MLB Draft Profile: Seth Beer
Power is a large commodity in baseball. Teams look to develop power in any way they can, and the HR is such a large part of the game and has been for almost 100 years. Every Draft, players separate themselves from the rest by showing off their hitting tools and their power bat, and if you can do both, you’ll see yourself become a valuable player to any team.
In this draft, power can be found anywhere, but a few seem to have more power than the others, and the only thing more valuable than power is left-handed power. This is the category Seth Beer falls in.
Beer is a lefty-hitting, righty-throwing 1B prospect from Clemson University. Born and raised in Suwanee, Georgia, at 6’4” 200 lbs, Beer is one of the most intriguing players in the country for the potential he has to become a monster at the next level.
STATS
Beer exploded on the scene as a Freshman at Clemson batting to the tune of a ridiculous .369/.535/.700 slash with 75 H, 13 2B, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 62 BB and just 27 K in 203 ABs.
His following year saw him fall into a sophomore slump compared to his freshman year, but still managed to put up very respectable numbers. Beer batted .298/.478/.606 with 65 H, 17 2B, 16 HR, 53 RBI, 64 BB, and 35 K in 218 AB.
This year, the power has been on display yet again, setting a career high in HR with 20 while batting .317/.471/.656 with 66 H, 11 2B, 52 RBI, 52 BB and 31 K in 209 AB.
STRENGTHS
Beer has a fluid swing that looks good to the eye. He doesn’t possess much of a leg kick but his hands are quick and allows him to put a lot of his strength into his swing and translate it to high exit velocity. His barrel gets below the pitch and hits on an upward trajectory to allow the ideal launch angles (big in today’s stat-driven game) and send the ball out of the park.
He possesses great plate discipline for a power hitter. Beer draws a lot of walks and has kept his strikeout percentage low, sort of an anomaly in today’s game, as his career high is just 11.7%.
Beer has a reputation of being an extremely hard worker and student of the game, one who is always looking to get better in every aspect of his game
WEAKNESSES
Beer is not the most athletic guy on his team, and that has lead to questions about his defensive future at the next level. Some think a corner outfield spot is a possibility, but the consensus is that he will end up at 1B, where he currently plays at Clemson, in the long run.
Beer doesn’t possess much speed, as 4 career stolen bases from a guy which such a high on-base percentage won’t impress many people. For a power hitter and a 1B though, speed isn’t a necessity, so that shouldn’t be a problem going forward.
PLAYER COMP
Adrian Gonzalez
Smooth swinging, power hitting lefties are always a plus. Gonzalez and Beer are very similar in stature, both standing around 6’3” and lighter than most power hitters, but the power shows up and both possess solid plate discipline. Gonzalez strikes out a bit more than Beer, but they draw their fair share of walks, and if Beer can be half of what Gonzalez used to be, Beer will be considered successful.
DRAFT POSITION
Late First-Early Second Round
Statistically speaking, Beer is one of the more impressive players in the country, and early in his Clemson career was the favorite to be the #1 overall pick when his time to be inserted into the draft came close. Since then, his stock has cooled to the point where, unless a team above the Astros loves his bat, he should be on the board when the Astros pick. If the Astros decide to take Beer at #28, he’ll be another player with big potential to watch develop in the Astros’ plentiful minor league system over the next few years.
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**Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images**
