Cal Star Dylan Beavers Taken in First Round of MLB Draft by Orioles

Video shows his reaction as well as an assessment of his talent after being the 33rd overall selection in baseball draft

Cal outfielder Dylan Beavers was taken in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft on Sunday -- but he barely made it.

Beavers was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 33rd overall pick, which is still in the first round but comes in the compensation-pick category of Competitive Balance Round A. The Orioles were one of seven teams placed in that category, which completed the 39 first-round picks.

The more important thing is that the 33rd pick is scheduled to receive a slotted bonus of $2,313,900, according to Spotrac.com.  Teams are not obligated to pay that amount, but that is the recommended pay based on the team's allotment of money to spend on drafted players. Players typically get something close to the recommended slotted bonus payment.

Beavers watched the draft from his home in Paso Robles, Calif. Here is his reaction to the announcement that the Orioles had picked him as well as some analysis of his talent and video highlights:

Beavers was the third Pac-12 player taken in the draft, following Arizona catcher Daniel Susac, who was the 19th overall pick, by the Oakland A's, and Oregon State left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, who was the 22nd overal choice, by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The left-handed-hitting Beavers had two solid seasons at Cal. He hit 18 homers in 2021 as a sophomore, tying for the Pac-12 lead, and he had 17 homers this past season as a junior, when he hit .291 with 50 RBIs, a .426 on-base percentage and a 1.060 OPS..

He could return to Cal for a senior season, but there is little chance of that happening, given the amount of bonus money he is expected to get by signing by the August 1 deadline.  He would risk injury and a mediocre senior season that would diminish his value. Plus Beavers' negotiating power would drop if he entered the draft as a senior.

Beavers is the third Cal player to be taken in the first round in the past four years, joining Andrew Vaughn and Korey Lee, who were first-round picks in 2019. Both of them have made it to the majors.

MLB.com ranked Beavers as the No. 22 prospect in the draft. Baseball American ranked Beavers No. 26. ESPN placed him at No. 35. Prospectslive.com ranked Beavers No. 37, and The Athletic put him at No. 63.

Beavers was the Orioles' second first-round pick. They took high school shortstop Jackson Holliday, the son of former major leaguer Matt Holliday, with the first overall pick.

Here is what MLB.com said about Beavers as a prospect:

Scouting grades: Hit: 45. Power: 55. Run: 55. Arm: 55. Field: 50. Overall: 50

The college ranks in northern California have a pair of toolsy, left-handed-hitting outfielders, both with considerable upside. One is Brock Jones from Stanford and the other is Beavers, who hit 18 homers and slugged .630 at Cal in 2021. A rough summer in the Cape Cod League and with USA Baseball last summer drew concerns, but the power was back on display this spring.

When Beavers is locked in, he’s the proverbial five-tool player. During the spring of 2021, he reminded some scouts of Christian Yelich as a left-handed hitter who makes good swing decisions and hard contact in the strike zone. But using a bit of an unorthodox setup with lower hand positioning, he does have some timing issues and there are some holes in his swing. He was tied up inside at time over the summer. He was streaky in the fall, though he did show some flashes of brilliance, especially getting to his easily plus raw power, something that continued this spring.

While he’s big at 6-foot-4, Beavers is an above-average runner who has the chance to stay in center field, though his near-plus arm would work just fine in right. He hasn’t received a ton of instruction in terms of making adjustments mechanically at the plate, but there will be teams willing to look past the hit risk and bank on helping him tap into all of his tools at the next level.

No other Cal players were taken in the first two rounds, which were completed Sunday. But the 20-round draft continues Monday and Tuesday, and three Cal players – pitchers Josh White and Steven Zobac and infielder Nathan Martorella – are likely to selected before the draft is completed.

Cover photo courtesy of Cal athletics

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