Top 2008 Draft Prospects: High School SS Tim Beckham

[Greg Pappas]

Key: (X) is their age at the time of the 2008 Draft

6. Tim Beckham {High School SS} (18). Beckham, with continued progress, profiles as an All-Star caliber SS, both with the glove and at the plate. He is an athletic defender with graceful actions and a very strong arm. Unlike many High School SS's, Beckham will stay at short. He is filling out his 6' 2 build and should add more strength to an already formidable offensive skill-set. He's fast AND quick, a combination more uncommon then most realize, and he's a great and instinctive base-runner to boot. Beckham has played well in wood bat tournaments and along with Eric Hosmer is considered among the very best hitters in the HS ranks.

He has been compared to BJ Upton and that is high praise indeed. Considered by most as the premiere High School prospect, and by some as the overall #1 player available, Beckham should come off the board very, very early.

Greg's Grade (1-100) = 89

Next up> High School RHSP Tim Melville.

[DennisTheOsFan]

Alright, this is the one I've been waiting for.

Will he be the next terrific SS to don an Orioles uniform?

[bluehens45]

I did not realize he was that good with the bat. Its great to see him compared to Hosmer with the stick. I always thought his bat was way behind his glove. If he projects to stay at SS and has a quality bat, im all for Beckham. As usual Greg nice read. Thanks

[Battleship]

Beckham actually doesn't compare to Hosmer as a hitter. If they played the same position Hosmer would be rated much, much higher. Most experts think Hosmer is one of the best high school hitters in the last 20 years.

Beckham is rated higher because he plays a premium position and projects to hit for average with some power. Hosmer projects to hit for average with a lot of power. Beckham has more speed as well.

[Greg Pappas]

Beckham actually doesn't compare to Hosmer as a hitter. If they played the same position Hosmer would be rated much, much higher. Most experts think Hosmer is one of the best high school hitters in the last 20 years.

Beckham is rated higher because he plays a premium position and projects to hit for average with some power. Hosmer projects to hit for average with a lot of power. Beckham has more speed as well.

Agreed, there is no comparison between the two in the power department. What I meant by comparing them as hitters was simply batting average and ability to direct the ball into the gaps as needed. Hosmer is the overall better hitter without question.

I am very high on Hosmer, and while Beckham plays not only a premium position but one of need as well, I would still take Hosmer over Beckham at this juncture just because I see him developing into a Will Clark type of hitter with superior power.

[wayne25]

Thanks again for the info and opinions. I've seen nothing to suggest he is a superior hitter (for average). That is a nagging question that prevents me from taking him before Hosmer or possibly Alvarez and Smoak. If the reviews during the months leading up to the draft are really positive in this regard, then by all means, he'd be worthy of # 4 overall. We certainly could use a real SS in our system. By the way, If Hosmer, Smoak, Alverez and Beckham all live up to the hype on offense this year, I don't think the O's go for pitching. This is my hope anyway.

[napbow]

Thanks again for the info and opinions. I've seen nothing to suggest he is a superior hitter (for average). That is a nagging question that prevents me from taking him before Hosmer or possibly Alvarez and Smoak. If the reviews during the months leading up to the draft are really positive in this regard, then by all means, he'd be worthy of # 4 overall. We certainly could use a real SS in our system. By the way, If Hosmer, Smoak, Alverez and Beckham all live up to the hype on offense this year, I don't think the O's go for pitching. This is my hope anyway.

That is why we need at least 2 of Crow, Melville, Cole and Matuz (sp?) to have great seasons. If they do there is a good chance 2 of the top 3 picks will be pitchers.

I can't see the Rays spending the amount of money they will need to sign Alvarez with Longoria already at 3rd. They could go for Beckham, but Brignac is already there.

Pittsburg will draft the best player and the Royals may go for the hometown boys. Leaving the O's with their choose of Hosmer, Smoak, Beckham/Alvarez.

I hope we can use one of our relief pitchers (Sherril, Walker) and a prospect to get someone like Hu. That way the team will not be pressured to draft an MI. Not saying they don't, but it will allow them to draft the best available player.

All of this is season performance pending.

[bluehens45]

That is why we need at least 2 of Crow, Melville, Cole and Matuz (sp?) to have great seasons. If they do there is a good chance 2 of the top 3 picks will be pitchers.

I can't see the Rays spending the amount of money they will need to sign Alvarez with Longoria already at 3rd. They could go for Beckham, but Brignac is already there.

Pittsburg will draft the best player and the Royals may go for the hometown boys. Leaving the O's with their choose of Hosmer, Smoak, Beckham/Alvarez.

I hope we can use one of our relief pitchers (Sherril, Walker) and a prospect to get someone like Hu. That way the team will not be pressured to draft an MI. Not saying they don't, but it will allow them to draft the best available player.

All of this is season performance pending.

I could'nt agree more. It would awesome to trade for Lillibrige/Hu or even sign Salcedo and then draft Alvarez/Hosmer/Smoak.

[Duke2010]

Why does everyone mention Ed Salcedo all the time? Do we actually have a realistic shot at signing him, or is this just false hope? I'd love if we could sign him because he would give us a stud SS, but I'd still take Beckham because you can never have enough quality shortstops, let alone stud athletes. If we nabbed Salcedo and Beckham then hopefully one can develop and the other could be a Justin Upton type OF/Athlete. Although this is highly unlikely, and I got way too excited, can anyone explain to me our likelihood to land Salcedo? I see us taking Beckham if Alvarez is off the board and the former is available.

