Pitching Prospect Profile: Drew Beam

Could we see him in the rotation before long?

The Kansas City Royals struggled to develop pitchers for years before they tabbed J.J. Picollo to lead the organization and hired new pitching coach Brian Sweeney. The team was determined to flip the script and change their reputation when it came to developing young arms. The 2024 MLB draft was loaded with pitching talent from top to bottom, and the Royals organization made sure to capitalize on it, coming away with 15 pitchers, 12 of whom were college arms.

My favorite pick of the draft was Tennessee pitcher Drew Beam, who had been one of the best pitchers in college baseball since arriving on campus in 2022. As a freshman, Beam cracked the Volunteers' loaded rotation and won the SEC freshman of the year award, posting a 2.72 ERA over 76 innings. He even posted a complete game shutout against Vanderbilt, making his early mark on college baseball.

As a sophomore, Beam took a step back with his ERA rising to 3.63, but he was able to throw more innings and saw a significant leap in his strikeout numbers. He took a similar step as a Junior, where he threw 102.1 total innings over 19 starts and amassed 99 strikeouts. His ERA jumped again to 4.22, but he got the job done, going 9-2 on the year. That year, Tennessee went on to win its first National Championship, and Beam’s play caught the eyes of MLB scouts.

The Royals selected Beam in the third round of the draft, slightly lower than most projections had him, and the Royals signed him slightly over slot value. Coming into his professional career, Beam was known as one of the most polished pitchers in the draft, with MLB.com saying this about him before the draft.

He limits the damage by generating a lot of groundball contact but his floor stands out more than his ceiling. He’s one of the safest bets in this Draft to make it as a big league starter.

Beam has a smooth and repeatable delivery that has contributed to his success as a starter so far in his career, and the minimal effort in his throwing motion helps him stay healthy. He also came into his professional career with a quality pitch mix, throwing four or five consistent offerings that he felt confident using. Beam uses a traditional over-the-top arm slot, and with his clean delivery, he can release each pitch from the same spot and create some deception.

The primary pitch for Beam is a mid-90s fastball that has topped out around 98 and has great shape through the zone. His best secondary offering is his changeup, which has been low to mid-80s this year, and his ability to kill spin on it allows late dip and arm-side run. He relies on these pitches primarily, but also has a quality curveball that can be a big breaker as well as a gyro slider that he can ramp up into a cutter at times.

His best trait as a prospect may be his command, which he has displayed with all of his offerings with some consistency. While his pitches all have a distinct shape to them, he does not get great spin on the ball and only really has average movement on his breaking pitches. His breaking balls may improve as he moves through the organization, but his ability to attack the zone and keep hitters' timing off will make him effective.

Beam was assigned to A+ Quad Cities to start his professional career, where he has been solid, with 76.1 innings pitched with a 2.95 ERA. He has only allowed one home run this year and has only walked 16 batters, proving his ability to both throw strikes and force poor contact. He would be in AA if he played in almost any other organization, but the Royals' pitching depth makes it hard to find a spot for him and gives the team time to work with him as long as they want.

While Beam is a very polished young pitcher, there are still some changes he can make that will be the next steps in his development. Building some separation between his cutter and gyro slider will be important. His slider’s gyro spin looks like a bullet, and building more downward movement and separating speed could pair well with his other offerings. I also think adding a consistent sinker variation to his fastball could force more groundball outs and make him more effective at keeping hitters off his lively four-seamer up in the zone.

Beam has a high floor, and his path to becoming a starter is clear. While he may never be a dominating starter who will come in and rack up strikeouts, Beam could likely wind up in the back end of the rotation with the ability to get soft outs and eat up innings. I would expect Beam to be ready for the majors by the middle of next season or early in 2027.

He currently ranks as my top pitcher in the Royals' farm system, not because of his ceiling, but because of his consistency and projectability to the major leagues. I expect big things from Drew Beam, and he may be one of the most underrated players in the Royals organization. With all the pitching depth in the Royals' farm system, the Royals may take their time with Beam, but if he continues his impressive performances, he may force his way through the organization quicker than most people expect.