Quartet of Vols named to D1 Baseball Top-100 2024 MLB Prospect List

It’s football time in Tennessee but the Omaha Vols will also be back in action in the coming weeks as Tony Vitello’s baseball squad is set to begin the fall slate of practice and exhibitions. With that comes some hype for the season, filled with star power fueling the 2024 MLB draft Class.  

D1 Baseball released the first installment of their version of the Top-100 Major League Baseball Draft College Prospects list and four Volunteers made the cut as being viewed as top-college talent heading into the draft cycle. To be eligible for this list, these players are drafted eligible for the 2024 MLB Draft showcase and could be entering their final year of college.

Tennessee starting pitcher and presumed ace of the 2024 squad – Drew Beam – headlines the list for the Volunteers, checking in at No. 14. Second baseman Christian Moore follows at No. 68 while former Clemson Tiger and newly acquired slugger Billy Amick from the transfer portal is slated at No. 90. Power-hitting first baseman Blake Burke rounds out the list for Tennessee at No. 100.   

Beam, a right-handed starter, made every weekly start this past season (17), going 9-4 over 84.1 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.63. The sophomore struck out 88 batters, walked 23 and threw one seven inning complete game. His three postseason starts were stellar, combining for 17.2 inning pitched of four-run baseball where he allowed 17 hits with 26 strikeouts and only three walks. He was also named the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week on May 23.

The former Blackman quarterback was also named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, becoming the first player in program history to be invited to the showcase multiple times since VFL J.P. Arencibia back in 2005 and 2006.

Moore, who was also named to the Stars & Stripes Collegiate National Team, hit .304 as a sophomore for Tennessee in 2023, finishing second on the team with 17 home runs and 50 RBI. The second baseman led the squad with a .444 on-base percentage, 16 stolen bases and 66 runs scored. He was Tennessee’s best hitter against left-handed pitching with an average well north of .320 and his postseason production was solid as he delivered a key two-run single in a [historic] win over Stanford in the College World Series and registered a 7-for-10 clip in the Clemson Regional.

Over the course of a breakout sophomore campaign in 2023, Amick racked up All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game after leading the Tigers with a .413 batting average, 17 doubles, .464 on-base percentage and a .772 slugging percentage. He was second on the squad with 13 home runs and 63 RBI and committed only three errors defensively.

Aside from the All-American honors, Amick was named first-Team All-ACC for his efforts this past season and was 1-for-3 against the Volunteers in the thrilling 6-5 Tennessee win in 14 innings over Clemson in regional play. Tennessee made the slugger a priority when he entered the transfer portal on June 16.

Speaking of Burke, the slugging first baseman powered his way to 16 longballs and 43 RBI as a sophomore in 2023, finishing the campaign with a .280 batting average. The lefty had some stellar moments along Tennessee’s College World Series voyage through June. Such moments included a three-hit game over Clemson in regional play, a 479-foot two-run moonshot homerun during a comeback win over Southern Miss in Supers and a two-hit day over Standford during Tennessee’s lone win in Omaha.

Tennessee’s official fall practice slate will get underway at the end of the month with two exhibition games coming at neutral sites in the coming weeks. The Vols will square off with Virginia Tech in Greeneville at Tusculum University’s Pioneer Park (also home to the Greeneville Flyboys of the Appalachian League) on October 22. Tennessee will again travel on November 5 to take on Samford in Nashville at First Horizon Park – home of the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.