Prospect Insider - What to expect from Blake Beavan

What to expect from Blake Beavan

By Jason A. Churchill

By 07-02-2011

For the first time all season the Seattle Mariners will have someone other than their Opening Day starting rotation take the mound Sunday when right-hander Blake Beavan makes his major league debut.

Beavan earned the right by righting the ship in Triple-A Tacoma since a poor start at home versus Memphis on May 20, up until his most recent outing in hitter-friendly Las Vegas versus a good hitting lineup.

In those six starts, Beavan allowed just eight earned runs on 38 hits in 39 innings of work, walking nine and punching out 32.

Let's talk about what the M's can expect from the right-hander acquired in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Texas Rangers.

Background
Beavan was the Rangers' first-round pick in 2007 -- 17th overall -- after touching the mid-90s as a high school senior. He immediately showed durability, making 23 starts and logging 121 2/3 innings the following season and then surpassing 160 frames the following season.

Physical
Beavan stands 6-foot-7 and is listed at 240 pounds -- he may be 250, but he's not a poorly condition athlete. He's sturdiest between his thighs and chest but strong from head to toe.

For a rather large pitcher, he does get off the mound and field his position well, showing pretty good feet.

Stuff
Beavan offers a four-seam fastball in the 88-92 mph range, rarely topping 92, that he throws for strikes but doesn't always command well. He throws both a curveball and slider but I've seen the slider more in Tacoma. I do wonder if he's improved that pitch since I last saw him -- or his overall command -- which could explain his recent success.

The curveball is a slow tumbler at 73-75 mph while the slider sits 78-82. He also throws a circle change (80-83 mph) that grades below average but is useful at times.

None of the secondary offerings are consistently average or better, but he has had games where one of them is thrown to that level enough to get through a lineup three times.

Delivery/Mechanics
Beavan stays tall through his release point and uses little effort in the delivery, which is a toned-down version of what he was as a prep. This could explain why there aren't any 95s popping up on the radar gun anymore.

When he repeats the delivery -- which he does with some regularity -- he will hit his spots, allowing his offspeed stuff to play up some. He will leave pitches up quite a bit and lacks downward plane, despite his height and high 3/4 arm slot.

He should get more ground balls than he does, and if he doesn't locate well will get lit up in the big leagues as he did in Las Vegas, and other starts in Triple-A. He is a bit like Doug Fister but Fister makes more pitches and has better command within the zone.

Overall
Unless Beavan has significantly improved the command or even one of the offspeed pitches into the above-average range, I don't expect much from Beavan in the big leagues. He'll live and die by keeping the fastball down and on the corners; when he stays out of the middle of the plate, he'll survive, when he doesn't, he won't, it's really that simple.

I'd like to see more curveballs, particularly to backdoor to left-handed hitters since his changeup is fringy at best, but it seems that pitch has fallen out of favor with him. The slider is of the shorter variety, though it's too soft to be called a true cutter.

He could have some success at Safeco, especially versus opponents like San Diego, but he'll still have to make a few good pitches to hitters like Ryan Ludwick, Chase Headley and Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo went 1-for-3 with a double versus Beavan earlier this season in Triple-A. If he doesn't throw strikes and issues more than an acceptable number of free passes, the flood gates could open, even with the Padres being a poor offensive club.

Here's some video of Beavan from Spring Training:

what-to-expect-from-blake-beavan

Comments
The following 34 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: maqman on 07-03-2011 11:03:07
He's not terribly exciting but certainly worth a look. Hopefully he and the team can benefit from that.

2. By: Timberwolf on 07-03-2011 14:40:43
Beavan is the same age (22) as Michael Pineda. He obviously has a lot to learn and getting two big league starts while Bedard is on the DL should be helpful to his development. If he was a polished pitcher, he wouldn't have been thrown into the Cliff Lee deal.

3. By: VikingArthur on 07-03-2011 14:55:42
Beaven reminds me of Doug Fister a couple of years ago....discounted because he doesn't throw 96 MPH. Of course plenty of folks think Fister "will stop getting lucky" soon (they've been waiting for awhile now). Hopefully Beaven can become Doug Fister II. Of course... it won't matter unless the offense can find a way to score three runs.

I am very excited about this franchise...but this lineup is KILLING my enthusiasm. When a supposed non-prospect (Halman) and a guy who's been up for 2 weeks are your best hitters...you have issues.

4. By: FWBrodie on 07-03-2011 16:11:32
Man, he's throwing high fastballs by everybody... and they're swinging.

5. By: Jason A. Churchill on 07-03-2011 16:34:54
It's not a good lineup and a good park for him, hence my belief he can have success at Safeco the same way Fister and Vargas do.

