Monday, June 4, 2018

1-28: Seth Beer

With their first pick in the 2018 MLB draft, the Houston Astros selected lefty-hitting/righty-throwing 21-year old Junior Clemson OF/1B Seth Beer. The slot value for the 28th overall pick is $2,399,400

Beer's freshman year: .369/.535/700, 18 HR, 27K:62BB. He won the Dick Howser Award, which honors the best college player of the year - and he was the first freshman to ever win the award.

Sophomore year: .298/.476/.606, 16HR, 35K:63BB.

Junior year: .316/.471/.656, 20HR, 31K:52BB.

He had a career 1.137 OPS at Clemson.

*John Sickels gave him a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale for power and notes that Perfect Game said Beer got pitched in college similarly to the way Barry Bonds was pitched at the peak of his career. Sickels, on Beer's potential problems:
A more significant problem is defense. Beer looks pretty athletic visually and has a competitive swimming background, but for whatever reason his athleticism doesn't translate on the baseball diamond. His running speed is well below average. His arm isn't a noodle but isn't strong, either, call it mediocreish fringy. His instincts at both the outfield and first base appear, well, non-instinctive, meaning he lacks range and refinement. 

Watch this homerun:





Beer:
It means everything. Obviously, Houston the past couple of years has been on the come up and to get the call from the World Series champs is just an incredible opportunity and I'm so excited. 

*MLB.com's analysis calls Beer "the most polarizing player in the first round" in that he has struggled with wooden bats and is really limited to 1B.

*Jake Kaplan talked to Mike Elias, who said Beer is profiled for 1B or corner OF, but:
Certainly once we get him into our minor league system, his work with our coaches & the construction of our roster as he approaches the big league level will determine where he ends up.

*Check this article on how Twitter and Ken Griffey, Jr. helped Beer get his home run swing back.