Washington Nationals 2018 MLB Draft Profile: Seth Beer
By Blake Finney
The 2018 MLB Draft begins tomorrow at 7 pm EST. The Washington Nationals will pick 27th overall, and our final draft profile is first-baseman Seth Beer.
Draft day is nearly here, and there’s no Kevin Costner in sight in the Washington Nationals draft war room. In our last draft profile before the big day we look at Seth Beer, the Clemson first-baseman.
Beer did not enter the draft out of high school in 2015, instead choosing to honor his commitment to Clemson. And based on his stats with the Tigers, that has certainly paid off.
In his three years with Clemson, he has hit .327 with an OPS above 1.100 and 54 long balls. Although there are some scouts who wonder whether this will translate to professional baseball, with wooden bats, there are other who believe these stats are legit.
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You could argue that Beer’s approach at the plate is his most impressive quality. In 184 games at Clemson he’s draw 178 walks, almost a walk a game.
In that same time period he’s struck out just 93 times. That’s good for a 1.91 K/BB ratio, which would put him second among major league qualifiers this season, behind Andrelton Simmons 2.20 mark.
Although, he may not continue to keep that ratio up, as the pitching competition gets better, he has the potential to to still walk more than he strikes outs.
So it’s not too difficult to imagine the worst case scenario being a season similar to one that Bryce Harper is having so far in 2018.
When you watch Beer’s tape, his stance and long upwards swing has shades of Cody Bellinger in it. Check out one of Beer’s homers against Boston College, and you’ll be able to see the raw power:
With Ryan Zimmerman on the down-swing of his career, while Matt Adams and Mark Reynolds have contracts that expire in the off-season. So this leaves the future of first base is up in the air for the Washington Nationals.
Beer has the ability to make a rapid rise through the minor leagues, much like Zimmerman himself if he can adapt to higher quality pitching quickly. You can’t rule out the Clemson slugger making the big leagues by 2020.
Next: Ethan Hankins Draft Profile
There are a few scouts who doubt whether Seth Beer will struggle at the highest level, and have him falling out of the first round all together. But if the Washington Nationals take a chance on him, it could pay dividends in the very near future.