6. By: SMariners11 on 07-03-2011 17:06:28
Jason,
Am I getting fooled by Halman? Because what I see from him is encouraging, I actually wouldnt mind keeping him in LF and Peguero being gone anyway possible. He seems to be staying on the ball and using right field alot.

7. By: Jason A. Churchill on 07-03-2011 18:05:31
IMO, yes, anyone who likes what they are seeing in Halman is getting fooled by the small sample size of results.

He's still a mess versus breaking balls and while he's shown he can go the other way a bit, doesn't cover the plate. By that I mean of the 20-22 inches or so that he has to cover horizontally -- the 17 inches of the plate itself and anything beyond that the umpire might call -- and the vertical depth of the zone, he's extremely vulnerable in at least one of those areas in every at bat, usually more than one.

Today versus Josh Spence, who is a notorious junkballer with a good changeup who will often go through entire innings without throwing a fastball, Halman was thrown three straight changeups down in the zone and he struck out swinging over the top and out front of all three of them.

He had to have had an idea of what was coming -- Spence had not thrown a single fastball to the previous four hitters and threw several sliders and changeups -- and the same pitch was thrown three straight times and he couldn't make the adjustment to either make contact on the pitch or let it go since it wasn't a strike to begin with.

I have hope that Halman can fix enough of his issues to become a useful player, but I don't believe he's an everyday answer because there are too many holes and he won't likely hit for much average because of them.

8. By: johnfree on 07-03-2011 18:16:19
Jason,

All that being said, barring a trade, is Halman the best LF option for the M's?

9. By: Jason A. Churchill on 07-03-2011 18:20:23
I think it's all the same, really. Peguero, Halman, Carp...

Carps is the best bet to hit some with regular playing time, but is the worst fielder.

Halman is the best defender and the best baserunner, but has as bad or worse discpline and overall plate skills as Peguero and bats right-handed, not a good fit at Safeco.

So in the end, it's a three-way tie for last. The Mariners absolutely have to go get someone from outside the organization or they will not win 80 games, let alone enough to win the division.

10. By: randallball on 07-03-2011 18:27:35
"it's a three-way tie for last"

Very aptly put.

11. By: Jason A. Churchill on 07-03-2011 18:31:23
Ha, thanks, Rick. I find no other way to put it right now.

12. By: 11records on 07-03-2011 19:54:00
JAC - would you compare Halman to Chris Young at all? They're both RH all the way. 6'2 or 6'3... Good power and speed but a serious propensity for striking out. Chris Young sucked at 23. And 24. And 25. (Although his suckage was masked by hitting a lot dingers) And then last year, and esp this year he's become kind of beastly. But - the D-Backs gave him 1,800 MLB plate appearances to figure it out.

BTW - Paxton just got pulled after 4 2/3. 3 WP, and 5 SB allowed. 3 Walks. 6 hits.

13. By: Jason A. Churchill on 07-03-2011 20:52:35
And they paid Young more than $12 million in salary to figure it out. Halman isn't that good on the bases or in the field and Young has a better swing.

It's not hopeless for Halman, but in no way is he ready right now to be anything around replacement level or higher.

14. By: SMariners11 on 07-03-2011 21:43:50
I just watched the at-bat that you were talking about Jason, and that is pretty bad. Its sad when given the tools to know about a reliever and his tendencies yet you go up there just hacking away. I would love for the kid to turn it around, but like you said he doesn't seem to be getting it. Well, that got my hopes up....

15. By: burn31226 on 07-03-2011 21:47:08
Jason,

What about the M's taking a chance on Juan Rivera after him being DFA by Toronto?

16. By: Jason A. Churchill on 07-03-2011 22:56:31
bum,

He'd make some sense offensively, especially against left-handers but if they claim him they owe him $2.5 million for the rest of the season.

If he becomes a FA, several clubs, including the Phillies, are going to consider him, too.

17. By: teddyb on 07-03-2011 23:22:18
Why is carp back in tacoma?

18. By: ChrisKishimoto on 07-04-2011 09:35:58
Maybe it was the .590 OPS? Or maybe it was the fact that he struck out in nearly half of his AB's? Or it could have possibly been the fact that he's terrible defensively in LF?

I'd pick one of those reasons.

However, unfortunately, there could be another reason: they prefer to use Peguero as the left handed bat in LF.

19. By: 01v-dubs on 07-04-2011 12:28:39
I agree that Halman isn't ideal for LF right now, I'd like to see a trade for Ludwick or Juan Rivera or someone like that. However, right now I really think Halman is a better option then Gutierrez in CF. Gutierrez just looks lost at the plate, and I would think that there might be something physically wrong with him.

