He threw a complete game shutout last night and now sports a 1.33 ERA on the season. In the first 210 innings of his Major League career, his ERA sits at 3.03 with a similarly-great FIP to match (2.97).
The funny part about Beachy's story is that absolutely nobody saw this coming. It all started with going undrafted in 2008. After signing as a NDFA (non-drafted free agent), he blew through minor leagues with dominant numbers: 2.54 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.63 K/BB.
Despite that, he still received little recognition. Baseball America never ranked him as a Top 100 prospect. Keith Law never ranked him as a Top 100 prospect. He didn't even receive much love on Baseball America's Braves' Top 10 through the years. He was ranked in their Top 10 just once -- prior to the 2011 season -- and he was just 8th on that list. Even John Sickels, who tends to favor minor league number guys, ranked him just once in his Braves' Top 10 (also prior to 2011). He put Beachy 9th, saying he can be a #4 starter or a very good reliever.
Despite little recognition from doubters as a prospect, not only does Beachy look like the ace of the Braves' staff, but also one of the game's top 25 starting pitchers.
Pretty crazy. I thought the Braves made a mistake by giving him the #5 spot in the rotation last year over Mike Minor. Turns out they made the right decision. Time will tell if he is a horse though. If he can log 200+ innings, then he is one of the better pitchers in baseball.
_________________ "Only water, Sam. Only water." --Gilly
Even more interesting is that the Mets completely missed out on him. They drafted Brandon Moore, his teammate at Indiana Wesleyan, so it's hard to imagine they were clueless as to who he was.
Maybe Atlanta re-worked his mechanics or something upon signing him and it lead to some dramatic increase in velocity/stuff???
Brandon Beachy left Saturday's game against the Orioles in the fourth inning with an apparent elbow injury.
Beachy has been dealing with discomfort in his right elbow since last week. The Braves' trainer came out to check on him after he walked Chris Davis in the fourth, and determined he was unable to continue. Anthony Varvaro replaced Beachy in the game.
_________________ Sandy and Co.: Hold tight and pretend it's a plan.
Brandon Beachy is scheduled to undergo Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery on Thursday.
It's devastating (but not necessarily unexpected) news for the Braves. Beachy had a 2.00 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 68/29 K/BB ratio through 81 innings this year, carrying the look of a potential NL Cy Young Award candidate. He will be sidelined through the first couple months of the 2013 campaign.
_________________ Sandy and Co.: Hold tight and pretend it's a plan.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
