A's Sign LHP John Beller to Minor League Deal

John Beller could be a nice find for the Oakland Athletics

The Oakland A's have signed minor leaguer John Beller, per the team's transactions page. Beller, a left-handed pitcher, was part of the 2020 draft class, but went un-drafted in the limited five round process and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent. 

In the minors over the 2021-22 seasons, the 24-year-old Beller tossed 123 innings and held a 4.54 ERA across A Ball, High-A, and Double-A. After starting 19 of the 21 games he appeared in during the '21 campaign, he transitioned into a relief role last season. 

Beller began the season in High-A Peoria and had a 3.04 ERA, 1.013 WHIP, and 12.2 K/9 in 26.2 innings through June, earning a promotion to Double-A Springfield. There, he struggled a little more. In 16 innings he put up a 6.75 ERA, 1.563 WHIP, and the strikeouts slowed a bit, down to 9.6 per nine. 

One takeaway from looking at his Baseball Reference page is that his hits per nine have looked pretty solid. In High-A, he was giving up just 5.1 per nine, and that went up a little in Double-A to 6.2, but not too much. What ballooned his WHIP between the two stops was his walk rate going from 4.1 per nine in Peoria to 7.9 per nine in Springfield. 

The A's have a habit of bringing in guys with good strikeout stuff that struggle with command issues and trying to get the most out of them. Beller seems to be another pitcher in that mold. 

Speaking of filthy pitches, look at this by John Beller pic.twitter.com/amw05sjdi1

— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) May 20, 2022

St. Louis released Beller on March 27, and Oakland signed him on Friday. The A's have assigned Beller to extended spring training for the time being. 

Jason Burke is the Managing Editor of Inside the A's, and the host of the Locked on A's podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @ByJasonB.