[bluehens45]

Why does everyone mention Ed Salcedo all the time? Do we actually have a realistic shot at signing him, or is this just false hope? I'd love if we could sign him because he would give us a stud SS, but I'd still take Beckham because you can never have enough quality shortstops, let alone stud athletes. If we nabbed Salcedo and Beckham then hopefully one can develop and the other could be a Justin Upton type OF/Athlete. Although this is highly unlikely, and I got way too excited, can anyone explain to me our likelihood to land Salcedo? I see us taking Beckham if Alvarez is off the board and the former is available.

Honestly its just false hope. I mean he would be a unreal signing but its probally not going to happen. There is still time, so maybe we swoop in and make him an offer. To me its makes no sense that we wouldnt. Its a position of need for us and he is exactly the kind of signing this team needs. I mean we will go out and throw 5 million at an over the hill vet but not a 16 year old 5 tool stud who as all the makings of a fantastic player, when we are in rebuilding mode. He would be under our control for years to come. Look at the M's with Truinfel. They took a risk and most scouts say Trunifel is going to be a stud. It just makes no sense. I know its alot of money but its not like we dont have it. Im sure the Yanks or Sox or Tribe will sign him and when we are about to compete he will be dominating the league. This team needs to take risks on high reward type players just like Salcedo. I mean let alone it shows the league that we are going to be players in the Latin market. I mean we just need to look at as if he were another top 4 pick. Im positive if he was in the draft he would go top 4 so its just like getting an extra pick and giving him his bonus.

[WebLink21]

I really like what I am hearing about Beckham. I have him ranked #2 right now behind Alverez. If Beckham wasn't a high schooler I would have him as #1(I am very impatient ). I have Hosmer a close 3 and then Smoak.

Something I was wondering though. We keep saying that there is not alot of depth up the middle in the system. Didn't we go middle infielder crazy 2 year ago ? We drafted Ryan Adams, Blake Davis and Tyler Henson in the first few rounds. Are we already giving up on them?

[rhall]

I really like what I am hearing about Beckham. I have him ranked #2 right now behind Alverez. If Beckham wasn't a high schooler I would have him as #1(I am very impatient ). I have Hosmer a close 3 and then Smoak.

Something I was wondering though. We keep saying that there is not alot of depth up the middle in the system. Didn't we go middle infielder crazy 2 year ago ? We drafted Ryan Adams, Blake Davis and Tyler Henson in the first few rounds. Are we already giving up on them?

Blake Davis is the only one of those 3 who is projected to keep playing shortstop, and most think he'll be a utility type. Ryan Adams has played 2B primarily from the moment he was drafted. I'd like to see the O's give Henson more time at SS, since we don't really have anyone pushing him. He did play most his games last year there, but so far in his career he's got 48 errors in 90 games at SS. He's athletic so maybe he'll start progessing and be able to stick, but most see him outgrowing the position and going to 3B.

[baltimoriole]

In my opinion the O's priority list should looks like this:

1. Beckham

2. Alverez

3. Hosmer

I just hope that one of them fall to us.

[Greg Pappas]

Thanks again for the info and opinions. I've seen nothing to suggest he is a superior hitter (for average). That is a nagging question that prevents me from taking him before Hosmer or possibly Alvarez and Smoak. If the reviews during the months leading up to the draft are really positive in this regard, then by all means, he'd be worthy of # 4 overall. We certainly could use a real SS in our system. By the way, If Hosmer, Smoak, Alverez and Beckham all live up to the hype on offense this year, I don't think the O's go for pitching. This is my hope anyway.

Thanks for the nice words...

I never said he was superior, but rather that "Beckham has played well in wood bat tournaments and along with Eric Hosmer is considered among the very best hitters in the HS ranks."

I'm not sure what you've read that would suggest anything besides that he's a very good bat, unless it was a specific tournament or single report.

This was from BA's piece on him...

"Soon Beckham's tickets were for airlines. As a junior at Griffin High, Beckham batted .512 with nine doubles, six triples, six home runs, 39 RBIs and 20 stolen bases before flying to Cincinnati for the summer's first showcase. It was the first leg of a whirlwind summer that Tim, his parents and Dye mapped out to maximize his exposure.

His name was already on the amateur scouting map—he ranked No. 5 among underclassmen at a major wood bat tournament in Jupiter, Fla., in October of 2006—but the masses didn't yet know just how good Beckham could be.

It was in Marietta, Ga., at the World Wood Bat Association 17-Under summer championship, where he really began to find his groove at the plate. He blistered practically anything near the strike zone and played superb defense, and was ranked as the event's No. 1 prospect out of more than 2,000 in attendance.

Hundreds of scouts and a national television audience watched Beckham patiently work counts against some of the top high school pitchers in the country at the Aflac Classic in August in San Diego. He delivered a pair of sacrifice flies, a walk and an RBI triple on his way to MVP honors.

Without pretension, Beckham beamed as he held up the trophy, and his thick Southern accent had a disarming quality with the crowd of California reporters that surrounded him.

His travel team headed south to Port Charlotte, Fla., where during a week-long tournament Beckham went 18-for-21 with four home runs, capping his summer with a .409 average in 132 at-bats, including nine homers, 15 doubles, eight triples and 32 stolen bases.

In the span of less than four months, Beckham had played in dozens of events, from Pensacola, Fla., to Long Beach, and it was apparent to everyone that he had the talent to be a first-round draft choice and potentially a cornerstone of a big league organization."

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Other articles remark about his tremendous skills and a high batting average is among them. Now, whether or not he'll bat .300+ as a pro remains to be seen, but he projects to be that good as of now.

[DennisTheOsFan]

Wow, look at those numbers. I like that he was impressing scouts at the plate, even when going up against some of the top high school pitching prospects.