Clark Beeker
For me, there were three real candidates here. The top three were Beeker, Slegers, and Gonsalves. With Gonsalves missing time, it broke down to Beeker and Slegers.
It will be incredibly fun to watch the rotations among Cedar Rapids, Fort Myers, and Chattanooga get put together in 2017 with the excellent pitchers that were part of the rotations in Elizabethton, Cedar Rapids, and Fort Myers this season that will return next season, let alone any possible acquisitions that could come in.
Beeker’s methodical delivery doesn’t exactly provide any deception or any sort of “fooling” of the hitter through timing issues in his delivery. He simply comes after hitters and attacks the strike zone with a collection of average to above-average pitches, all thrown with excellent movement.
Beeker doesn’t flash 98 or break off a 90 MPH breaking pitch, but his stuff gets a swing that looks just as ugly as either of those pitches would generate – it’s just that his pitch then gets tipped off the very end of the bat to the second baseman’s glove rather than getting a swing and miss like those other pitches will do.
Beeker may have a tough time getting to the big leagues with a long-term future in the rotation, but he’s already shown an exceptional ability to handle himself on the mound, and it’s always easy to cheer for a guy with a draft slot in the 30-something round.
Next: Player of the Year