Tim Beckham, Gordon Beckham, Aaron Crow
Today, we’ll look at two shortstops and the best power arm in the draft.
SS Tim Beckham
If the Rays don’t pick Buster Posey first overall, this man is likely the reason. Unlike Posey, Beckham is the prototypical 1:1 pick.
Beckham is the archetypal excellent high school athlete who makes everything look easy. He will have no problem sticking at shortstop and probably contending for gold gloves if he makes it to the majors.
Beckham is starting to become dangerous with the bat. He makes good contact and uses the whole field. He’ll hit for decent enough power, but much of his extra base production will be a product of his plus-speed. Beckham is the kind of athlete who’ll be standing at second before the bloops drop.
Some may say that Beckham’s pedigree as a high school shortstop may work against him, saying that is a very risky pick. However, Rany Jazayerly did a study that showed that shortstops perform better than most of their other high school position counterparts. Also, when a high school shortstop has shown up with as much talent as Beckham (A-Rod, Jeter, Upton), they work out pretty well.
SS Gordon Beckham
Besides also being a shortstop (for now), Gordon is quite an antithesis to his namesake (no relation). While Tim Beckham looks to make his living off of defense and athleticism, Gordon’s MO will be to simply hit the ball very, very hard.
Beckham’s 2007 was a solid but not eye-opening offensive season. He put up a .307/.399/.570 line with 31 BB, 33 K and 33 XBH (13 HR) in 228 at bats. If you are not used to college statistics, these are not as impressive as they would be in the minor leagues, although still quite good.Beckham’s 2008 has been a tad better. Beckham ranks:
6th in slugging (.798)
6th on OPS (1.305)
3rd in HR (23)
T-4th in TB (174)
Did I lie when I said he hits the ball very, very hard? He’s putting up these numbers as a shortstop. However, to continue with the contrast to the other Beckham, Gordon will likely have to move to second or third. Wherever he plays, his bat should certainly pave his way to the majors.
Aaron Crow
Crow is the first player so far who I don’t really like as much as others do. So far, Crow is the typical FB-FB-FB pitcher. He will throw that fastball in the mid-upper 90s with excellent command. There’s no problem there. The problem is: what else?
Crow’s curve and change are no more than average, although they are reputed to be improving. The stats may back that up:
2006: 60 K in 77.2 IP
2007: 90 K in 117.2 IP
2008: 4th in nation w/ 117 K (Can’t find an IP number)
The question has to be whether these strikeouts are simply the result of a dominating fastball and nothing else, Mike Pelfrey style, or if Crow is really taking steps forward to become a more complete pitcher. Crow is a first round talent, but I wouldn’t make him the first pitcher off the board.
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