In saying that though I hope Halman can continue to develop his pitch recognition either in Seattle or Tacoma because he's still young and has a chance to be a good player.

20. By: maqman on 07-04-2011 12:57:13
Guti's +54.8 UZR/150 makes him the best fielder on the team. Ichiro's UZR/150 is -20.0. Guti's +.4 WAR is also better than Ichiro's -0.1 WAR. The team has worse problems than Guti's contribution with his bat.

21. By: ChrisKishimoto on 07-04-2011 13:29:50
Maqman,

Ichiro's UZR this year is an outlier from the rest of his career. We all know that fielding metrics are less than perfect, but typically, you want to look at 3 years of data to pass judgement - not 80 games.

The .500 OPS that Gutierrez is putting up is also a small sample size abberation, but can be explained by a couple of issues: his lack of preparation going into the season due to his stomach issues as well as the stomach issues still persisting (if that indeed is the case).

We need to be patient - with the right players - and stop being so patient with the wrong players. Peguero sucks.

22. By: Edman on 07-05-2011 10:46:05
Jason, after seeing Texas dumping $8 million into two International players, perhaps it's time to look at return on investment.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for teams like Texas believing that money grows on trees. The more they put themselves in debt, the better for the M's. But it's reaching insanity. Is a second round player in the draft really worth less than some International players that are getting in excess of $2 million?

If teams don't find common sense soon, they are going to force a world draft.

Personally, I'm glad the M's don't give extreme money to International players. But, I can certainly see player agents screaming foul with slotting signing bonus'.

23. By: maqman on 07-05-2011 13:17:10
ChrisKishimoto
I'm not down on Ichi, just concerned. I agree it's small sample size and hope it is an outlier.

Edman

As usual I agree with you. The M's spent pretty freely last year on Latino talent but Texas is acting like a drunken sailor.

24. By: ChrisKishimoto on 07-05-2011 14:48:23
Jason,

Where would you place Seager (range-wise) in a hypothetical mid season top 100 that you would put together?

Is a .300/.380/.400 line a reasonable future projection for him?

Finally, is he better fit for 2b or 3b?

Thanks.

25. By: Blowgun7 on 07-05-2011 19:29:18
Guillermo Pimentel...

Yeah, I think we got something there.. having a beastly night

26. By: dawgncarolina on 07-05-2011 21:53:23
The only thing that can stop Pimentel is pitch recognition. If he can make contact at the upper levels, look out.

Valdivia is interesting, too.

27. By: dawgncarolina on 07-05-2011 22:48:52
Great game for Shipers tonight: Went 6 IP, 8:1 k:bb, 9:1 gb:fb.

28. By: FelixElRey on 07-06-2011 03:36:49
Jason, what would it take to get Headley from the Padres? I realize that we would be buying at an absolute high-point, and with the deadline looming, we'd certainly overpay for uncertain results, but the kid can play 3B and LF (I'm unsure of how well he plays either).

Also, I hate how he plays the game in regards to his atrocious arm and ugly swing, but would Johnny Damon be a good idea in LF?

29. By: baseballman on 07-06-2011 10:04:05
This may be a dumb question, but when it comes to the rookie league, what's the order to the most advanced team for us? We have four Rookie League teams, and I was wondering which is the team right before they jump to SS or A ball. Is it VSL then Pulaski then DSL then AZL? Thanks.

30. By: dawgncarolina on 07-06-2011 10:11:55
I'm not sure about DSL versus VSL, but I know they're both below the American leagues. And Pulaski is higher than the AZL. So lowest to highest is DSL/VSL < AZL < Pulaski

31. By: Edman on 07-06-2011 10:12:57
I believe that Pulaski is the highest of the four rookie levels, followed by Arizona. The VSL and DSL are the lowest and more driven by location, than talent level. South American kids go to the VSL and Caribbean kids go to the DSL.

32. By: baseballman on 07-06-2011 10:23:39
OK, thanks to the both of you (dawg and ed) for that. Makes sense.

33. By: Edman on 07-06-2011 11:20:40
I think the Mariners also have baseball academies in both locations (VSL and DSL).

34. By: Edman on 07-06-2011 12:08:09
Anyone else find the headline that states (Paraphrasing)...."Struggling Werth has No Regrets About Joining the Nationals".

Well duh!!!! He's getting paid good money for a struggling ballplayer. What regrets could he have?

You are not currently logged in. If you'd like to comment on this report, please log in.
Haven't created a Prospect Insider account yet? Sign up!