Yankees' fast-rising pitching prospect twirls another gem at Triple-A

Yahoo

10 hours ago

During the Yankees' 4-2 victory over the Orioles, news from their farm system broke of RHP Brendan Beck being promoted from Double-A with the Somerset Patriots to Triple-A with the Scranton RailRiders.
The right-hander had been brilliant with the Patriots, pitching to a 1.82 ERA across 54.1 innings pitched, striking out 24.8% of batters faced with a low 5.7% walk rate.
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Despite being 26-years-old, the Yankees have displayed plenty of belief in Beck, who has been limited to just 23 MiLB appearances since being drafted 55th Overall in the 2021 MLB Draft.
A former second-round pick, multiple elbow surgeries have made him an afterthought, but in his first Triple-A start he shutout the Louisville Bats across six innings, striking out four and walking none.
We could see Beck pitch at the Major League level this year or next, and the fast-moving right-hander is a hidden gem who not enough people are discussing.
How Brendan Beck Has Risen So Quickly in the Yankees' Farm System
Syndication: The Tennessean
The Yankees loved what they saw from Brendan Beck at Stanford, and they spoke highly of his pitchability and command out of college.
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His fastball hasn't progressed the way you'd hope it would, but a huge reason for that is the myriad of arm injuries which have limited Beck's ability to continue adding velocity after a spike in his final year of college.
What is elite is the shape of this pitch, averaging nearly 19 inches of Induced Vertical Break, as while he releases the ball from a high release point, it's one that collects called strikes and soft contact when located properly.
As he continues to remain healthy, I do wonder if the 6'2 right-hander can add a little more to his fastball that sat at 92.5 MPH in his Triple-A debut.
His second-most used pitch was his slider, generating a 41.7% Whiff% while attacking the zone aggressively with that pitch as well.
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This slider has -0.5″ of IVB from a very high release height, making this pitch really tough for hitters to pick up as it's dropping towards the plate.
With over 19 inches of vertical separation off of his fastball, Beck fools hitters by throwing his fastball up early in the count, setting up his slider with two strikes to dive away from their barrel.
His third pitch is a big rainbow curveball at 76.6 MPH, a pitch that can get hammered when hitters ambush it, but also can generate called strikes and allow Beck to get ahead in the count.
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There aren't a lot of whiffs to be had with this kind of profile, which limits Brendan Beck's overall ceiling as a starting pitcher, but the command and pitchability could allow him to thrive as a backend rotation piece.
We didn't see a lot of changeups today because Beck didn't see a lot of lefties, but I believe that pitch is a strong offering that can get whiffs and soft contact as well.
Beck has dropped his walk rate to just 5.2% across 60.1 IP, and with four pitches he can go to in a start that move in all directions, it makes you wonder what his big-league outlook is.
The first question that comes up for prospects in the Yankees' organization is whether they're a piece the team is desperate to hang onto, or if they're just trade bait.
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As someone who will have to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter, it might be in the best interest of the Yankees and Beck for a trade at the deadline to occur.
He would help return MLB value for the Yankees as they try and win a World Series while the right-hander would almost certainly end up on a team that could put him on a big-league mound in September.
Wherever he ends up playing, I think Brendan Beck will be a big-leaguer down the road, and I'm excited to see where this season goes for him.
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