad Jenkins
• LoA: Drew Hutchison, Sean Nolin, Casey Lawrence
• Yet to be assigned: Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Griffin Murphy
• Newly Drafted: Tyler Beede, Daniel Norris, Joe Masgrove

As you can see from the list above, as you head down from each level, the talent just keeps getting stronger and each class has some of the best pitchers to offer across the minors at their respective levels. It’s no surprise that collectively, the Jays affiliates are doing so well in 2011 and are all above .500 at this point.

There’s something special brewing in the system, and Beede only adds to the intrigue of what could soon be a great run of Jays pitching prospect promotions. Will both he and Daniel Norris decide to sign with the Jays and take a run at building towards a championship together? If the money is right, it seems to be a very strong possibility. He would join a very enviable arsenal of Jays pitchers that will be the foundation of their next championship run.

Hopefully that run comes sooner rather than later!

– MG

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