Baltimore Orioles: The numbers behind Tim Beckham’s sensational start
Despite tough times for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, infielder Tim Beckham provides excitement and hope for the future as the 2017 Orioles schedule unwinds.
Executive vice president of baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles, Dan Duquette, has silenced his critics once again with his MLB trade deadline acquisition of the No. 1 overall pick of the 2008 MLB draft, Tim Beckham.
Beckham, 27, leads Major League Baseball in numerous major statistical categories for the month of Aug., including hits, doubles, triples, runs, and a batting average that sits at .500 entering Thursday’s play. He hit safely in 12 straight games to begin his Orioles career and is in the midst of a jaw-dropping streak of three consecutive games with a lead-off home run.
Let’s backtrack before Beckham’s arrival with the Orioles to his time with the Tampa Bay Rays. Beckham, who was selected out of Griffin High School, was the first overall pick of the 2008 MLB June amateur draft that featured former Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz and slugger Pedro Alvarez.
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Here’s the summary of Beckham’s 2008 MLB draft scouting report via MLB.com:
"A bona fide five-tool player at a premium position, there’s a reason why Beckham is at or near the top of Draft lists everywhere. He’s got tools galore, with some idea of how to use them. He’ll need to iron out some things mechanically and fundamentally, but he’s got the ability and potential to hit, hit for power, steal bases and stay at shortstop at the big-league level."
However, after years of lackluster numbers in the minors, Beckham finally made his MLB debut in 2013 versus the Texas Rangers and recorded his first career hit during his first MLB at-bat.
In four years with the Rays, the 6-foot-1 shortstop hit .268 with 31 home runs and 102 RBIs. Evidently, the numbers Beckham produced in Tampa Bay wasn’t enough to keep him with the organization that drafted him.
As a result, the Rays traded Beckham to the Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Tobias Myers, who produced a 3.94 ERA in seven starts in Single-A Aberdeen.
Tim Beckham’s stats with Orioles
Beckham’s awe-inspiring start with the Orioles has put the shortstop in elite company and tops some of the most prominent names in MLB this month. In Aug., Beckham leads MLB in batting average (.479) and hits (34), and wRC (24).
In fact, after going hitless in his last three games in a Rays uniform, Beckham opened his Orioles career with a 12-game hitting streak and four consecutive multi-hit games. Despite his hitting streak snapped on Aug. 13, Beckham has eight hits in his last four games with two home runs and three RBIs.
On top of that, he’s recorded 12 multi-hit games in 17 games as an Oriole and has been a major force in helping the Orioles remain in the thick of the AL Wild Card standings. The question that looms large for the Orioles is what to do when starting shortstop J.J. Hardy, who turns 25 today, returns from the 60-day disabled list?
It might be obvious to everyone that Beckham should remain the Baltimore Orioles everyday shortstop except for the overly loyal Orioles manager Buck Showalter. From our own Jon Giles, Beckham is the future at shortstop for the Orioles and I assume the majority agree with that statement.
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Showalter’s decision could be the deciding factor in the Baltimore Orioles push for the last playoff spot in the AL Wild Card standings.