Royals select Tennessee’s Drew Beam in third round of 2024 MLB Draft

Tennessee right-handed pitcher Drew Beam has been selected by the Kansas City Royals with pick No. 76 overall in the third round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.

The junior righty is the fifth Volunteer selected in this year’s draft, following Christian Moore (8th overall, Angels), Blake Burke (34th overall, Brewers), Billy Amick (60th overall, Twins) and Dylan Dreiling (65th overall, Rangers). The slot value assigned with the 76th overall pick is $1,027,700, according to MLB.com.

Beam was a staple of the pitching staff over his three seasons on Rocky Top, combining to go 26-8 over 51 starts (52 appearances) from 2022-24 with a career ERA of 3.60. The righty made every weekend start for the Vols this past season, contributing a 9-2 record over 102.1 innings pitched. Saving his best for last, the righty tossed nine innings of two-run baseball with 14 strikeouts to four walks in two starts in Omaha as the Vols captured their first ever national title this past season.

The junior was named a Third Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for the 2024 campaign and was a Second-Team All-American by the same publication in 2022. As a freshman that year, Beam reeled in four Freshman All-American accolades and was named the SEC Freshman of the Year.

Beam becomes the 21st pitcher drafted from Tennessee while Tony Vitello has been head coach.

Scouting Report from MLB.com

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 50

“Beam lost his last two high school seasons to the pandemic (2020) and internal brace surgery on his elbow (2021), but that didn’t prevent him from making an immediate impact at Tennessee. He won Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year accolades in 2022 and was the best starter on the Volunteers’ College World Series team last spring. 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 would show flashes of three plus pitches in the past, but his stuff has played mostly average across the board in 2024. His best offering is a mid-80s changeup with fade and sink that works well with a fastball that operates at 93-95 mph and climbs to 98 with carry. He gets good depth on a low-80s curveball and also can mix in an upper-80s cutter to give hitters a different look.

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

Tennessee in the 2024 MLB Draft

INF Christian Moore: 8th overall, Round 1 (Angels)
1B Blake Burke: 34th overall, Round 1 (Brewers)
INF Billy Amick: 60th overall, Round 2 (Twins)
OF Dylan Dreiling: 65th overall, Round 2 (Rangers)
RHP Drew Beam: 76th overall, Round 3 (Royals)