The future is bright for this budding Rockies slugger
Thomas Harding
@harding_at_mlbThis story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
“He’s a talent -- he’s the future,” Meulens said. “We’ve been watching this guy since Spring Training, and he’s just getting his feet wet.”
After sitting in as a commentator for the broadcast of the Rockies’ home victory over the Padres on Aug. 16, none other than Hall of Famer Todd Helton, well, Volunteered a shoutout to “my man, Beck, because he’s from the University of Tennessee -- he showed out and got three hits.”
The plaudits are coming even before Beck gains his Major League timing. When the timing comes, the expectation is that Beck’s numbers will match the high praise.
Beck, 23, a first-round pick (38th overall) in 2022, returns for Monday’s start of four-game series against the Marlins batting .215 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 114 plate appearances -- with his Major League game log showing nearly a three-month gap because of a broken left hand he sustained less than a month into his first callup.
There have been flashes -- five RBIs and his first Major League home run on May 15 at San Diego and the Helton-witnessed recent game. And the chances are coming. Beck started every game from his Aug. 13 return through Friday. His replacement, Jake Cave, lashed four hits, including a home run and a double in a 9-2 victory at Yankee Stadium, and started Sunday against veteran righty Marcus Stroman in the 10-3 loss in the series finale.
But Beck is getting his chances. He played mostly in left field until Nolan Jones returned from a back injury, then switched to right field.
In the Minors, Beck has achieved a .284/.380/.509 slash line through 194 games, and answered every question except for one he must address in the Majors: the big-time fastball.
According to Statcast, Beck is batting .259 with a .333 slugging percentage in at-bats that have ended against four-seam or two-seam fastballs. But he’s at .125/.250 against the four-seamer.
Beck uses a leg kick for timing and appears to have the posture that would allow him to hit the fastball, yet adjust to offspeed pitches.
“If I’m on fastballs, I’m on breaking balls -- usually it’s not the other way around,” Beck said. “For the most part, I’m trying to be on time for the heater and adjusting to everything else.
“And it’s like they say, hits come in bunches, home runs come in bunches. Punches [strikeouts] come in bunches.”
Timing can arrive unpredictably, as exemplified by first baseman Michael Toglia, 26, who struggled with big league heat upon his arrival in 2022. Before being optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque in April, he hit .120 with a .408 slugging percentage in 25 at-bats against the fastball. Since his June 6 return: .311 with a .667 slugging percentage in 135 at-bats.
So, is Beck’s swing like a harvest of Colorado Palisade Peaches -- some of the best in the land, with the best bunches arriving in August and September?
“When the numbers were low, it didn’t lower his confidence,” Meulens said. “He’s a quality person, and that comes out. A lot of times a quality person can go through struggles and go about things the same way.”
After the May 25 hand injury, there was a long recovery period, then a 42-game stint in the Minors (.316, eight home runs, 35 RBIs) during which Beck had to work through soreness in the wrist until being inserted back into the Rockies’ daily lineup.
“He’s going to get playing time and he’ll continue to grow,” Rockies manager Bud Black said.
Now it’s adjusting to quality.
“The difference is how you’re being pitched,” Beck said. “It’s not a huge difference from the Minor Leagues, but it’s better pitches -- more pitches on the edge, more pitches that are strike-to-ball. You have to make more decisions.
“I’ve never doubted the good-enough thing. You want results, but you’re not always going to get it. You just have to play it every day, grinding, and hopefully get a good pitch to hit.”