Austin

Beck

Beck spent the last six seasons in the Athletics organization after he was drafted sixth overall in 2018. The former top prospect missed the 2023 season with a torn ACL, but he expected to be healthy for spring training. Beck spent most of the 2022 season at High-A Lansing, slashing .247/.311/.432 with eight homers across 167 plate appearances.

Beck now has four homers on the season, which is double his career total coming into the year. The 20-year-old is beginning to tap into the plus power potential he should in high school that made him the 10th pick of the 2017 draft, and he still has a very high ceiling. There’s still work to be done, however, as seen in his .245 average and ugly 38/5 K/BB ratio over 23 games. Still, Beck is a potential five-tool player if he can cut down the strikeouts, and even if the average doesn’t come, his potential power/speed combination make him a worthy stash in deeper dynasty formats.

Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area is first with the news, and Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky says Beck’s signing bonus will be $5.303 million, which is the slot value for the No. 6 overall pick. Beck is considered a high-risk, high-reward high school talent.

In terms of just pure raw skill, few hitters can match what Beck has. His power, speed, arm and glove can all be plus. The question going forward is if he can hit with a wood bat, and the length in his swing may make hitting for average difficult. This is a high-risk, high-reward high school talent.

Beck also walked and scored two runs. The sixth pick of the 2017 draft, Beck has hit .292 in his first full professional season, and while he has hit just one homer in 407 at-bats, he does have 26 doubles and four triples. There’s plus raw power in his right-handed bat, so those doubles and triples should turn into dingers as he advances. He’s also a speedy runner, so double-digit steals are likely from Beck as well. It’s a long-term play, but there’s a very high ceiling in Beck’s bat.