Kansas City Royals select Tennessee pitcher Drew Beam in 2024 MLB Draft

The Kansas City Royals have selected Tennessee pitcher Drew Beam in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Beam was the Vols’ ace on this past season’s national championship-winning squad, completing a 9-2 record across 19 appearances, two of which were complete games. He also recorded a 4.22 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

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He pitched 102.1 innings for the Vols in 2024, letting up 58 runs (48 earned) on 103 hits — 32 of which went for extra bases. Impressively, he struck out 99 batters compared to 27 walks against 398 batters.

In Beam’s final appearance of the season, the Vols star struck out seven of the first 10 batters he faced through 3.0 innings pitched in Game 2 of the College World Series. He threw 33 strikes on 48 pitches and besides giving up a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. It took him 15 pitches to get out of the fourth inning, where he was relieved.

The Vols went into that matchup against Texas A&M trailing 1-0 in the College World Series. Backs against the wall, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello leaned on his ace pitcher with little room for error and he delivered despite pitching just four innings. Of course, that led way for the Vols to win both Games 2 and 3 to win the program’s first national championship. Beam was integral to that effort.

“One of the most polished and consistent pitchers in the college ranks, he allowed two runs in two CWS starts as Tennessee won its first national championship in June, though his arsenal was a little less effective this year than it had been previously,” Beam’s MLB scouting report reads. “Beam would show flashes of three plus pitches in the past, but his stuff has played mostly average across the board in 2024.”

The scouting report noted that his best pitch is a changeup which averages out in the mid-80s. The fade and sink in his strong off speed pitch works well with his 94 mph fastball that jumps to 98 and can carry. He offers a low-80s curveball and has a cutter which averages in the high 80s. His pitching versatility helped keep opponents guessing throughout his college career.

“While Beam repeats his clean delivery well and provides regular strikes with all of his offerings, he isn’t missing a ton of bats,” the report continued. “He limits the damage by generating a lot of ground ball 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.”